Overview
The city of Fukuoka has long served as a hub that connects people and businesses within the Asian region. The city boasts one of Japan’s best transportation systems; this includes Fukuoka airport, the port of Hakata, and Hakata station, and showcases many examples of transit-oriented development. The city’s share of youth is much higher than the country average, partly due to the concentration of universities in Fukuoka, and it functions as a vibrant center of politics, culture, fashion and the economy for the Kyushu region. It has also implemented innovative policies such as Fukuoka 100, a program aimed at promoting good health and longevity, to address the challenges of an aging society.
Today, Fukuoka enjoys a reputation as one of the fastest-growing startup hubs in Japan, offering a series of support initiatives such as Startup Café, a one-stop-shop for those starting up a business in the city. Furthermore, under its “FUKUOKA Smart EAST project”, the city is bringing together cutting-edge technology, innovative thinkers and sustainable practices with the aim of creating a model smart city at a former university site in the Hakozaki area.
Since Fukuoka became a partner city of TDLC’s City Partnership Program in 2018, it has supported TDLC in the delivery of Technical Deep Dives and other events on topics including transit-oriented development, public spaces, and urban management in cities with aging populations. Fukuoka's track record of building a competitive city, its expertise in urban transportation development, its experience as a center of exchange with Asia, and its measures to attract young people have all drawn the attention of urban development professionals in developing countries.
Key topics of engagement
Transit-oriented development
Innovation and start-up ecosystems
- Competitive and smart cities
Voice of the city
“In June 2018, Fukuoka City signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Bank to collaborate with its City Partnership Program on the themes of ‘sustainable and livable city planning’ and ’competitive cities’. Since then, we have been collaborating with the World Bank on urban issues including aging and solid waste management, as well as city planning including transit-oriented development and smart cities. We will continue to collaborate with the World Bank and leverage their global network so that we can share the knowledge we have accumulated as a local government supporting our citizens' ways of life, and contribute to tackling urban challenges in developing countries.”
Kazuhiro Kubota, Executive Director of International Affairs Department, Fukuoka
Key recent collaborations
- January 2023
City officials presented the experience of Fukuoka City's flood control measures at the Technical Deep Dive on Advancing Quality Urban Infrastructure. - January 2023
TDLC Partners with Fukuoka City to Provide Technical Assistance to Ahmedabad City in India for Sewage Management System - May 2022
City officials presented the experience of Fukuoka City in supporting employment opportunities for the elderly and persons with disabilities at the Technical Deep Dive on Inclusive Cities and Jobs. - May 2022
Deputy Mayor of Fukuoka City discussed the challenges, some of the efforts made, and the progress in building age-ready cities at the international discussion at the Silver Hues ~ Building Age-Ready Cities Launch event. - February 2022
A city official from Fukuoka presented the city resilience plans and how the city responds to infrastructure disruptions at the Virtual Technical Deep Dive: Disaster Risk Management and Resilient Infrastructure. - October 2021
A city official from Fukuoka discussed the city’s climate change adaptation policies, particularly the role of urban and green space planning in facilitating adaptation actions within Fukuoka at the World Bank Knowledge Sharing Series on Low Carbon and Climate-Smart Cities #4: Climate-Smart Urban Form (13th Asia-Pacific City Summit Side Event). - April 2021
Officials from Fukuoka explained how the city tackles urban planning against the backdrop of an aging society, introducing the Fukuoka 100 project at the Virtual Technical Deep Dive: Healthy Cities for All. - March 2021
Officials from Fukuoka introduced the city’s Transit Oriented Development initiative and its revitalization of the area around Tenjin station through a presentation and a virtual site visit video at Virtual Technical Deep Dive: Vitalizing Urban Neighborhoods and Space through Transit Oriented Development. - March 2021
Fukuoka city’s efficient water management system was introduced as a case study of QII principles in action at a TDLC online event. - December 2020
A case study covering the ‘Fukuoka Method’ was introduced to six Ethiopian cities at a virtual training event on solid waste management. - November 2020
An official from Fukuoka introduced the city's perspectives and how it is preparing for the ‘new normal’ after COVID-19 during a side event organized by TDLC at Smart City Live 2020. - October 2020
Fukuoka partnered with TDLC to deliver the first virtual Technical Deep Dive on Solid Waste Management where city officials and experts from Fukuoka introduced their nighttime trash collection and landfill management methods. - November 2019
An official from Fukuoka presented on the city’s nighttime trash collection and landfill management methods at a Technical Deep Dive on Solid Waste Management. - October 2019
An official from Fukuoka made a presentation on its smart city initiatives during the World Bank session at the “8th Asia Smart Cities Conference” co-organized by the World Bank and Yokohama City. - June 2019
Fukuoka and UN Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific co-organized a G20 side-event “Population Aging and City Management”, which was hosted by TDLC, where the deputy mayors and an official from Fukuoka participated as panelists. - January 2019
An official from Fukuoka presented at a Technical Deep Dive on Unlocking City Spatial Plans through Transit-Oriented Development and Neighborhood Urban Spaces and Assets. - November 2018
An official from Fukuoka participated in an international conference on aging populations in Chile organized by the country’s Ministry of Social Development and conducted as part of a TDLC Operational Support project. - August 2018
TDLC staff participated as moderators for one of the parallel sessions covering the topic of accelerated urbanization at the 12th Asian-Pacific City Summit hosted by Fukuoka City and the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. - May 2018
An official from Fukuoka presented the city’s initiatives on aging populations at a Technical Deep Dive on Aging Cities.
*As of June 2022
Key Publications
