BusinessOulun vierailu Sendain kaupungissa nousi japanilaisen Yomiuri Shimbun –sanomalehden etusivulle keskiviikkona 15.2. Oulu on esimerkkikaupunkina jutussa, joka koskee kaupunkien menestymisen eväitä. Yomiuri Shimbun on Japanin luetuimpia sanomalehtiä, sen levikki on noin 10 miljoonaa.
Ohessa englanninkielinen käännös alkuperäisestä japaninkielisestä jutusta:
Yomiuri Shimbun (15.2.2012 Front page)
Looking for Common Elements for Success in the Nordic Countries and Akita
Part 1: Having a unique characteristic is the key
(This is part of a series of articles under the grand theme “Resuscitation of the Japanese Archipelago”)
(Abbreviated translation)
City of Sendai had a group of visitors from the Finnish city of Oulu in early February. Led by Mr. Olli Loytynoja, Business Oulu told Sendai officials of its readiness to offer industrial assistance in the city’s reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the 3.11 Tohoku earthquake. The two parties agreed to study if the proposal of Business Oulu would actually lead to business opportunities. Oulu and Sendai had signed an agreement to cooperate in industry promotion in 2005.
Business Oulu is an entity set up and owned 100% by City of Oulu, which is home to about 800 ICT companies such as Nokia. Despite the small population, Oulu has been attracting global attention for its high international competitiveness, a fruit of so called Triple-Helix model. Under the model, the city has promoted human resource development and also tri-party collaboration among the industry, city and university since 1970s. In the northern section of the city lies a colony comprising a technology park –a joint venture between the city and the private-sector companies, a national technological centre, Oulu University and others. Mr. Loytynoja explains developing human resources is the axis of the model. Knowledge is created as a result of the tri-party collaboration. Nokia owes its international success to the knowledge base it had in Finland.”
As Nokia faces an uphill battle with competitors like Apples, Business Oulu has now positioned environment, welfare and software development for games as “new industries” to invest with human resources development, fund and risk management. Mr. Loytynoja stresses the size of the city is irrelevant. “The things is if the city is able to envision a “success story of its own.”
Dr. Takashi Shiroishi, the president of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, points out a hub city with state-or-the-art university and medical facilities, good living environment and transportation access tend to attract industries and become a launching pad for innovation. He says it is important also for Japan to give a strategic look at hub cities within the country.
“A success story of its own” means if cities and municipalities in the Tohoku (North-eastern) region have unique features that others don’t have. With a population of over 1 million, Sendai City is certainly unique. What about others in the region? Kosaka Town in Akita Prefecture has a unique background as it was once the largest copper mining community in Japan. Even with just 6000 or so inhabitants, one-fourth of the peak time, the town has been able to reinvent itself as a hub for recycling rare metals, gold and silver. The director of Kosaka Refinery says they aim to become the world leading refinery with recycled metals.
-End-
(Translator’s note: Kosaka Refinery was 14th most innovative company in the world according to “Fast Company”, an American business magazine, in 2011.)
Alkuperäinen artikkeli: Oulu_yomiuri_15feb2012.pdf