Robots and hydrogen

Earlier this year, a fair for dolls known as daruma was held in the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture. The traditional event has been held since the Edo Period (1603 to 1868) without interruption, even after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The fair, which this year was called the Daruma Sales Event, was held despite the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping the tradition alive and bringing life to the area at a difficult time.

The event was held at the Futaba Business Incubation and Community Center, which opened last October. The town of Futaba, one of two that hosts the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, built the business center. Ten businesses and entities, including the Fukushima Revitalization Headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., have set up offices in this facility, which is adjacent to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum and the Reconstruction Memorial Park. The facility, which serves as a center for promoting area products and disseminating information on local specialties, is aimed at helping revitalize the region through exchanges with visitors from Japan and overseas.

Work to rebuild industry in Fukushima has started to gain traction. Product shipment figures, though varying from region to region within the prefecture, have largely returned back to the levels seen before the calamity. According to a prefectural federation of societies of commerce, 1,786, or about 70%, of its member businesses in the 12 municipalities affected by the disaster were back in business as of July 2020. Of these, 40% resumed operation in Fukushima.

There are also active moves by businesses to use national and local subsidies aimed at promoting new industries to enter the market or invest in the prefecture. Such entities, including a drone startup, have established operations at the Fukushima Robot Test Field, which fully opened in March 2020. Minamisoma, which hosts the facility, is promoting itself as a “town of robots.” Namie, which hosts the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field, which has one of the world’s largest hydrogen production facilities, now touts itself as “hydrogen town.” Both facilities project the image of cutting-edge industries.

While these facilities inspire hopes they will create new inflows of businesses and people, the number of residents who evacuated to locations either inside or outside Fukushima, which exceeded 100,000 at its peak, is still around 37,000. This can be attributed to a wide range of factors, but it shows that Fukushima has made progress in bringing people back to their hometowns.

First harvest in a decade

When the tsunami hit and the meltdown began, residents of the town of Namie were advised to evacuate the area. As part of the town’s recovery program, a rice fair to sell its first harvest in a decade was held in December. Branded Namie Fukko Mai (Namie reconstruction rice), the rice was promoted in greater Tokyo with help from the Tokyo University of Agriculture, which is working to help Namie residents revive farming activities.

“We will continue to work to help restart farming in coastal Fukushima,” a spokesperson for Fukushima Butai Farm, which produced the rice, said.

In the tsunami-ravaged city of Minamisoma, there is a plot of land where companies have initiated cutting-edge projects. The Fukushima Robot Test Field was launched jointly by the central and prefectural governments. It is a large research and development facility for air, land and sea robots, as well as a drone-testing field where mock tunnels, bridges and other urban structures have been re-created on a property as large as Tokyo Disneyland. At the test facility, one can feel the vibrancy of a new industry beginning.

By April 2018, schools in all cities, towns and villages that saw their evacuation advisories lifted had reopened. All segments of the JR Joban Line were back in operation and had resumed service by March 2020, resurrecting a vital link between the greater Tokyo area and the Tohoku region. In anticipation of an increase in visitors, the development of commercial complexes, sports and other public facilities is well underway. Additionally, there are many people who have returned to their hometowns to restart their businesses, as well as develop new sales channels and cultivate new customers.

“We want Aizu to produce global enterprises like Google LLC and Apple Inc.,” said Masayuki Hisada, director of Aizu Laboratory Inc., based in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, at a Japan Patent Office symposium on IP, information technology and startups, held at his alma mater, the University of Aizu on Jan. 22.

His company developed a service to monitor the elderly using blockchain technology, as well as a system to control electricity via smart plug. The firm is now involved in a test of self-driving cars on public roads in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture. Though Namie’s evacuation order was partially lifted at the end of March 2017, progress in returning the residents remains slow.

The recent test run of self-driving cars is meant to lead to the swift recovery of public transportation services, while providing a new means of transportation to local residents.

Shinichi Kaneyama, chief and assistant director of Namie’s Planning and Finance Division, said, “We want to attract more companies through providing various innovation test fields.”

Aizu Laboratory conducts business that uses innovative technologies to solve social issues. Key in the choice of Namie for the company’s location was the emergence of a local startup ecosystem.

The University of Aizu specializes in computer science and is giving birth to startups and venture companies in various areas, including advanced technologies such as the “internet of things” and virtual reality.

Those enterprise challenges are boosted by an alliance between industry, the government and academia. Aizuwakamatsu’s industrial promotion policy through information and communications technology is also behind this trend.

Hiroyuki Oka, a senior associate professor at the University of Aizu’s Revitalization Center, is involved in IP management for local companies and academia-business collaboration support. On temporary assignment from the Japan Patent Office to the university, Oka stressed the importance of IP-conscious company management.

“IP is a lubricant and driving force for the locale, companies and universities to collaborate and proceed to the next stage,” he said. Evidence of this can be seen as new industries are now sprouting up throughout Fukushima Prefecture.

Patents as ‘weapons’

Some manufacturing companies are using patents as “weapons” to succeed in entering growth areas.

One example is Syntec, headquartered in the city of Iwaki. Originally involved in the development of memory devices for industrial computers at Hitachi Ltd., Syntec President Kazumi Akatsu established his technology venture in 1996, employing about 20 people. Syntec has been aggressive on IP strategy as it has submitted 15 domestic patents to date, of which 12 have already been registered.

The company had been earning stable profits from cellular phone antennas and radio wristwatch antennas. However, an incident occurred in the mid-2000s after they had successfully developed a unique antenna technology, following a consignment from a major partner to do so. The technology leaked during the mass production phase and the business partner decided to produce the antenna on its own. This resulted in Syntec suddenly losing its orders. Akatsu regretted placing too much priority on development and not acquiring patents beforehand.

After this bitter experience, Syntec began conducting an IP-oriented approach to business. It entered the medical equipment field by capitalizing on its unique twisted wire processing technology to develop dental braces and medical internal fixation cables connecting bones and other parts of the human body, such as artificial tendons.

Syntec was hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake shortly after it began research and development on medical equipment. Although its facilities were destroyed in the disaster, Syntec restarted its plant two months after the earthquake, and established an industry, government and academia collaboration together with Fukushima Medical University among other partners.

“I cannot deny that in the beginning we blindly submitted patents, and I realize that doing so was inefficient,” Akatsu said.

Currently, Syntec seeks advice from patent attorneys and other specialists and receives multifaceted support from the initial stages of R&D and product planning, in addition to the support when they submit a patent. By using a “patent map” that sorts out and analyzes patent information, the company is able to keep its R&D focus on areas where it has few competitors.

Encouraging the birth of IP

In Fukushima, conditions are ready to facilitate the emergence of IP. In the Hamadori area, the Fukushima International Research and Industry Development Project (Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework) that seeks to nurture the robot and energy industries, as well as the Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, which belongs to the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, play central roles in putting next-generation technologies into practical use.

IP is essential to innovative technologies and making IP adequately into an exclusive right is expected to lead to further innovation. The test run of Aizu Laboratory’s self-driving car in Namie is also subsidized with money allocated in line with the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework.

The government thinks the power of local small and midsize corporations is just as integral as research institutions and large companies to help promote the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework. Patent registration fees for small and midsize companies in the Hamadori area will be reduced a further 25 percent to a quarter of the regular fee, from April, to help such companies with their business.

Upon establishing an environment for true independence and reconstruction of the disaster-affected areas, IP’s potential is growing.

This year, Mitsufuji has announced its new corporate mission — “Weaving biometric data into greater human understanding” — to accelerate product development and business expansion.

The company has also been selected as the “Driving Company for the Regional Future” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry because the firm was evaluated to have an economic ripple effect on local businesses, leading regional economic growth.

Advanced technology 

At present, Mitsufuji is constructing a factory in Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture, at a rapid pace, aiming to hold a completion ceremony on Sept. 2. The evacuation order placed on Kawamata was completely lifted last March, with the remaining order having been lifted for the Yamakiya district.

One of the reasons why Mitsufuji chose the Kawamata Seibu (western) Industrial Park was because of the affinity with the local Kawamata silk business and Mitsufuji’s fiber business. Another major reason the company chose the area is Mitsufuji’s strong wish to “contribute to resolving various social issues in Fukushima Prefecture, including reconstruction and the low birthrate and aging society.”

“We’d like to make further efforts to continue spreading the knowledge of our world-leading cutting-edge technology and Kawamata’s new possibilities,” said CEO Ayumu Mitera.

“In Kawamata, we hope to create jobs in an industry that is familiar to the local community and provide a spark to generate vitality in the area by bringing a breath of fresh air,” Mitera noted. “We’d also like to connect with area residents through jointly hosting various events.”

The company’s Fukushima factory will be a combination of tradition and the next generation industry — two concepts that may seem contradictory at a glance — as well as the community’s hope for reconstruction.

Boosting female employment

Meanwhile, Resela Co., based in Okayama Prefecture, became the first company to open in the Tanoiri Industrial Park in Kawauchi when it completed its Kawauchi Factory at the end of last year and began operations in January. The factory is playing a major role in creating local jobs by manufacturing sportswear, bathing suits and medical supporters.

Like Mitsufuji, the reason why Resela President Toyohiko Miyamoto chose Kawauchi was not only because of its history of having flourished in the sewing business, but for other factors as well.

“Because of the various measures taken to prepare the living environment in Kawauchi, 80 percent of its residents returned. When I heard Kawauchi was planning to build an industrial park, I went to take a look,” Miyamoto recalled. “There, I felt that there was a lack of job opportunities for women and I felt we could help with the reconstruction by creating such jobs.”

Spreading the Kawauchi Brand

Expressing his determination at the completion ceremony on Dec. 10, Miyamoto said, “I want to help the reconstruction of Kawauchi through the field of apparel.” He is thinking to engage in creating and spreading the Kawauchi Brand in the apparel field. 

Miyamoto continued: “In western Japan where our company is based, the great disaster has been fading from people’s memories as time goes by. Western Japan is known for its manufacturing of uniforms and work clothes, and I hope that we can become a bridge between western Japan and Fukushima. And by spreading the Kawauchi Brand in the apparel field, I hope that many people will feel that they are participating in the reconstruction.”

Kawauchi has had other companies, including a major agricultural processing facility. Additionally, Cafe Amazon, the popular Thai coffee shop chain, moved into the area, offering peace of mind to area residents.

“The role Kawauchi needs to play is to become a model district for regional revitalization. I would like to move forward together with the residents with a vision of such grand design,” said Yasunori Iwamoto, president of Codomo Energy Co., the company that brought Cafe Amazon to Japan. 

The strong will of the companies that have recently moved into the area and the local residents who have overcome an unprecedented disaster have pushed the reconstruction of the 12 disaster-stricken municipalities and is creating a new outlook. 

The Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework, a government initiative, has been the driving force of much of this reconstruction.