Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture has announced a plan to build a smart city on the site of the former Army Tsutsumigaoka Airfield, with the aim of creating “a city that surpasses Silicon Valley.”

The project is hoped to attract IT companies to the approximately 93 hectares of land, with the aim to integrate IT with Gunma's unique manufacturing and logistics industries. It has an initial budget of 19 million yen for 2024.

The project is the brainchild of Naohisa Fukuda, a Gunma native and former Apple executive, who  seeks to replicate the successes of Silicon Valley in its areas of quick decision-making and the acquisition of technology and human resources.

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