Launch of a Major Incubation Plan in Aichi Prefecture

 ■Launch of a Major Incubation Plan in Aichi Prefecture

The “Station Ai Project Promotion Council” was held at the Aichi Prefectural Government.

A massive incubation facility will be created to kick off a community involving industry, academia, and the government to build a startup ecosystem of manufacturing x digital. This started through an initiative by Governor Hideaki Omura.

I am participating from the perspective of the CiP Council.

The objective of the “Station Ai” facility is to deliver innovation by combining manufacturing technologies, which are a strength of Aichi Prefecture, with startups. The long-term goal is to develop a rooted ecosystem by offering incentives that attract more startup companies.

Related parties, including companies, universities, and the government, align to form a package of policies that support the creation and attraction of startups. A particular focus is placed in areas that combine the manufacturing industry, which is a strong presence in Aichi Prefecture for automobiles, and digital elements.

Station Ai will be located in the 7,300 m2 former Aichi Kinro Kaikan site next to Tsurumai Park in Nagoya. It is scheduled to open in 2022.

It will be a multi-story space containing coworking space, offices, event space, seminar space, lodging facilities, cafes, and restaurants. It will be the greatest incubation facility in Japan or rather, one of the best in the world.

With Station Ai serving as the core, various other satellite support hubs in Aichi Prefecture, such as those for medicine, healthcare, content, sports, and food, to facilitate cooperation between hubs. There can also be cooperation with other cities, such as with CiP in Takeshiba, Tokyo.

Its overseas network will be notable. The governor has taken a lead in involving major players from overseas.

MOUs have already been concluded with the National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, and Institut Mines-Télécom in France. Discussions are also taking place with the University of Texas at Austin, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, and INSEAD in France.

Governor Omura states, “The winner-take-all system continues to be seen in the world. We would like to join manufacturing and digital to build an ecosystem that attracts startups, as accumulation leads to more accumulation. We will also work with the Station F incubation facility in Paris, which we draw inspiration from.”

I delivered a greeting also. “CiP is a plan involving industry, academia, and the government to create a special zone that accumulates tech and pop in CiP. We are working on this project through a community of 60 companies ahead of our opening next year. The focus of our project is IT and entertainment, which are the strengths of Tokyo, whereas Aichi Prefecture has many elements that are not available in Tokyo, such as automobiles, robots, and space. I hope we can serve a purpose.”

“Core players from industry, academia, and the government have aligned, a global network has been built, a location has been prepared, there is a public budget for encouragement, and the leader is extremely motivated. I have never seen a project that has put together all of these aspects. The issue is the activation of the community. This is where effort is needed.”

The model involves horizontal expansion of the Tokyo CiP Tech & Pop hub in Aichi Prefecture.

Major projects are lining up, with Tokyo in 2020, Nagoya in 2022, and the Osaka World Expo in 2025. There are also new plans for incubation in Kyoto and Fukuoka.

I would like to develop a national plan that links these locations.