Yanai City Hall, General Policy Department, Regional Development Promotion Division

This is a project to support the dissemination of information to promote relocation and settlement in Yanai City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, next to Suo-Oshima Town, where Monosus' satellite office is located. The first project we started in 2023 was to use note to disseminate information about life and work in Yanai City.

Conventionally, city hall communications have tended to be limited to announcements about the local government, such as subsidies and city systems. In order to promote relocation and settlement, this project aims to convey the broad appeal of the lifestyles and environment of the people in the city, such as by interviewing organizations, including private companies, and introducing the rich lifestyles that individual city hall employees experience in their daily lives.

In 2024, we will continue to operate the note mentioned above, and also plan to support the dissemination of information widely through the creation of pamphlets and announcements at events.

Applying a marketing perspective to rural relocation initiatives

Yanai City in Yamaguchi Prefecture has flourished as a commercial center since the Edo period, and even today it attracts visitors from neighboring cities and towns. While the city has a large daytime population, it is facing gradual, underlying issues such as population decline, a declining birthrate and aging population, and the problem of vacant houses.

Facing the common challenge of encouraging people to move to and settle in Yanai, which is a challenge shared by many local governments across the country, we thought that we could utilize the marketing perspective that Monosus has traditionally focused on, such as sales promotion and recruitment, to get people to learn about Yanai City and visit the city.

Yanai City is unfortunately not very well known nationwide, and it was a latecomer to start focusing on activities to promote relocation and settlement. In other words, rather than "big, well-known companies," we felt there was something in common with the companies Monosus has been supporting for many years in its web production, such as "good companies that are not well known by consumers" and "small and medium-sized enterprises that are struggling to differentiate themselves from others," and so we decided to work together.

"I thought it would be interesting, and it just so happened to be in Yanai City."

Yanai City is close to nature such as the mountains and the sea, and is a warm place with little rain throughout the year. At the same time, the city area around the station is convenient, with hospitals and many commercial facilities, making it a very livable city. However, the coexistence of rural charm and convenience makes it difficult to appeal to the public with a single, easy-to-imagine phrase such as "When you think of Yanai City, you think of ___".

The aim of this initiative is not to just promote the easy-to-picture aspects such as festivals and tourist spots, but to highlight the many small but fascinating aspects of the lives of the people who live there, and to carefully convey the way each person lives, as well as the activities of each company or organization.

This allows us to convey information that resonates deeply with each individual, making them think, "I found something interesting and wonderful, and it just so happened to be in Yanai City," and "This seems like it would suit me," or "This could be a place for me." We aim to convey the great things about Yanai City by welcoming and showing each person who shares our sentiments.

First of all, I want the people living here to experience the wonderfulness of the "ordinary" things.

Concrete efforts have only just begun, and as of April 2024, numerical results such as the number of consultations will be available, but the number of visitors to the website has grown more than expected, making us feel once again the weight of the responsibility of communicating this information as a local government.

An even bigger change is that by writing articles about each of the activities, the companies and organizations featured in the articles have once again reaffirmed their pride in their own activities.Also, city hall staff involved in the projects have stepped out and gotten involved, discovered the good things about the region, and started to spread the word.

When I was walking down the street in the morning, a primary school student greeted me loudly. When I went to the fishmonger's, he said, "This fish was swimming until this morning, and grilled fish is delicious," and I decided what to have for dinner. When he said, "If you quit your job, help me out here until you find another job," and I got a job. When I looked back on my way home from work, I could see the sea illuminated by the full moon, making a "moon road."

For the citizens of Yanai, what is considered "normal" everyday life is actually a luxury that is not to be taken for granted. By reaffirming this and beginning to communicate this, we hope to increase the number of "interesting and wonderful things" in the city, and ultimately mark the start of activities that will lead to the revitalization of the city and encourage people to move and settle there.

An interview with Kanai Sekiyuten, a company that has been in business for over 100 years and is rooted in the local community

Satoshi Morita (Chief of the Regional Development Promotion Section, General Policy Department, Yanai City)

In promoting the city's relocation policy plan, information dissemination was a weak point. After the agreement with Monosus, they showed us a plan for future developments at an early stage. It was impressive that the plan was clarified so early, with detailed descriptions of future approaches. It can be said to be an achievement that the path forward was clear in such a short period of three years. All that remains is to put it into action.

Yasuhiko Kawabe (Chief, Regional Development Promotion Division, General Policy Department, Yanai City)

When I started working with Monosus, I visited the satellite office in Suo-Oshima several times to consult with them. I still remember the look of disappointment on the former section manager's face when he first told me it would be difficult, and the look of delight on his face when he later agreed to take on the project. I really rely on them for taking on projects that are difficult for us to handle.

Kaori Takeda (Regional Development Promotion Division, General Policy Department, Yanai City)

Through this work, I have been able to connect with local people and businesses that I didn't know before. I think that by including Monosas people who are also immigrants, I was able to hear frank stories from my interviewees. The projects we will be working on together in the future are unknown, but I'm excited about them. I look forward to working with you in the future.

Yujiro Nakajima (Migration Coordinator, Regional Development Promotion Division, General Policy Department, Yanai City)

From the city hall's perspective, we need to prioritize fairness over proactive activities, and we feel that it is difficult to move the project forward. On the other hand, we can also see that our activities are helping to revitalize the local community.