Left to right: Tokyo Tatemono's Representative Director Katsuhito Ozawa, Waseda University Professor Akie Iriyama, Future Food Institute Founder and President Sara Roversi and TOKYO FOOD INSTITUTE's Toshikazu Sawa. (Courtesy of RegenerAction)
What if a city became a hub for regeneration? This was the vision forwarded in Tokyo on November 25.
At an event called RegenerAction, companies from all over discussed sustainable business practices under the umbrella of 'regeneration.' In sustainability spheres, this is a loose idea of sustainable growth while encouraging innovation and enriching the community. Ideas discussed at the event included strengthening innovation in smaller cities, fostering greenery in urban design, and local spice production.
Tokyo Tatemono, a developer in the capital, co-organized the event. Speaking to the press, Representative Director Katsuhito Ozawa talked about the significance of forwarding regeneration as a concept.
Together with the Future Food Institute, based in Italy, Tokyo Tatemono unveiled its vision for initiating 10 co-creation innovation projects in the Yaesu, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi areas by the end of 2027. Under the umbrella of Regenerative City Tokyo, they say their idea will improve the well-being of the earth, society, and people by 2030.
Ozawa told JAPAN Forward that he hopes the initiative will support development around the concept of food. This, he says, is an important cultural asset of the country. Geographically, the project area will comprise Yaesu, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi, all close to Tokyo Station.
"This is an area with a lot of history, with local festivals and restaurants that have existed since the Edo period" (1603-1868), he said, adding, "We want to showcase this area and sow seeds for the future so that new value can be born here."
The announcement fits into the city's goal of becoming a pioneer in sustainability. Tokyo Metropolitan Government said in 2021 that it aims to become the world's first ESG city by 2050.
Tokyo Living Lab
The event offered Tokyo Tatemono an opportunity to unveil its first project to foster co-creation: the Tokyo Living Lab.
Open to the public from December 2, the venue aims to become a hub for spurring innovation centered around food. Initiatives include a cafe with sustainable dishes and community events for those hoping to work in innovative sustainable food technologies.
One of the organizations behind the new venue is the Future Food Institute. Founder and President Sara Roversi spoke at the press conference about the importance of opening a new location in Tokyo.
In fact, all previous "living labs," as the Future Food Institute calls them, are in Italy. Most hosts until now were relatively small cities, with at most hundreds of thousands of citizens. In contrast, the Japanese capital offers potential access to over 14 million people.
To recover the values and bonds as if the city were a small village, Roversi said she believed: "The starting point and the big challenge is to bring back the relationships and rebuild trust within citizens."
She listed several ideas. For example, encouraging local farmers' markets, strengthening connections between generations, and generally "bringing humanity back to big cities."
Italy-Japan Links
The origins of the collaboration between Italy and Japan go back to when The Future Food Institute first held an educational boot camp in Tokyo. It aimed to share the latest ideas in the regenerative economy with entrepreneurs. That was when the first contact with Tokyo Tatemono took place.
The Future Food Institute initially came out of Pollica, near Salerno, Southern Italy. A small community, it had struggled with youth obesity and lack of economic opportunities. It wanted to bring back vitality to the area.
Since then, the Future Food Lab has helped found Living Labs. These centers focus on education and entrepreneurship to foster innovation among locals and farmers.
The organizers say the lab in Pollica has been a success. It has helped to bring new awareness of this area and its unique characteristics. For example, the region near Salerno is associated with the Mediterranean Diet, recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.
From Pollica, the organization has expanded to cities like Bologna, and now Tokyo.
An Event All Around Regeneration
The whole-day RegenerAction event brought together experts from various fields to discuss the importance of regeneration.
From abroad, Ethan Soloviev joined. He is the Chief Innovation Officer at HowGood. The company prides itself in being the world's largest database on sustainable food.
Other speakers included Takamasa Murakami, from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Waseda University Professor Akie Iriyama, who has broad interests in strategy and business, also participated. He spoke about the need to partner with countries like Italy that share a common language of history and gastronomy.
Even the lunch was regenerative. There were local spices sourced in Japan and seaweed-based products from the company Sea Vegetable. This venture aims to spread nutritious seaweed more widely by making it in a laboratory on land.
The afternoon included a breakoff session where members of large companies and startups together discussed regenerative initiatives in Tokyo. Participants hailed from Wired, Tokyo Tatemono, Panasonic, and more.
In all, the event inspired hope for the future and gave hints on what the future holds for food and sustainability.
"We hope that this platform can become a springboard, a yearly event when people can meet and engage, and make each other's ideas a reality," said Future Food Institute Japan Local Executive Masa Fukata.
This article was also published in full on Japan 2 Earth (J2E), our affiliated website sparking a transition to a sustainable future by spotlighting the latest environmental innovations from Japan.
RELATED:
- Washoku: Can Japanese Cuisine Be Made Even Healthier for Future Generations?
- Osaka Chefs Partner with French Champagne Maker Telmont on Sustainable Seafood
- Back to My Roots: Foraging Wild Foods in Japan's Mountains
Author: Arielle Busetto
