TEAM UP for a Sustainable World:An All Choshi Effort to Reshape the City"s Future with Wind Power


An "All Choshi" Effort to Reshape
the City's Future with Wind Power
TEAM UP for a Sustainable World

Offshore Wind Farm Project (3)
Choshi City in Japan's Chiba Prefecture is known for being home to a port that has boasted the country's highest catch rate for 11 straight years, but its appeal is not limited to its fishing industry. Notable for example, are its craft beers and initiatives led by young entrepreneurs, such as products being developed using specially grown out-of-spec cabbages. Recently a new project has begun off its coast, a wind farm that is capturing attention for its impact on the country's quest to develop renewable energies. How will this project add to the region's appeal and help address the problems it is facing? In volume 3 of our feature on the Choshi wind farm, local industry representatives and MC Group employees answer those questions and talk about the city's future.
- Roundtable Participants
-
Takayuki Shida (Office Head, Choshi City Offshore Wind Farm Development Office)
Takehiro Yamazaki (Director, Choshi Chamber of Commerce & Industry)
Yoshie Sakuma (CEO, Choshi Cheers Co., Ltd.)
Hidehiko Sakao (CEO, Hennery Farm)
Ryo Hanazaki (Mitsubishi Corporation Offshore Wind Ltd.)
Kaori Kuroda (Mitsubishi Corporation Offshore Wind Ltd.) - Interviewer
- Kazuhiro Sekine (Globe+ Editor in Chief)
A 21st-Century Barter Town? The Unique Appeal of Choshi City
—— Choshi is known as a fishing town, but there's a lot more to like about it than that. All of you are from the region, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on what makes it special.
Yamazaki I left Choshi briefly to attend high school, but I came back after I finished school and entered the workforce. One of the things I like about this city is its mild climate, which makes it a comfortable place to live. It doesn't snow in the winter and the ocean breezes make for cool summers. In fact, before we had children, we didn't even need an air conditioner at home. It's a great place to have kids too, because you can easily have a fun day out with them by the seaside. The residents of Choshi are warm, easy going people whom you can befriend with little to no obligations. There's a great deal of give and take between acquaintances here. I've received entire cases of vegetables and one time I was even given 21 freshly caught skipjack tuna! (laughs)

Sakuma I know what you're saying. When I was a child, you didn't buy things like fruits and vegetables in Choshi, you were simply given them (laughs). Choshi is known for its abundant produce, including toudai (lighthouse) cabbage, daikon, watermelon, strawberries and melons. It's also home to Inubosaki Lighthouse, the first place in Japan where you can view the rising sun, and other attractions like the Byobugaura Inlet and popular Choshi Electric Railway. Like you, I was ironically reminded of the city's charm when I briefly moved away from the area.

Sakao What makes Choshi great in my opinion are its people. It could just be due to the nature of those who are born and raised here, I'm not sure, but the city's culture is one that truly values personal relationships. The way that residents trade things with one another is an example of that. I'm a farmer, and I often take cabbages, daikon, edamame and other produce to the local fishermen. They reciprocate by leaving skipjack tuna, mackerel and other fish on my doorstep. There's never any names attached to the gifts, so I just assume they're from the fishermen I gave my produce to and I'm happy to eat them. Days later, someone will approach me and ask, "So did you enjoy the fish?" and it's only then that I realize who gave them to me (laughs).

Shrinking Population Shedding Light on a City's Challenges
—— Choshi is definitely a warm, friendly place, but it does have its share of challenges too. Can you tell me a bit about those?
Shida A big one is population decline. Choshi's inauguration as a city made it the second largest in the prefecture (after Chiba City), and its population grew very quickly after that, peaking at more than 90,000 residents in 1965. Today, there are fewer than 60,000 people living here. Population decline makes municipalities less vibrant, and you can keenly sense the dropoff in local employers. There are just fewer and fewer places to find work here nowadays, particularly the kind of work that young people want to do. They often pursue their educations in Tokyo and don't return after graduating because there are no jobs here. The city officials are now working on a comprehensive strategy to revitalize Choshi by bringing back jobs and people. Personally, I like the climate and atmoshere. It's a comfortable place to live and work, and whenever business or something else takes me to Tokyo, I'm usually only there for a day before I'm longing to come home again (laughs).

Yamazaki A lack of successors is also a big problem for Choshi. It's not uncommon for the older generations who are running the city's businesses to be content to let their businesses die with them, accepting that younger folk will be leaving the area and heading to the big cities. In a way, you could say that those who actually live in Choshi are failing to notice their city's appeal and promise.
Sakuma After I graduated from high school, I studied in the United States, and for a long time after that I was away from the city, but when I'd return here to have my children, I'd be surprised to see how many shops where shuttered up in our local shopping arcade. My family also used to run a restaurant here, but with fewer and fewer people around to have parties, celebrations and other reasons to eat out, our business gradually started to taper off. We closed the restaurant four years ago. Having witnessed Choshi's decline, I realized that we had to do something to save the city.
Agriculture and Beer Blowing New Life into Choshi
—— Mr. Sakao, you run Hennery Farm, which grows cabbages and corn. The farm has reshaped agriculture in some interesting ways, which go beyond producing fresh vegetables. Can you give us some insight into its background?
Sakao I'm a 12th-generation farmer, but I never actually wanted to become one. I started when I was 18 and I didn't like it at all, so two years later I left for Tokyo and got a job in a dance club as a DJ. I returned to Choshi about two years after that, which was when I first recognized the appeal of farming. Even so, I found it difficult to see the relationship between producers and consumers in the agriculture industry. We just grew crops and shipped them. Even if people liked them and ate them, we couldn't see that or hear anyone say how delicious they were. So I figured if I sprinkled our farm's vegetables with a little salt and took them directly to consumers, I'd experience their reactions for myself and find my life as a farmer more rewarding and enjoyable.

That experiment went well enough to inspire us to launch an online sales platform and other means to sell our vegetables directly to consumers. We also started a program for people to come and experience farming for themselves, so that they could learn about both the challenges and joys of working in agriculture. Once people started signing up for the experience, we knew that we'd need to also provide them with places to stay and eat. If people who buy our produce come back to Choshi to have fun, experience farming, dine out, stay for a few days, buy souvenirs, and so on, it will no doubt benefit the entire region. Agriculture has the power to bring people together and enjoy themselves in a natural, organic way, so that's the kind of farm that I want to run.
—— Ms. Sakuma, I understand that your brewery has launched its own craft beer called "Choshi Beer." Can you tell me about that?
Sakuma When I saw the shuttered shops, I realized that we needed something that could capture this city's appeal and draw people to it, and that's when I remembered a craft beer brewery I'd visited in the States. It had not only its own restaurant, but also a kids' play center and a store that sold camping equipment. It was actually more like a theme park for people of all ages. The thing that struck me most though, was how great it must be for locals to have their own craft beers, which represent where they're from and can always be a source of hometown pride. I was confident that sooner or later, craft beer would also take off in Japan, and I was excited by all of the possibilities it offered for breweries. When you brew craft beer, you have the freedom to choose your own raw materials and experiment with a variety of different flavor combinations.

So I worked hard to draw up recipes, brew some experimental batches and find a good location for our brewery, and in June 2017, we released our "Choshi Ale," a brew that goes well with the local seafood. In 2020, we completed construction of another brewery in the Inubo Terasu Terrace complex, which is close to the Inubosaki Lighthouse. That brewery was something I'd really been keen to set up, so I was delighted when we opened its doors for business. We've also been hosting a variety of beer-related events and activities, such as our "Choshi Beer Car" plan to book the Choshi Electric Railway, and last year's "Choshi Good Beer Garden." They reminded me of how powerful beer can be in bringing people together, and how important it is for us to combine the many attributes and charms of this region. Recently, more young people have been contacting us with requests to work at Choshi Beer.

Our goal is for the Choshi Beer brand to endure for 100 years, and I believe that even though we operate out of a small city like Choshi, we can both take on and contribute to the world of craft beer. The other day, a beer developed by our brewers won a gold medal at an international craft-beer contest in the UK, and we're also hoping to do our part help address global poverty through the fair-trade sourcing of herbs from farmers of organic produce in Laos. There's still much more to do and achieve, but if all goes well, people from this region will still be taking pride in the Choshi Beer brand a century from now.
The Economic Impact of Offshore Wind Power
—— Considering all of the local, homegrown charm that you guys have been talking about, why would this city want an offshore wind farm?
Shida Well, to start, you can't just erect a offshore wind farm anywhere you want. The conditions have to be right. For example, you need a coastline with strong and reliable winds, and for fixed-foundation turbines, which are the type being installed here, you need shallows that extend quite far out from the beach. A demonstration turbine was erected off the coast of Choshi CIty, and it proved that our waters are a suitable location. Also, as the others have mentioned, the area's dwindling population is rapidly eroding its vitality, so erecting a offshore wind farm has the potential to spark new life into it. That's why the municipal authorities have been so proactive about bringing in the developers and making this project happen.
—— Can you be more specific about the effects that this farm will have on the community?
Shida Offshore wind farms are said to have tens of thousands of components, so their construction involves a lot of peripheral industries. That means that this farm in Choshi has the potential to engage numerous local businesses and create jobs for young people.
Yamazaki The Choshi City Chamber of Commerce and Industry is giving this project its full support, because we want it to create business for as many local companies as possible.
Shida Offshore wind farms also require a lot of maintenance, which will be handled by a new company jointly established by Choshi City's fishery cooperative, chamber of commerce, and municipal authorities. It's called Choshi City Offshore Wind Services, or "C-COWS" for short. We're hoping to build up local know-how and develop Choshi's own wind-power industry, and we're confident that all of the city's residents will recognize how committed our entire community is to this project.
Yamazaki There are local authorities and chamber-of-commerce officials all across Japan who are considering offshore wind projects, and right now they're coming to our city to see how things are taking shape. We're obviously keen to welcome them, and we're even thinking of inviting others to come in the future, in the form of school trips, company training programs, and so on.
—— The MC Group is one of the project's corporate interests. How is it planning on leveraging this offshore wind farm to benefit the region and Japan in general?

Hanazaki Offshore wind farms will be essential if we hope to make renewables the nucleus of Japan's energy mix, so a stable power supply from this business is going to be extremely important. The MC Group has been developing offshore wind projects in Europe for the last decade, so we're confident that we can use that experience to make this project in Choshi successful. We're also aiming to revitalize the area, not only by ensuring that the offshore wind farm's maintenance is localized, but also by engaging seemingly unrelated industries, such as food products and tourism for example. As a sogo shosha, we're uniquely capable of leveraging connections between so many different businesses and sectors, and we're excited for this opportunity to grow in step with the people of Choshi.
A Shosha's Pursuit of Choshi's Growing Possibilities
—— Mr. Sakao and Ms. Sakuma, I'd also like to get your opinions on this offshore wind farm coming to Choshi. What possibilities do you see it creating for the community?
Sakao One thing that has long plagued Japan's farmers is the discarding of fruits and vegetables that are considered "out-of-spec," meaning that perfectly good produce will often not be sold simply because it doesn't conform to the ideal size, shape and so on. At Hennery Farm, we're working with a gyoza maker to use non-standard cabbage as ingredients to produce a particular brand of dumpling called "Afuro Kyabetsu." Afuro is the Japanese pronunciation of afro, which is a type of hairstyle. The offshore wind farm business opened the door for conversations with MC and Lawson, and because doing so will also help them to strengthen Lawson's sales, they're backing our efforts and carrying the Afuro Kyabetsu dumplings at Lawson stores throughout Choshi City. I'm looking forward to seeing more and more new opportunities like that.

Hanazaki Lawson's entire Choshi City team shares Mr. Sakao's ambitions, and they've worked together to come with new sales techniques and other ideas. We're hearing that thanks to these products being visible on Lawson's shelves, more and more locals are now showing interest in Mr. Sakao's initiatives, Choshi Beer, and so on. We didn't expect that to happen, but it's been a welcome bonus for sure.
Sakuma We're really grateful to Lawson for providing us with another outlet for Choshi Beer and helping us to grow our sales channels. From here on, we'll be looking to expand our brewing facilities and venture into international markets, so we'd love to get more advice from the experts at Lawson and MC.

This will be the first offshore wind farm on the Pacific coast, and personally speaking, I think it will really enhance Choshi's value once it is completed, as the city is not very far from Narita International Airport. I look forward to the day when Choshi City is hosting climate-related summits, meetings on renewable energies and sustainable development goals, and other forums for global interests to convene. People from all over the world will get the opportunity to sample the city's produce, seafood and beer, which should no doubt enhance its reputation throughout the international community. Launching this offshore wind-farm project has made it possible for all of us to dream big.
Kuroda It's motivating to hear everyone's high expectations, and at Mitsubishi Offshore, we're very keen to pursue new ideas, such as hosting future summits as Ms. Sakuma suggests. We'll be discussing what we can do with other MC Group companies and taking steady steps to put our plans into action. This is our first project, so there are certain to be some growing pains ahead, but we're determined to do our best and justify to the people of Choshi that they were right to put their faith in us.

—— I understand that Choshi is also doing a lot to train local professionals. Can you tell me about that?
Hanazaki As we've worked to find solutions to Choshi's problems, we've been reminded of just how much a region's growth and future rely on its own human resources; but at the same time, we also wanted to see what ideas MC's people could bring to the table. When we approached them, they introduced us to a company called Inter Local Partners, which is an agricultural subsidiary of Kirin Holdings that grows produce in this part of Japan and is also developing a leadership training program. Kirin Holdings is collaborating on the wind farm project as well, so this was a sensible matchup. We worked with Inter Local Partners to conduct a demonstration business-school project called the "Choshi Local Leaders School," which was very well received by everyone who participated. When the demonstration ended, many of the participants were asking us to keep it going, create another version of it specifically for those in the fishing industry, and so on. The feedback was very positive.
Sakuma Mr. Sakao, myself and about 20 others attended the school's first term. They included both local businesspeople and people with aspirations to launch their own businesses in the future. The courses had us think about Choshi's future and conduct field work in places throughout the region where businesses had been launched successfully. All of us got to thinking that there was more we could do for the city, and that shared ambition is what still connects us today.
Hanazaki It'll soon be two years since we came to Choshi, and we're finally starting to understand this city's problems and potential. Our hope is to use the power of business to address the region's challenges and needs, so we're excited about building win-win relationships with the residents here and getting them to use our resources and capabilities as much as possible. I think that's the essence of our sought-after and sustainable co-existence.
A City that the Next Generation Can be Proud of
—— To conclude our discussion, can each of you summarize your thoughts about Choshi and how you hope it will evolve?
Yamazaki When I was young, I tended to focus on things that the big cities had but Choshi didn't, but wherever I go nowadays I'm reminded of how great it is to be from this part of Japan. In the future, I'm hoping that my children and grandchildren will boast about their hometown as "the place with the wind farm," and I intend to do whatever I can to help make that happen.
Sakao The reason I became a farmer was to help build Choshi into a city that the next generation can be proud of. To do that, it's vital that I first take pride in my own work and make sure that my children also appreciate it enough to want to take over from me when I retire. I'd love for that desire to grow throughout Choshi, so that everyone who lives here will speak about how vibrant and great a city it is.
Sakuma The other day, there was a work-experience program held here for junior high school students, and I took the opportunity to tell them about all of Choshi's claims of "best in Japan," and how important it is to never give up and never forget about taking on new challenges. I want this wind farm to inspire more of our city's children and adults alike to look to the future, and to think about society at large as well, meaning not just Choshi and Japan, but the entire international community. I think doing so can also give us reason to appreciate where we're from and take even greater pride in it. My company is still just a small one, but I'm committed to making it succeed and play a role in building the future of our city.
Shida Choshi may be known as a fishing town, but it's also a wind town. In fact, there are already 34 land-based turbines in this city, which account for roughly 70% of Chiba Prefecture's onshore wind infrastructure. Adding offshore wind power will almost certainly inject more life into the city and give it real credibility as a hub for renewable energy. This is where Choshi Denryoku, the new local power authority established by Choshi's municipal government, is going to play a huge role. We have to maximize its capabilities to advance local-production-for-local-consumption initiatives in renewables.
Kuroda The wind farm will likely increase media exposure of Choshi, and I think that will lead to more people showing an interest in the city and making their way here. I'd like to get involved in more projects in the future that will give people a taste of this great city and all it produces, from vegetables and fish to beer and all other manner of local products and services.
Hanazaki In terms of leveraging offshore wind power to help realize Japan's "regional revitalization" goals, my dream is for Choshi to be on the cutting edge of the world's wind-power industry. I want this city to impress people throughout not only Japan, but the entire world. To make that dream come true, I'll need to keep taking on new challenges with all the fine people I've met here, and I'm very much looking forward to doing that.

- Offshore Wind Farm Project (1)
- Offshore Wind Farm Project (2)
- Offshore Wind Farm Project (3)