LY Communications

LINE Fukuoka Corporation (“LINE Fukuoka”; Location: Hakata Ward, Fukuoka; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Noritaka Ochiai) is pleased to announce the “LINE SMART CITY DAY FUKUOKA 2020” for presenting Smart City business strategies will be held online on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, from 1 pm. The “LINE SMART CITY FOR FUKUOKA” promoted by LINE Fukuoka within the city is based on the concept of establishing services that are rooted in daily life for residents. Two years have passed since the project began, and it has spread within the city reaching approximately 270,000 monthly active users¹.

Currently, the global pandemic has sparked an upwards trend in Digital Transformation (DX) for local governments, but several issues remain for DX within towns, such as the cost to introduce systems and the difficulty of encouraging residents to use new services following introduction.

At this event, we will introduce the initiatives that LINE Fukuoka has undertaken to realize a “LINE SMART CITY FOR FUKUOKA” that is rooted within daily life for residents by exhibiting concrete examples and numbers. The company will also announce its strategies, numerical targets, and new projects designed to accelerate our initiatives in fiscal year 2021.

¹Total number (excluding overlapping users) of monthly active users of LINE Official Account services attributed to Fukuoka involving LINE Fukuoka. (As of September 2020)

■ Event program
Opening Talk
LINE Fukuoka’s Journey
LINE SMART CITY FOR FUKUOKA goes nationwide
Speaker: LINE Fukuoka Corporation, Director and COO – Yusuke Suzuki

LINE SMART CITY FOR FUKUOKA History
An Active Smart City Promoted by LINE Fukuoka
Learn about the service results and know-how that changed the daily lives of 270,000 residents
Speaker: LINE Fukuoka Corporation, Smart City Strategy Department Head – Naoki Minakata

LINE SMART CITY FOR FUKUOKA, and its vision for the future
Strategy for Creating an Open Smart City
From Fukuoka to all over Japan – Our actions to realize a Japanese Smart City
Speaker: LINE Fukuoka Corporation, Smart City Strategy Department Head – Naoki Minakata

2 pm – Planned event end

■ Participants

LINE Fukuoka was established as LINE’s second domestic base. The company undertakes collaborative projects with residents, the local government, and private businesses in order to utilize LINE technology to make Fukuoka City a more affluent place and create new value.

LINE Fukuoka has promoted Smart City projects, primarily focusing on the Fukuoka City LINE official account based on the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects concluded with the city in 2018. Furthermore, in October 2020 nine companies that represent Fukuoka City in different fields came together to establish the Fukuoka Smart City Community, and these companies work together to promote the city’s transformation into a Smart City.

In November of the same year, LINE Fukuoka joined the Kyushu Economic Federation, which seeks to contribute to economic development across Japan through comprehensive promotion of the economy in the region based on the concept of “One Kyushu,” and hopes to go beyond Fukuoka and promote Smart City transformations across all of Kyushu.

At this conference, LINE Fukuoka will provide the knowledge and know-how the company has gained through the initiatives of the Smart City project based on the LINE Group’s corporate mission of “CLOSING THE DISTANCE.” We hope that releasing our strategy and goals at this event serves to support companies across Japan to conduct a digital transformation.

The content of the event will also be released on the LINE Fukuoka homepage at a later date. Related information is also planned to be posted in real time on the LIME SMART CITY LINE official account.

■ LINE SMART CITY (LINE ID: @line_smart_city)

■ Event overview and applications

Target audience:
・Those who are interested in Smart Cities and community building
• Those interested in Fukuoka City initiatives and its future
• Those interested in LINE Fukuoka’s community building initiatives and vision
• Those involved with local governments
• Those involved in the Smart City industry

Apply to participate here
Application deadline: Sunday, December 13

■ LINE SMART CITY DAY FUKUOKA
LINE SMART CITY DAY FUKUOKA is a Smart City conference held by LINE Fukuoka. The event first took place on November 14, 2019, and this is the second annual conference. LINE Fukuoka aims to leverage LINE’s technology to create a richer, more convenient and future-oriented city (“Smart City”).

In August 2018, based on the “Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects” concluded with Fukuoka City, LINE Fukuoka promotes the city’s transformation into a Smart City through collaboration with the local government, private businesses, and residents.

At last year’s “LINE SMART CITY DAY FUKUOKA 2019” Fukuoka City’s mayor and one of the architects of Taipei’s smart city were invited as guests, and the full-scale launch of the “Evacuation Action Support” (避難行動支援) feature for the Fukuoka City LINE official account was announced, as well as a plan for LINE Fukuoka to utilize both the Taipei and Fukuoka City LINE official accounts to deliver information.

[LINE Fukuoka Corporation overview]
Company name: LINE Fukuoka Corporation
Location: JRJP Hakata Bldg. 12F, 8-1 Hakataekichuogai, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture
Representative: Noritaka Ochiai, Representative Director, President, and CEO
Capital: JPY 490 million (As of January 2018)
Established: November 18, 2013
Business activities: All development, creation, operational, planning, and sales activities for LINE and related services.
Corporate site: https://linefukuoka.co.jp/en/

[Inquiries about this press release]
LINE Fukuoka Corporation　Phone: 092-292-3573 　E-mail:dl_lfk_pr@linecorp.com
Public Relations Department: Ms. Ishiwata (Phone: 080-8715-2009); Ms. Ekuni (Phone: 070-7777-3292)