Latest news with #YamagataPrefecture
Japan Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Work to consolidate public facilities gains traction across Japan
Work to consolidate public facilities, including both national and local government buildings, is gaining momentum across Japan, reflecting a growing need to make more efficient use of public spaces amid a declining population. One notable example is the development of regional government office complexes that bring together multiple branch offices of national government ministries and agencies in close proximity to local government buildings. Municipal facilities such as libraries are increasingly being constructed within these government office complexes, further streamlining public services. The Finance Ministry, which oversees the management of state-owned property, is actively promoting such initiatives as a key part of regional revitalization strategies. In July 2022, the Tsuruoka second regional government office complex was completed in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. Located near city hall, the new joint facility brings together several previously scattered offices in the city, including the tax office, the public employment security office and the Tsuruoka branch of the Yamagata District Public Prosecutor's Office. The complex also houses the city's disaster response equipment warehouse on its first floor, enhancing the region's disaster preparation and response capabilities. The warehouse stores emergency electric generators and other vital equipment. Previously, the city government had struggled to secure adequate space for such equipment at city hall. The consolidation of government offices into the regional complex has created new opportunities for health care education in the community. The former tax office site became home to a new municipal nursing school building that opened in April. The previous school facility was constrained by cramped conditions and the limited availability of equipment, making it impossible to accommodate more students despite growing demand for health care professionals. The new facility has eliminated these problems. "At a time when securing human resources for regional health care is a major challenge, this will make a meaningful contribution to developing the workforce (our community needs)," a city official said. The town of Fujikawa in Yamanashi Prefecture celebrated the opening of its first municipal library, housed in the new regional government office complex completed in fiscal 2022. For years, the community operated without a public library, but many requests from residents prompted town officials to explore establishing one. An expert committee recommended incorporating the library into the planned government office complex, and after a series of discussions between the town hall and the national government, the project finally came to fruition. A disaster response equipment warehouse inside the Tsuruoka second regional government office complex in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture | The Tsuruoka Municipal Government / via Jiji Since opening in July 2023, the municipal library has become a community hub, welcoming an average of 110 visitors daily. The facility regularly hosts community events at the complex's entrance area, made possible through partnerships with national government branch offices. "It's brought new vitality to the entire area," a town official said, expressing confidence in the library's community impact. Officials in the city of Oita are moving forward with plans to construct a new regional government building complex, targeting completion by fiscal 2029. The project addresses critical issues with the current facility, which has served for over five decades and now has marked structural deterioration and inadequate disaster preparation capabilities. Following collaborative discussions, key organizations, including the local finance office, city government and Kyushu Regional Development Bureau, formally adopted the construction policy in fiscal 2022. A new nine-story complex will be constructed to strengthen authorities' rapid response capabilities for large-scale natural disasters, particularly a potential massive earthquake along the Nankai Trough in the Pacific Ocean. The facility will serve as headquarters for both the local meteorological office and regional Self-Defense Forces organization, centralizing emergency response operations under one roof. Upon completion, the complex is expected to receive official designation as a tsunami evacuation building, providing a vital emergency shelter for local residents during natural disasters. The new facility's strategic location near both the city hall and the prefectural government office promises benefits for residents and local administration. "We anticipate (this proximity) will strengthen our cooperation with local governments while improving convenience for area residents," said a representative from the Kyushu Local Finance Bureau. The initiative exemplifies a broader national trend toward greater collaboration between national and local governments. According to the Finance Ministry, by the end of March this year, local finance bureaus and related organizations across the country had formed councils with a total of 160 local governments. These councils are actively engaging in discussions on various issues, including the consolidation of public facilities. "Coordination takes time, and this type of initiative can't be implemented overnight," a senior ministry official said. "Still, we believe (these programs) can make significant contributions to local communities, and we're eager to see more concrete examples emerge."
Japan Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP's 30th anniversary
On reaching Risshakuji Temple in Yamagata Prefecture during his travels described in 'The Narrow Road to the North,' haiku poet Matsuo Basho wrote: 'In the deep silence / only the voice of the cicada / pierces the rock.' Basho's poetic ideal of exploring the overlap between the eternal and the transient — as suggested in the contrast between the rock and the seasonal cicada in the poem — is a key tenet in the Tokyo Museum of Photographic Art (TOP) 30th anniversary program. The 2025 schedule includes two contrasting exhibitions showcasing the museum's permanent collection, titled 'Continuity and Change' and 'transphysical,' and three solo shows that focus on the work of Takano Ryudai, Luigi Ghirri and Pedro Costa. While Basho provides an overall thematic tone for how the museum celebrates this milestone, Tetsuro Ishida, lead curator of the anniversary exhibitions, uses the analogy 'same soil, different crops' to describe how the two TOP Collection exhibitions are divided into a total of 10 contrasting sections run by different curators.
Fibre2Fashion
12-06-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Zeon builds plant-based rubber R&D hub in Yonezawa
Zeon Corporation (Zeon; head office: Chiyoda - ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tetsuya Toyoshima) has constructed a new research facility on the premises of Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa Co., Ltd. (head office: Yonezawa - shi, Yamagata; President: Kazunori Watanabe) to develop production processes for plant - derived raw materials. This facility will accelerate the development of biotechnology to produce butadiene and isoprene directly, which are key components of synthetic rubber, from plant - derived materials, with the goal of contributing to the realization of a circular economy. Zeon has built a new research facility in Yonezawa to develop biotechnologies for producing butadiene and isoprene from plant-based materials, aiding its 2030 carbon neutrality goals. Part of a Green Innovation Fund Project with Yokohama Rubber, the facility supports Japan's 2050 net-zero target and advances sustainable raw material production for synthetic rubber. Under STAGE30, the Group's Medium - Term Business Plan, Zeon has positioned ' Promote a transformation of monozukuri to realize carbon neutrality and a circular economy ' as Strategy 1 while also setting a target to reduce CO 2 emissions across the entire Group by 42% by fiscal 2030 compared to fiscal 2020 levels. By establishing this integrated research facility, which enables the simultaneous development of both chemical reaction and biofermentation processes, Zeon aims to promote monozukuri with a focus on the conversion of raw materials toward the realization of a sustainable society. New research facility This initiative is part of the 'Development of Manufacturing Technology Using Carbon Recycling for Commodity Chemicals Used in Synthetic Rubber,' a project jointly carried out by Zeon and The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (Yokohama Rubber; Chairman and CEO: Masataka Yamaishi), which has been selected under the 'Development of Technology for Producing Raw Materials for Plastics Using CO2 and Other Sources,' one of the Green Innovation Fund Projects of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Through research and development at this facility, Zeon aims to commercialize biotechnology for the direct production of butadiene and isoprene from plant - based materials by 2034. This facility has been certified as eligible for support under the Yamagata Prefecture Business Location Promotion Subsidy Program and has received partial construction funding from the prefecture. NEDO's Green Innovation Fund Project The Green Innovation Fund Project is a program established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to accelerate innovation through structural transformation of energy and industrial sectors and bold investment toward achieving the national goal of 'reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.' The program provides a continuous ten - year support to companies and organizations that pursue this goal as a business commitment in the areas from research and development, demonstration to commercial implementation. As part of a cooperative effort led by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the National University Corporation Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly the Tokyo Institute of Technology), and the national research and development agency RIKEN, Zeon and Yokohama Rubber are working on two project themes. The current initiative falls under the theme of 'Development of technology for production of butadiene and isoprene from plant - based and other sustainable materials.' Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
