Voices of Young People Resounding in Kumamoto - New Sprouts of Social Problem Solving Summer 2025

Voices of Young People Resounding in Kumamoto - New Sprouts of Social Problem Solving Summer 2025

Today, Japan is facing an accelerating aging society with a declining birthrate and an exodus of population from regional cities, making "how to create a sustainable economy and living environment" an important issue in each region. Kumamoto, in particular, while continuing to recover from the 2016 earthquake, faces environmental risks such as heavy rains and red tide damage due to climate change, and new initiatives are required to bring local communities, industry, and government together.

In this context, students and entrepreneurs took the stage to decipher social issues from their own perspectives and present proposals for the future, such as disaster prevention and industrial support through regional data analysis using AI, and red tide countermeasures using bamboo charcoal. They are not merely technological ideas, but also consider the recycling of local resources and the conservation of ecosystems. Their presentations have attracted the interest of government officials and local businesses, and the discussions have become a forum for dialogue that transcends generations and positions, with questions flying back and forth as if in an open debate.

The government is also promoting "regional development" and "green transformation (GX)" at the same time, and practical ideas from local communities have the potential to be connected to national policies. The trial in Kumamoto is a testing ground for exploring models originating from local regions that balance the environment and the economy, and is attracting attention as a symbolic scene in which the younger generation is proactively talking about the future.