On September 10, 2026, the Community Drive Project, in which ZUKAI takes part, held a press conference announcing its fiscal 2026 activities and a kickoff event at PYNT Takebashi in Takebashi, Tokyo.
The Community Drive Project is an effort in which residents, companies and local government think through and solve local mobility problems together. It was started in July 2024 by three organizations: SMART Fukushi Lab (a general incorporated association), Nikken Sekkei Ltd and ZUKAI Inc. It is operated by the general incorporated association Community Drive.
Five areas in fiscal 2026
In fiscal 2026, its third year, the project grew from two areas to five.
- Kurobe, Toyama (third year)
- Fukuyama, Hiroshima (second year)
- Matsue, Shimane (first year)
- Toyooka, Hyogo (first year)
- Ichihara, Chiba (first year)
The projects in these five areas are among those selected for the fiscal 2026 program of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for resolving "transport gaps" (the mobility talent and organization development category), announced by the ministry on April 28, 2026. The applicants were the organizations and companies that run the work in each area. The Community Drive Project coordinates the five areas and supports them as they proceed.
- MLIT's announcement of the selected projects (in Japanese)
- The Community Drive Project's notice on the selection in five municipalities (in Japanese)
In 2025, ZUKAI joined MLIT's public-private platform for resolving "transport gaps".
The press conference
Before the kickoff event, an online press conference was held from 13:00 the same day. SMART Fukushi Lab, Nikken Sekkei and ZUKAI spoke, with our CEO, Tetsuro Kondo, speaking for ZUKAI.
From a survey of efforts around the country, Kondo reported three things that the efforts that have lasted have in common.
- They have more than one source of funding and do not rely on subsidies alone
- There is someone in the community who takes the lead
- There is ground around that person that supports them
He also explained how the program proceeds: a kickoff; dialogue, research and visualization; small experiments; and building an organization that can keep going. In the dialogue and research stage, the voices collected are turned into a "mobility issue map," in which the causal relationships between issues are drawn as arrows. ZUKAI is responsible for developing this map and for providing Kadai, the tool used to make it.
The kickoff event
The kickoff event from 15:00 brought together people from companies, local government and the communities. In the first half, the common points of lasting efforts found in the research were shared. In the second half, the five areas of Matsue, Toyooka, Ichihara, Fukuyama and Kurobe each reported on their progress.
A summary of the day is on the Community Drive Project's site.
The project aims to complete its program within fiscal 2026. A forum and a report meeting are planned for February 2027.
Event details
- Date: Thursday, September 10, 2026. Press conference from 13:00; kickoff event 15:00–18:00
- Venue: PYNT Takebashi (5F Palaceside Building, 1-1-1 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
- Organizer: The Community Drive Project (SMART Fukushi Lab, Nikken Sekkei Ltd and ZUKAI Inc.)
