ATTRACTING TALENT “Hiroshima’s not honestly known for innovation,” says Atsuhito Uemaru, managing director of innovation promotion at the Hiroshima Prefectural Government’s Commerce, Industry and Labour Bureau. “Hiroshima is known, of course, for the atomic bomb, and maybe some people know about the tourist spots.” This is compounded by the fact that, while Hiroshima
has plenty of jobs available – the city is home to the headquarters of automobile manufacturer Mazda as well as two major centres for Osaka-based electronics firm Sharp – more companies are moving out of Hiroshima than are moving in, according to Uemaru. “If you look at other regions in Japan, Hiroshima is
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suffering the same problems,” he says. “Even though we do have good schools, students leave Hiroshima. Our top priority is: ‘How can we provide not just jobs but good, interesting, innovative jobs?’ That’s the crucial issue we are facing now.” In the hope of changing this trend, the Hiroshima
Prefectural Government recently injected ¥10 billion (US$90 million) into a new “Sandbox” initiative, aimed at providing companies with a space for blue-sky thinking when it comes to tech innovation. “Our phrase has been ‘Don’t be afraid of failure’,” says
Uemaru. Much of this has been led by Hiroshima’s current governor, Hidehiko Yuzaki who, before being elected, worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley before setting up his own internet service provider in Japan. To qualify for funding, Sandbox scheme applicants must
form consortiums of at least four different companies. Only one has to be based in Hiroshima, as the Prefectural Government wants to attract companies from other regions of Japan. Rather than focusing on broad sectors where
competition with established players is fierce, Hiroshima is hoping to excel in niche markets where there are fewer rivals. The region is home to about 300 so-called “Only One Number One” companies – firms that are either the top or sole players in their fields. In its first round, the government received applications
from 90 teams from sectors ranging from manufacturing to agriculture. Nine were awarded a roughly equal share of the government’s multibillion-yen investment. While it’s still early days, there are signs the initiative could help address challenges faced by sectors other than Hiroshima’s burgeoning technology scene.
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‘Hiroshima is suffering the same problems as other regions of Japan. Even though we have good schools, students are still leaving Hiroshima’
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