Can Tsukuba solve Japan’s biggest challenges? 

About the OECD #ResilientPlaces blog series 
In an era of unprecedented economic, environmental and geopolitical changes, local and regional leaders are uniquely placed to turn these changes into opportunities to improve the well-being of all citizens, strengthen resilience and boost competitiveness. Following the OECD Regional Development Policy Ministerial Committee meeting in Warsaw, Poland (19–20 May 2025), the OECD Champion Mayors, local and regional leaders, as well as stakeholders, continue to share innovative solutions to reinforce local and regional resilience in this blog series.

Tsukuba has an ambitious vision: “to become a city where you can see the future of the world”. It is not a far-fetched idea for a city that has been pushing boundaries for decades, since it was conceived in the 1960s as Japan’s largest research park, 50 kilometers from Tokyo. Now it is grappling with some of Japan’s greatest challenges including the need to do more with less as its labour force dwindles.

Tsukuba’s appeal

Japan’s population shrank for the 14th straight year in 2024 – but Tsukuba’s is bucking the trend. Its blend of nature and science, with easy access to Tokyo, has made it a magnet for new residents – giving it the highest population growth rate in Japan.

At the heart of this growth is its research power. Tsukuba is home to around 150 universities and research institutions, employing over 23,000 researchers – about 12% of the city’s population.

These science assets have boosted the city’s international appeal. Some 13,000 foreign residents now call Tsukuba home, adding to its international character. Global events like the 1985 Tsukuba Science Expo, and more recently the G7 and G20 meetings, have also helped place the city firmly on the world stage.

Infrastructure matters too. Since the opening of the Tsukuba Express in 2005, faster connections to Tokyo have spurred development. Along the line, new commercial and healthcare hubs are popping up. Young families are moving in, schools are being built, and neighbourhoods are thriving.

Tsukuba as a testbed

Now, Tsukuba is aiming higher. In April 2024, it was named one of just two Super City National Strategic Special Zones in Japan-alongside Osaka. This designation reinforces its leadership in Society 5.0: Japan’s vision for a super-smart, sustainable society that uses advanced technology to address real-world problems. But what challenges is Tsukuba actually solving?

Administrating with AI

First, population ageing. While Tsukuba as a whole is growing, its suburban areas face the same ageing and birth-rate decline as the rest of Japan. Fewer working-age people means skills gaps and public workforce shortages.

To respond, the city turned to generative artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2023, Tsukuba became the first municipality in Japan to roll out generative AI within its closed internal networks – a requirement in Japan’s public sector due to strict cybersecurity rules.

With support from a University of Tsukuba professor, the city successfully piloted, then deployed AI across its administration, supported by staff training and usage guidelines. The result? Routine tasks are being handled faster, freeing up time and budget for more strategic work.

These efforts have reduced the burden of routine tasks on city employees, enabling them to focus on more strategic and creative work while lowering costs.

Connecting with residents

Second, reconnecting with residents. Tsukuba’s AI and digital tools are helping the city to better understand – and respond to – residents’ needs.

By turning surveys and public meeting transcripts into searchable dashboards, Tsukuba can spot trends and emerging concerns quickly. It recently used this system to analyse feedback on local parks and city council debates. In one case, for instance, the city used AI to summarise both council discussions and resident survey results regarding public nursery schools, and then had the AI propose possible policy options based on that input.

But it’s not just about gathering data. The city is now focused on making this information more usable and accessible to residents – to fuel real change. The city plans to develop a digital platform powered by using generative AI available on the web for residents to freely access. Citizens will be able to interact with the platform and ask questions such as “can you summarise the mayor’s views on the shortage of classrooms in primary schools?” and receive AI-generated answers.

At the same time, Tsukuba is tackling the risks of democratic exclusion. Older residents and people with disabilities often face physical barriers to voting, putting participation at risk. Internet voting could help, but is not yet permitted in Japan. That’s why Tsukuba is piloting online voting and pushing for regulatory reform through its Special Zone status. The aim? Inclusive, barrier-free elections.

A Tsukuba for tomorrow

In all of these efforts, Tsukuba is blending its scientific strengths with progressive, future-oriented policy initiatives to chart a path toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and technologically advanced society – for Tsukuba, for Japan, and for the world. Tsukuba’s example shows how cities can become living labs for inclusive innovation. With the right policies, others can follow suit, turning local experiments into global solutions.

OECD support for Tsukuba’s smart, resilient innovation-led development
The OECD offers strategic insights relevant to Tsukuba’s Super-City ambitions, including A Territorial Approach to Climate Action and Resilience in Japan, the programme Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth, and Energy and Resilient Cities, all of which provide frameworks on AI-driven governance, place-based innovation, and urban resilience.