A.T. Kearney works with Nishigo Village and Shimogo Town of Fukushima to aid Fukushima’s recovery

Project identifies six industry clusters to support region’s recovery

September 2011(Tokyo) — Global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, Nishigo Village of Fukushima Prefecture, and Shimogo Town of Fukushima Prefecture have joined together in a collaborative initiative to develop industry clusters and create job opportunities for the post-earthquake/tsunami recovery of Fukushima and Japan’s industrial development.

The aim of this collaborative initiative is to help Fukushima recover from post-earthquake/tsunami problems by developing industry clusters that would leverage local assets, attract new business enterprises and create a self-sustaining economy. The initiative also aims to develop a model that addresses challenges facing modern society, such as aging and food security, and that can be replicated throughout the world. The two municipalities, located in the southern area of Fukushima Prefecture, are safely far enough away from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and have good accessibility to the metropolitan Tokyo area.

To date, some 20 business enterprises have expressed their interest in participating in this collaborative initiative.

Within this context, Nishigo Village, Shimogo Town and A.T. Kearney have started discussions with Japanese central government ministries and agencies to align the project vision with the Japan Government’s growth strategy. Hereafter, the two municipalities will apply for special economic zone status. This zone would be developed by the Japan Government to accelerate related investments from all over the world. A.T. Kearney will continue to support Nishigo Village and Shimogo Town to realize this objective.

A.T. Kearney worked on a pro bono basis to help the municipalities identify the six industry clusters.

1. Vegetable Factory: Fully-sealed plant rooms will clear a radiation problem. Production, processing and packing will be vertically integrated for cost competitiveness and job creation.
2. Renewable Energy: The aim will be to operate each vegetable factory with 100% renewable energy (solar thermal, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, etc.).
3. Logistics: A logistics center furnished with both a radiation measurement system and a system for vacuum cooling vegetables would be built near the vegetable factories for delivery of safe and fresh vegetables (including those cultivated outdoors in addition to the factory vegetables) to the metropolitan area.
4. Medical & Nursing Care: Several types of nursing care facilities, a school for Japanese and Chinese caregivers, and an R&D center focused on nursing care robots will be built to develop a new solution for an aging society. Training high-quality Chinese caregivers is aimed at hosting Chinese customers on the site and supporting the development of the Chinese nursing-care industry.
5. Facilities Management: The site will provide high-quality energy management service and sanitary control that is essential for the vegetable factory and medical and nursing-care facilities.
6. Tourism: “Medical tourism” will be developed by leveraging rich local tourist attractions, such as hot springs, ski resorts, and golf courses, in addition to the medical and nursing care-related facilities. These also would be attractive for the family members of medical and nursing care service users.

About A.T. Kearney

A.T. Kearney is a global management consulting firm that uses strategic insight, tailored solutions and a collaborative working style to help clients achieve sustainable results. Since 1926, we have been trusted advisors on CEO-agenda issues to the world’s leading corporations across all major industries. A.T. Kearney’s offices are located in major business centers in 38 countries.