LY Communications

Receives praise for utilizing open data to solve the social issue of checking for allergens in school lunches

LINE Corporation (“LINE”; Location: Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Takeshi Idezawa) and its Fukuoka-based subsidiary, LINE Fukuoka Corporation (“LINE Fukuoka”; Location: Hakata Ward, Fukuoka; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Noritaka Ochiai) are pleased to announce that the Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data (VLED) has chosen the Fukuoka City LINE official account’s “Safe School Lunch Management” (あんしん給食管理) Feature to receive the “Digital Risk Committee Award” (デジタルリスク協議会賞).

VLED highly praised the LINE Group’s efforts to solve the social issue of checking for allergens in school lunches through the use of open data on the Fukuoka City LINE official account.

■ About the “Safe School Lunch Management” Feature
The Safe School Lunch Management feature is offered through the Fukuoka City LINE official account (LINE ID: @fukuokacity), which has 1.75 million registered friends (as of February 5, 2021). The feature lets residents receive notifications about food allergens and menus for school lunches in elementary schools.

In Fukuoka City, 2,513 (3.1% of) elementary school students have food allergies, and in 2018 there were 11 food allergy-related accidents in school lunches. Parents and teachers are given a detailed menu (詳細献立表) each month with allergen information to prevent accidents. When checking at a glance, however, there is a high risk that something will be overlooked, and the burden of checking ingredients at home and at school is also an issue.

The Safe School Lunch Management feature aims to solve these food allergen-related issues in elementary school lunches and reduce food allergy-related accidents to zero. It was introduced to the Fukuoka City LINE official account in collaboration with Fukuoka City and the Institute of Systems, Information Technologies and Nanotechnologies (ISIT).

Currently, the feature is used by 2,654 residents of the city, which exceeds the number of children who have food allergies in elementary schools. (As of February 5, 2021)

■ A Message from Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data (VLED)
Prior to the release of the Safe School Lunch Management feature, checking for food allergens in school lunch menus was done by visually confirming a detailed menu. This poses a high risk of something being overlooked and places a heavy burden on households and schools, all of which are major social issues. VLED recognizes this feature as a service that utilizes open data to solve these social issues, which is why it was selected to receive the Digital Risk Committee Award.

■ Article on the VLED homepage (only available in Japanese):
http://www.vled.or.jp/news/2102/210201_001586.php

■ LINE Fukuoka to Attend the Online Awards Ceremony
LINE Fukuoka will attend the “2020 VLED Excellent Project Online Awards Ceremony,” which is scheduled to be held from 1-3 pm on Friday, March 5.

Commemorative photos and comments from award winners will also be posted on the VLED homepage.

■ About the Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data “Sponsor Award (Digital Risk Committee Award)
This award is presented by VLED (previously known as the Open Data Consortium) to a project that excelled in utilizing Open Data. The award is not limited to Open Data-related projects – initiatives that have publicized or utilized data and contributed to local revitalization through the use of data are also eligible to receive the award. By encouraging the release of open data in public institutions, VLED strives to promote regional creation and vitalize economic activity.

Moving forward, LINE Fukuoka will continue to undertake initiatives like the Fukuoka City LINE official account that accelerate the realization of our vision of a “Civic Smart City” that evolves through cutting edge technology and the actions of its residents.

■ About Fukuoka City’s LINE Official Account
Following the conclusion of the “Information Provision Fortification Tie-up Agreement” between LINE and Fukuoka City, LINE Fukuoka set up the Fukuoka City LINE official account (LINE ID: @fukuokacity) on April 25, 2017.

At first, the account was a way for users to select and receive only the information they wanted by customizing the account’s information categories and residential area settings in advance. Today, chatbots and features to send your location information are also being used in the account.

The “Evacuation Action Support” (避難行動支援) feature helps people prepare for disasters and allows them to share evacuation information with their loved ones. With the “Infrastructure Report” (道路公園等通報) feature, residents can report damage to infrastructure they find to the city. Users can also find out how to throw away garbage using the “Garbage Separation Support” (ごみ分別案内) feature, which lets them freely enter garbage types (such as batteries or pottery) into the message field. The account (which currently has 1.75 million registered friends) also lets residents use the “Childcare Assistance Feature” to instantly search for nearby “Baby Stations” (such as for breastfeeding), and other features are offered to provide services that are closely related to daily life.

<Corporation Overview>
[LINE Corporation]
Company name: LINE Corporation
Location: JR SHINJUKU MIRAINA TOWER 23rd FL., 4-1-6 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Takeshi Idezawa, Representative Director, President, and CEO
Capital: JPY 101.641 billion (As of September 30, 2020)
Established: September 4, 2000 (Changed trade name from NHN Japan Corporation on April 1, 2013)
Business activities: Provision and operation of the LINE messaging app and content and services made available on the LINE platform in addition to other web service businesses and development, advertising, AI and Internet of Things-related businesses.
https://linecorp.com/en/

[LINE Fukuoka Corporation]
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
Established: November 18, 2013
Business activities: All development, creation, operational, planning, and sales activities for LINE and related services.
https://linefukuoka.co.jp/en/

[Inquiries about this press release]
LINE Fukuoka Corporation　Phone: 092-292-3573 　Email: dl_lfk_pr@linecorp.com
Public Relations Department: Ms. Ishiwata (Phone: 080-8715-2009) Ms. Miyaji (Phone: 080-8867-3440)