The NIKKEI Smart City Consortium, hosted by Nikkei Inc., Japan’s most influential financial newspaper publisher, had its 3rd Symposium of FY2014 on November 6th, 2014, at Hamagin Hall in Yokohama.

Michi Kohno, President and CEO, served as the coordinator of a sum-up panel titled “Smart City Yokohama and the Creation of Maritime Industry”, which took place at the end of the symposium.

The panelists are: Professor Tamaki Ura, Visiting Professor of Center for Integrated Maritime Education and Research, Yokohama National University; Mr. Masato Nobutoki, Board Director of the Municipality in charge of the Future City Initiative by Cabinet Office, and Supervisory Director of Climate Change Policy Headquarters; Ms. Yukiko Araki, Head of Corporate Office for CSR & Environmental Strategy and Division President of Healthcare Business Division; and Mr. Akio Ito, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Research and Development, IHI Corporation.

The panel discussed a broad spectrum of issues including the urban environments and research environments to create maritime industry, projects by industry in the region, and capacity building needed for the new maritime businesses, and expressed the expects that Yokohama lead the global maritime industry as the hub of maritime cities of the world.

The panel discussions were reported on NIKKEI paper of December 8th, as well as the web site of NIKKEI Smart City Consortium.