Operating under the premise if you build it and they will come, two municipal governments in southern Fukushima Prefecture are planning to lure companies by constructing a base for research and development on natural energy and agriculture, among other industries.
Operating under the premise if you build it and they will come, two municipal governments in southern Fukushima Prefecture are planning to lure companies by constructing a base for research and development on natural energy and agriculture, among other industries.
The project is intended to help Fukushima Prefecture recover from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis while fostering nascent industries.
The governments of Nishigo and Shimogo are trying to secure a 50- to 100-hectare research and development site--encompassing state-owned land in the town of Nishigo--to realize such goals. The municipalities have requested that the central government allow them to use the state-owned land free of charge. If the request is accepted, preparations for construction will begin as early as the end of this year.
In the meantime, the local governments will apply for "special reconstruction zone" status for the project, which allows for the reduction of applicable taxes and the easing of related regulations under the basic reconstruction law.
The planned site has access to the Shirakawa Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway and Shin-Shirakawa Station for the Tohoku Shinkansen (bullet train), both of which lead directly to the Tokyo area.
About 20 companies, including Toshiba Corp. and Panasonic Corp., are planning to participate in the project, according to A.T. Kearney, a consulting agency working with the governments on the project.
On the site, Toshiba will develop systems that use smart grids to control natural energy, such as solar power and hydro power from rivers. Using IT technology, smart grids optimize the power supply based on electricity usage by consumers.
Marubeni Corp., a major trading house, will use electricity from the system developed by Toshiba to cultivate vegetables in artificial soil. The company will then export the vegetables overseas under the brand "Made in Fukushima."
Panasonic will develop robots designed to support those in need of medical care. The robots are expected to enable people to contact hospitals by video telephone.
Nichii Gakkan Co. and the Saint-Care Holding Corp., both leading nursing care providers, will train health-care workers from other Asian countries in nursing skills on the site.