LY Communications

With 1000 employees, LINE Fukuoka expanded its business in the areas of AI and Fintech. It continues to focus on acquiring excellent human resources and close the distance between people, information and services worldwide through LINE.

Established on November 18, 2013 as LINE’s second base in Japan, LINE Fukuoka Cooperation (Head Office: Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Representative Director/President/CEO: Mr. Noritaka Ochiai) celebrated its 5th anniversary yesterday.

LINE Fukuoka is responsible for development, creative work, operation, and planning in a wide range of areas, including LINE messaging, its related services, AI and Fintech. At the time of establishment in 2013, our main duty was focused on operations which is customer support. However, later we expanded to development, covering from design to implementation, as well as creative work, that includes illustration, packaging and design. Finally, we have begun to encompass business planning, responsible for the planning and promotion of new projects. As our service keeps growing, the scope of the operations of each department has expanded as well. The operation business, which the company has been responsible for since its founding, has evolved. In addition to customer care, it now handles review, media editing, game direction, quality assurance and localization.

The number of employees has increased to 948, more than fivefold from 180 at the time of inception. UI-turners (those who relocated from other parts of Japan or abroad) account for 32% of the whole staff. Expat staff from 21 different countries take up 13% (As of November 2018). We have human resources not limited to Japan but from a variety of areas around the world.

In Fukuoka City, LINE Fukuoka has launched various projects with the support of many users, partner companies/stores and local governments. We are now collaborating with Fukuoka City in areas of cashless payment and administrative services using AI, as measures related to AI and Fintech—LINE Group's strategic business areas.

In the five years since our start, we have brought about a number of changes, both inside and outside the company. Maintaining this attitude, LINE Fukuoka will continue to take on challenges from Fukuoka to close the distance between people, information and services all over the world.

For many of you who were a part of LINE Fukuoka’s growth, a TV commercial is now being aired to broadcast our five-year history and hopes for the future. A 30-second special version of the TV commercial is also available on the corporate website.

We will continue to focus on securing highly skilled human resources who will bring the next phase of our transformation. Please visit our special website on recruitment for more details.

Major Milestones

Date of establishment

• ·November 2013 LINE Fukuoka established.

Opening events

• ·April 2014 The opening event held at Fureai Square on the western side of Fukuoka City Hall
• ·May 2014 A large-scale recruiting session held at ACROS Fukuoka
• ·September 2014 A “fan meeting” held at the square in front of Hakata Station

48 hours after the message, “Start, LINE Fukuoka”, LINE Fukuoka announced its full-fledged launch in the opening event with about 1,000 LINE users gathering.

The following month, we held a two-day large-scale recruiting session with about 1,000 participants. And in about six months since then, over 200 new employees joined LINE Fukuoka.
We held a “fan meeting” in September to report our steady growth since the launch and express appreciation.

Exclusive Services in Fukuoka

• ·November 2014 LINE@ promotion campaign “1 COIN WALK”
• ·February 2015 Launch of “LINE Quick Reservation” as the 2nd city in Japan
• ·November 2015 Campaign to promote “LINE Gourmet Reservation”

Collaborating with local companies/stores, we have actively implemented original campaigns for LINE-related services only available in Fukuoka.
In November 2014, a promotion event for LINE@, which are now used by many users, companies, stores and local governments, was held with the cooperation of more than 50 stores in the Tenjin area. Over 20,000 people participated in the event, and the users and business persons were able to appreciate the value of LINE@ service.

Internet Literacy Workshop

• ·December 2015 “GooDay Presents FUKUOKA WORKSHOP FESTIVAL”
• ·August 2016 “Tenjin Work School” hosted by Iwataya

At the same time, we participated in events hosted by local companies, and held workshops aiming at improving Internet literacy and "programming courses" taught by LINE engineers.

Cooperation with Fukuoka City

• ·October 2016 A partnership agreement with Fukuoka City on strengthening information dissemination concluded.
• ·June 2018 Selected as the sole company of the Fukuoka City Full Support Verification Test Project, in the categories of “Cashless” and “Fukuoka City Facilities”. In addition, selected for “Private Facilities”.
• ·August 2018 Fukuoka City and LINE Group concluded "Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects"

Following the conclusion of the partnership agreement with Fukuoka City on strengthening of information dissemination, Fukuoka City’s LINE Official Account, which was established in connection with this agreement, now has over 1.57 million registered users (as of November 2018), becoming a communication infrastructure.

Most recently, LINE Fukuoka became the sole winner in the categories of “Cashless” and “Public/Private Facilities” in the Fukuoka city’s Full Support Verification Test Project, and is promoting cashless payment using LINE Pay, a mobile money transfer/payment service. What was hitherto available only in tourist destinations and business areas represented by Fukuoka Airport, the yatais (outdoor food stalls) and the retail shops on the main street of Dazaifu Temmangu Shrine, LINE Pay has now expanded to areas that encompass our daily lives, such as universities and shopping malls. The cashless service is steadily making its headway into Fukuoka City.
Furthermore, in order to expand the area of cooperation, we have concluded the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects and are working to realize a “smart city” which tries to achieve a quality of life that is fuller and more convenient by utilizing advanced technologies, such as AI and Fintech.

A service released in September, which uses AI and accepts users’ requests for large trash collection has attracted more than 10,000 LINE account registrations in just one month after the release and has been well-received with a high level of user satisfaction of over 98%.

How a city is transformed into a richer and more attractive city with LINE's state-of-the-art technology attracts a lot of attention as a model case from both home and abroad.

Corporate Name

LINE Fukuoka Corporation

Head Office Location

JRJP Hakata Bldg. 12F, 8-1 Hakataekichuogai, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture 812-0012

Representative

Noritaka Ochiai, Representative Director/President/CEO

Capital

490 Million JPY (As of January 2018)

Established

November 18, 2013

Main Business Content

Development, Creative, Operation, Planning, etc., of LINE and LINE related services