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Mar 31, 2017
Hello, Koto!
The Heart of Koto City
Inerview
Takaaki Yamazaki
Mayor of Koto City
When Yamazaki – who became the Mayor of the city in 2007 – was studying in university, he made a noble commitment that would change not only his life, but also the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
What made you decide to be a politician?
Back when I was a student in university, a friend casually mentioned Koto City was smelly.
He wasn’t wrong; at the time, Koto City had a dumping ground for garbage disposal. But his comment still shocked me. It was then I made it my personal mission to make my hometown beautiful again, and I figured the best way to achieve that would be to become a politician.
What are some of the changes you’ve observed in the past decade?
Year on year, we’ve been working tremendously hard to clean up the city, be it by planting more trees by the riverside and canals or by promoting green living among the locals. This green concept is very much adapted from Singapore’s — whenever I visit Singapore, the cleanliness of the city never fails to impress and inspire me. Moving forward, I hope to constantly improve Koto City’s image and transform it into a full-fledged green city. I also hope to improve the city’s infrastructure so as to reduce earthquake-caused damage.
You’re also an advisor to the head of the Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee.
Yes, this is a very exciting time for us. Our brand concept for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is called “Sports & Supports Koto City in Tokyo”, which essentially encapsulates the spirit of Koto City – a sports hub, wonderful greenery, and passionate, down-to-earth residents. The last of which is a culture that’s been maintained and nurtured since the Edo era (1603 – 1868); I hope our visitors will experience this human warmth
when they are in our city.
Takayuki Shiina
CEO of Glass-Lab
He may be young, but Shiina is a shrewd businessman with his heart and mind set on bettering his hometown. We find out more about what he does when he’s not busy fronting his family business in glass manufacturing.
Tell us more about what you do.
I’m an entrepreneur specialising in marketing. I’ve been supporting my father and brother in our family business that is traditional glass manufacturing; they are the craftsmen, I’m the go-to marketing person, representing my family to speak with other companies for potential collaboration opportunities. I also act as a marketing consultant to promote the local community — I hope to be able to bridge the gap between the new residents and the older ones in Koto City.
How do you plan to bridge the gap?
One of the events I came up with is a monthly gathering called Kou Talk. Around 30 to 50 people attend this talk, which involves discussions on upcoming plans and projects within the neighbourhood. It’s a fantastic way to connect both sides and foster a sense of community spirit.
What made you decide to become so actively involved in the local community?
I belong to a local association that handles all matsuri-related news and events. The association in this district comprises 50 members, of which only 10 are younger than me. This doesn’t bode well for the future of our area, that’s why I’m hoping to change that by constantly looking out for opportunities that promote Koto City.
Koto City seems to be getting a lot of attention lately, thanks to Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It has. I’ve already started to learn English in order to better receive guests from overseas! But at the same time, we do need to think ahead for fear of entering a bubble economy, especially when Koto City is a relatively newly developed area. We should make plans to sustain global interest post-Olympics.
