A Desire to Make Sapporo a Creative City.

As a high school student, Taneichi organized events for his peers, gathering inexperienced artists of the same age to give them the experience of performing in front of an audience. He had always been interested in sociology, particularly urban and cultural development, and was concerned with "how to create a positive environment for creators and how a creative city is born."

With the members who produced the live shows during his student days

"Sapporo is rich in nature even in its city center, it's easy to walk around, there are plenty of exhibition spaces, and the food is cheap and delicious. I believed it was the perfect city for creators to live and create. But there weren't many creators in the area yet. The typical approach is to attract them if they aren't here, but I started to vaguely wonder if it was possible to turn Sapporo into a creative city by nurturing creators locally."

It was around that time that the owner of a community space run by Hokkaido University students invited him, saying, "Some interesting people are coming, why don't you join the event on this day?" That event was 'NoMaps.'

NoMaps is a framework for creating new value in Hokkaido through five programs: conferences, exhibitions, events, networking, and experiments. Held over five days each autumn, it features a rich lineup of over 100 sessions with a diverse range of guests.

The "interesting person" the owner mentioned was Takefumi Hirose, the Executive Director of the NoMaps Executive Committee. Taneichi had vaguely wanted to start a business since junior high school but was beginning to think it might be impossible for him. Hearing Hirose's talk, he was moved, thinking, "There's someone out there who is actually doing what I want to do."

An event scene from Taneichi's high school days, collaborating with Mr. Hirose of NoMaps

A Fateful Encounter with NoMaps Broadens His Horizons.

Hirose's message was that "Hokkaido has 179 municipalities, each with its own industry. There is no other place in Japan with such a diverse range of industries concentrated in one area, nor is there a place so vast with such a small population. This makes it the perfect place for both demonstration experiments and for gathering cutting-edge technology." He explained that in the future, the mainstream approach would be to test things in Hokkaido before bringing them to Tokyo, and NoMaps serves as the gateway for that. Taneichi was deeply impressed upon hearing this.

"I felt like the unease I had about regional revitalization was melting away. I was incredibly moved by the innovative positioning of making Hokkaido the first step for people active in Tokyo, rather than the conventional approach of creating a 'Little Tokyo' within the closed world of Sapporo. This idea remains a core belief of mine today."

After the event, Taneichi impulsively approached Hirose, saying, "I want to do something with you!" Although Hirose had said at the end of his talk, "If anyone wants to do something, please come and talk to me," he must have been quite surprised that the first person to approach him was a high school student in a school uniform.

"Despite his surprise, he was very courteous. In my third year of high school, I joined NoMaps as a student member, and we gradually increased our opportunities to work together."

Since Taneichi joined NoMaps, various interesting sessions have been held

With the cooperation of NoMaps, he was able to make his live show productions even more substantial. He once held a five-day live event, renting out multiple venues in Sapporo with the support of over a dozen sponsors. His encounter with NoMaps helped him develop the fundamental strength to "involve many people and plan big things when launching a project." Gradually, his aspirations, such as community development and supporting creators, became clearer.

"Many truly talented and creative kids aren't necessarily good at promoting themselves. That's why I felt there was a need for someone to connect them with adults in some way. Since NoMaps also serves as a regional hub or base camp, I thought I could create a community for young people, introducing them to interesting adults."

So, in his third year of high school, Taneichi founded his first company, 'IRENKA KOTAN' (now renamed Social Change Lab LLC). The name means "village of hope" in the Ainu language. He began working energetically, experimentally launching a student-focused community to connect with the activities of NoMaps.

Where Are the Aspiring Young Engineers in Hokkaido?

However, the spread of COVID-19 led to the cancellation of nearly all in-person events.

"So, to get used to the online format first, we mainly held online events in the first year. Partly because people couldn't meet in person during the pandemic, we once had about 300 university students gather overnight for an event."

In addition to his work with IRENKA KOTAN, he actively engaged in online community management and event organization. This included participating in 'BreakThrough,' a NoMaps program for high school students aspiring to be engineers, and 'STARTUP CITY SAPPORO,' a Sapporo City initiative to support startups, where he was involved in an entrepreneurship training program. Through these experiences, a new idea began to form.

"There are many kids who want to become entrepreneurs, and when they want to start something, they come to NoMaps. But when an entrepreneur tries to find an engineer, it's a real challenge because there isn't a community where young engineers regularly gather. Sapporo City has a goal of increasing startups, but there are no engineers. I didn't want to see more young people deciding to just go to Tokyo. I realized we had to start nurturing talented engineers here in Hokkaido."
It was then that he met Masayuki Kishimoto through an acquaintance. Kishimoto had invested in a company that runs a programming school in Tokyo and was talking about wanting to create one in his home region of Hokkaido. Taneichi shared his thoughts with him.

"Hokkaido is going to be short on engineers in the future, so if we don't start training them now, nothing will move forward. I had connections with student groups, so I could gather young people and build a community. When I told him this, we agreed on the spot, 'Let's do it.'"

And so, the 'Mikan Project' was born in February 2021. Now operating as the Mikan General Incorporated Association, it provides learning opportunities, chances to meet companies, and experiences in social implementation to cultivate local engineers.

Part of the 'Hokkaido Policy Project' conducted jointly by Mikan and Tomakomai City. In this project, municipalities present challenges, and Mikan's sponsoring companies provide technical support while working alongside engineers towards implementation.

Creating an Environment Where Hokkaido-Grown Engineers Can Thrive

"As Mr. Hirose said, Hokkaido has many industries, and each faces various challenges. In the near future, there will be a movement to solve these challenges with the power of technology. That's why Hokkaido needs engineers. Specifically, engineers who can dive into problems and solve them. I believe that an area like Hokkaido, with its many challenges, is the perfect place to nurture such talent."

Mikan calls these problem-solving engineers "Makers." The program is for people 25 and under. Currently, about 300 to 400 members are participating, and surprisingly, the youngest is in the second year of junior high school. In addition to study sessions, they also provide career support for university students. While offering learning opportunities to develop Makers, they are also creating an environment where these individuals can be active in the local community, working tirelessly to realize a model case in Hokkaido for building a foundation where engineers can grow.

A meeting for the 'Hokkaido Policy Project.' They value not just learning but also tackling real-world problems, with a strong desire to 'see the solutions we create implemented in society.'

"Mikan itself is run with the participation of companies, and many Tokyo-based firms have also sponsored us, helping to establish the image that 'when you think of engineers in Hokkaido, you think of Mikan.' Perhaps spurred by our activities, I feel that the number of projects targeting young people in Hokkaido has been steadily increasing since our company was founded. If we've been one of the catalysts for supporting what young people want to do or for turning attention to youth development, that's a very good thing."

Building a Hokkaido Culture That Becomes a Model for Other Countries.

A year has passed since Mikan was established, and many high-quality engineers are gradually being developed. Based in Hokkaido, they have even secured fully remote internships with companies in Tokyo. Mikan's existence has also prompted some companies to plan to set up branch offices in Hokkaido, showing its significant impact.

"Recently, we became a public partner of the Future Design Shibuya General Incorporated Association, a public-private-academic partnership run by Shibuya Ward. In the future, I want to focus on effectively matching IT companies in Shibuya Ward with Mikan's engineers. For example, I want to create a path for engineers who have gained experience in Tokyo to return to Hokkaido and start their own businesses. I feel a sense of purpose in being able to witness a moment where we might be able to create a good model case for the survival of regional areas."

Of course, he also feels joy in seeing his home region of Hokkaido being recognized, and finds it exciting to be able to approach large and complex challenges. He told us that he wants to continue his activities to create an environment where they can generate Hokkaido's culture themselves.

"Due to similarities in environment and city scale, there's a strong movement in Hokkaido to model things like the startup ecosystem (a system where public, private, and academic sectors collaborate to support startup growth) after Northern Europe. However, I also want to create a unique Hokkaido model. And I hope that model can become an option for other countries facing similar challenges. It's a great privilege to be able to define and create the future of Hokkaido ourselves, rather than just optimizing what's popular elsewhere."

He wants to take pride and be particular about creating a unique Hokkaido culture. And he wants to clearly communicate that the model they create originates from Hokkaido. Taneichi's aspirations will likely be realized, little by little, through the efforts of the young engineers who are steadily growing and developing.