Local revitalization advocate Kinoshita Hitoshi: Distinctive industries make localities prosperous, no fear even with fewer people

Japan's local revitalization has succeeded and become a model for Taiwan to learn from. Kinoshita Hitoshi, who has long promoted local revitalization in Japan and serves as the representative director of the general incorporated association Area Innovation Alliance, came to Taiwan on the 19th to share his experience. He emphasized that in the face of population decline, a corresponding entirely new discipline of local revitalization should be developed, and the old methods of the past should no longer be followed. At the same time, he pointed out that "letting localities live prosperously" is the core spirit of local revitalization; even in the smallest township, as long as distinctive industries exist, sound development is possible.

Japan began promoting local revitalization in 2014, but in the twenty to thirty years before that, Japan had been constantly struggling with local revitalization and trying every possible means to revive localities. It was the earlier failures that brought about the current success of Japan's local revitalization.