MACHI NORI Lab land cars revitalizing regional Japan

Regional revitalization is an uphill battle for Japan. In response to the issue, the government has implemented measures such as providing additional funding, promotion for tourism, and conducting international conferences. However, in recent years, there are a growing number of organizations contributing their share of innovation to reinvigorate rural areas. MACHI NORI Lab is one of them.

MACHI NORI Lab is a town development platform based on the fusion of INSPIRE’s ethos of local innovation and Yamaha Motor Company’s vehicle products. Rather than relying on traditional initiatives, it introduces a twist by using of land cars to promote regional revitalization.

 

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MACHI NORI Lab leveraging on land cars for positive community impact

A key concept of MACHI NORI Lab is the use of land cars. Land cars are golf cart inspired vehicles that operate at a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour. These slow mobility vehicles are expected to support the many aspects of regional revitalization. By collaborating with a wide variety of bodies of organizations, the team hopes to solve problems of rural areas by conducting ideathons, lectures, and study tours.

The first ideathon was held in Unnan city, Shimane prefecture, in January 2019. Led by Business Producer/Creative Director of INSPIRE, Shugo Yanaka, the workshop gathered local innovators to brainstorm together on ways to integrate slow mobility into regional revitalization measures. Apart from local innovators, the general public are invited contribute their ideas online through the MACHI NORI Web Ideathon’s website.

Land Car Vegetable Rescue

An idea that made the top of the list was the “Land Car Vegetable Rescue”. It suggests transporting excess vegetable crops via land car, to be sold at wholesale stores. These land cars will also be equipped with disaster prevention functions allowing them to serve as a primary source of a solution in times of emergency. Hence, simultaneously solving the region’s problem of food loss and disasters.

Ideathons are expected to be held in more cities to solve prevalent issues of each individual region.