Shizuoka City will hold its first business contest to work with startups to solve social issues. The Knowledge and Community Co-Creation Contest has two divisions, administrative and start-up, both calling for proposals in fields such as childcare, disaster prevention, transport and tourism. Winning proposals are to be implemented in cooperation with city officials

Proposals will be accepted until 16 July, with the first round of screening to take place in late July. Winning proposals that in the administrative category will receive 5 million yen, while start-up proposals will receive 1 million yen.

Mayor Takashi Namba expressed his ambition to be the first in the country to implement an initiative where start-ups and the local community work together to solve social issues. Shizuoka Prefecture has made attracting and fostering start-ups a pillar of its economic promotion policy, and this contest is attracting attention as part of that policy.

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