![[Report] [Keynote] The Potential of Technology to Energize Akita: The President of the Company That Flies the Most Drones in Japan and the Mayor of Akita City Talk #jawsfesta2026 #jawsug #jawsfesta #jawsfesta2026_a](https://devio2024-media.developers.io/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto,w_3840/f_auto,q_auto/v1794529478/eyecatch/oz0yzueizbaqdjwj2bag.png)
[Report] [Keynote] The Potential of Technology to Energize Akita: The President of the Company That Flies the Most Drones in Japan and the Mayor of Akita City Talk #jawsfesta2026 #jawsug #jawsfesta #jawsfesta2026_a
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I'm emi, a coffee lover.
I attended JAWS FESTA 2026 in Akita, held on Saturday, 2026/11/07.
I listened to the session "Keynote: The Possibilities of Technology to Energize Akita – A Conversation Between the President of the Company That Flies the Most Drones in Japan and the Mayor of Akita", so here is my report.
Session Information
- Session: Keynote: The Possibilities of Technology to Energize Akita – A Conversation Between the President of the Company That Flies the Most Drones in Japan and the Mayor of Akita
- Track: Classmethod Track (Medium Hall)
- Time: 10:15–10:50
- Speakers:
- Jun Numatani, Mayor of Akita City
- Komei Sasaki, Representative Director / CEO, Redcliff Co., Ltd.
- Ibisa Otani, Editor-in-Chief, TECH.ASCII.jp, Kadokawa ASCII Research Laboratories (Moderator)
Local governments are piling up with issues such as population decline, aging, deteriorating infrastructure, and shrinking markets. Can technology really energize regional areas? Welcoming Jun Numatani, the Mayor of Akita City, who aims for a new Akita under the slogan "From stagnation to progress," and Komei Sasaki, a native of Akita Prefecture and president of Redcliff, the "creative group of the sky" that flies more drones than anyone else in Japan, we will speak candidly about the possibilities of regional revitalization × technology. (Moderator: Ibisa Otani, Editor-in-Chief, TECH.ASCII.jp, Kadokawa ASCII Research Laboratories)
Session Report
On stage were the moderator Ibisa Otani, Akita Mayor Numatani, and Redcliff's Sasaki.
Mr. Numatani is a mayor born and raised in Akita, a true "local production for local consumption" mayor, and Mr. Sasaki is also from Akita.
The Reality of Regional Areas Covered at JAWS FESTA
Mr. Otani has been involved with JAWS FESTA since 2024, and that is when he began reporting on regional areas.
Actually, at JAWS FESTA 2024 Hiroshima, I had seen Ibisa exchanging business cards and greeting other people, so I thought, "So it was from that time!"
- 2024 Hiroshima
- Theme: "Creating industry"
- The message: "It's okay to fail, so take on challenges"
- ASCII.jp: What's wrong with failing? The Hiroshima governor's passionate message at JAWS FESTA 2024
- 2025 Kanazawa
- Theme: "Natural disasters"
- Introduced what engineers did during disasters and what engineers can do in emergencies
- ASCII.jp: What are the information-sharing issues that came to light in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake? AWS engineers learn about disaster support in Kanazawa
Following the look back at the two previous events, we looked at the message from this year's executive committee chair.
- JAWS FESTA has returned to Tohoku for the first time in 12 years
- This is the first time in JAWS FESTA history it has been held in a prefecture with a population under 1 million
- "A chance to think of it as your own issue"
- They want people to feel the "tangible reality" of issues such as the declining birthrate and aging population, depopulation, and natural disasters
Theme 1: Akita's Challenges and Potential
The first theme was Akita's challenges and potential.
Aging was raised as a challenge.
- Akita Prefecture's aging rate is about 40%
- There aren't enough bus drivers
- It's hard to go shopping
- There is a shortage of people to carry on industries
According to the Cabinet Office's White Paper on Aging Society, Akita Prefecture's aging rate (the proportion of people aged 65 and over) in Reiwa 6 (2024) was 39.5%, the highest in the country.
- This is something that will happen in every prefecture in 20 years
- If a business model that succeeds in Akita can be created, it can succeed anywhere in 20 years
The potential that was raised was energy.
- The Sea of Japan side is a mecca for wind
- Submarine cables come ashore here
- Japan's largest substation is located here
- There are few disasters, and there is electric power that can be supplied to Japan in an emergency
- An AI data center is also being planned
There was talk that electricity, energy, and food are absolutely essential, and that if electricity stops for a day or two, lives are at stake. Akita has plenty of these, and it is also good that power and so on can be produced and consumed locally. Akita is amazing...!!
Mr. Sasaki, who is from Akita, spoke about the changing atmosphere in Akita and its appeal.
- Until now, a sense of decline had continued for a long time
- An atmosphere of resignation even when shops closed or people decreased
- Recently a sense of urgency has emerged
- The wind has begun to change, for example because the mayor became younger
- Its appeal lies in the environment, food, beautiful women, sake, and so on
People in Akita don't go outside the prefecture much, so it is hard for them to notice its appeal. Sometimes they realize it when people from outside the prefecture say "It's nice," and he said that going outside lets you notice Akita's appeal.
Mr. Numatani said he is putting out the message that, rather than expecting someone else to do something about it, people should become the protagonists themselves. Mr. Sasaki said that hearing the mayor and the governor talk made him feel that everyone has a sense of urgency. There was also a remark that Akita often ends up at the bottom of rankings.
Theme 2: Initiatives to Solve Akita's Challenges
The second theme was initiatives to solve these challenges.
Drone Shows and Drone Use in Akita
At the Akita Kanto Festival 2026, a drone show was held for the first time. An Akita dog was drawn in the night sky with LED drones.
The drone Akita dog is so cute
- Drones are also used in war; convenient things get used for both good and bad
- Mr. Sasaki's background
- In college, he traveled around the world once with a drone
- Staff at DJI's first store in Japan
- Now works in the entertainment field
- Common uses in Akita
- Spraying pesticides
- Inspections (such as solar panel inspections)
- Logistics
- Drone racing
There was even an example of carrying a 50kg load to a mountaintop, and drones are also well suited to transporting goods to dangerous places people cannot enter. Drones are suited to unmanned operation and go well with population decline, he said.
On the other hand, Japan has drone regulations.
- Regulations are strict, and accidents must not happen
- There is wariness toward new things
- Logistics drones seem to be in a state of perpetual proof-of-concept testing
- There are still no drone show operators in Japan, so this time they had one come from overseas
Drone shows can also serve as an advertising medium. He explained that even in places where fireworks and festivals are decreasing, you can still promote things; if there are people, it becomes advertising, and if there aren't, it becomes tourism content.
Combining Kanto and Drones
- In Kanto, performers balance poles hung with lanterns on their heads and hips, taking their hands off the poles
- It moves people because humans do it, and the same is true of other Japanese traditional performing arts such as Awa Odori
- The number of people to carry it on is decreasing
- They thought there might be something in combining it with something that isn't human
They discussed why drones, and what is good about using drones in Akita, but Mr. Numatani said, "The truth is, the reason I asked Mr. Sasaki to do the drone show was, as fellow locals, simply a request: 'Please, help us out!'"
- Redcliff owns 6,500 drones
- I asked after hearing that the president of Japan's largest company was from Akita
It turned out well, so he said he wants to ask them again next year.
There was also a question about whether traditional attractions like fireworks and drones can coexist.
The Kanto Festival is held every year, but it was mentioned that local people don't come to see it. When it is combined with something new like drones, people think, "They're apparently doing something new, let's go see it," and some people realized the appeal of the Kanto Festival anew. Some even said they came for the first time in 30 years for the drone show. The Kanto Festival is one of the three great festivals of Tohoku, but in some ways it is less well known than Nebuta or the Sendai Tanabata Festival, and he said that media influence also played a part, such as Mr. Sasaki appearing on Jonetsu Tairiku.
There was also talk about revenue, and they are reportedly working on measures such as introducing premium viewing seats. He said they want to do their best to have people spend money on good content.
Akita City's Livability
Mr. Numatani spoke about how livable Akita City is. His view is that, going forward, municipalities with a population of about 300,000 will be the ones that survive in the end.
- The most precious thing is time, and urban areas lose time in exchange for convenience
- In Akita, you can eat ramen without waiting!
- If you have to wait, you can choose to skip that shop
- There are many "Japan's Three Greatest" items, such as Inaniwa udon (one of Japan's three great udon) and beautiful women
- Hospitals and shopping are also well provided
- The community is small, so it's easy to connect with people
You can connect with other industries too, and they are putting effort into connecting people, he said.
He said that if the goal becomes meeting something or someone rather than sightseeing, it becomes easier for people to come to regional areas.
There was also talk about places where offices can move in.
- There is a JR-operated shared office for startups, and IT-related offices are filling up quickly
- Because it's hard to hire people in the Tokyo metropolitan area, more companies have recently been hiring in regional areas
- Tokyo's problem is that there is no space
A New Form of Sponsorship
Mr. Sasaki talked about sponsorship.
- Until now, sponsorship has mainly meant having names read aloud or being listed in pamphlets
- With drones, a sponsor's logo can be displayed in the night sky
- Sponsorship amounts have gone up, and some have said "We'll contribute too," so new sponsorships have increased
Even for festivals whose survival is in doubt, drones can be offered as an option rather than just name readings and pamphlets.
Theme 3: How Can Technology Contribute to Akita's Revival?
The third theme was how technology can be involved in Akita's revival.
- Mr. Numatani
- Akita had no drone culture
- Technology can create something from zero and has the potential to create new value
- It can also be used to solve issues such as driver shortages and agriculture
- Mr. Sasaki
- Working on new entertainment advertising
- It is becoming a reason for people to come to Akita
As AI gets stronger, we are becoming able to face the issues that humans should be tackling. The key, he said, is to turn immediate concerns into new value.
Given these changes, the talk ended with the message: let's not only study AWS, but also look beyond technology, connect horizontally, and create new things!
Conclusion
Hearing about energy, I thought, Akita is amazing... I didn't know it has wind, submarine cables, Japan's largest substation, and few disasters all together, and that it has power it can supply to Japan. I'm told its food self-sufficiency rate is also high.
When I imagine it, if a disaster hits an urban area and the electricity goes out, nothing could be done... Akita has food and energy to spare, and I thought it has tremendous potential.
I thought aging was a commonly heard issue in regional areas, but I didn't know that Akita's aging rate is the highest in Japan. On top of that, I thought Mr. Numatani's perspective was amazing: "Eventually everywhere will come to resemble Akita's situation. So Akita is at the cutting edge, and if you can succeed in Akita, you can succeed in other regions too." It was a remark that viewed the current situation as a possibility rather than being pessimistic.
In aging Akita, there are drones suited to unmanned operation, the president of Japan's largest company in that field is from Akita, and the mayor reached out to him. That coincidence is amazing too. Horizontal connections are important.
