Fukuoka City is currently attracting attention as the most dynamic regional city. According to an estimate in February 2020, the population is as high as nearly 1,596,000, making it the fifth-largest city among government-designated cities, and second only to Kawasaki City in terms of population growth rate. The declining birthrate and aging population is a serious issue facing Japanese society as a whole. As a countermeasure, Fukuoka City's important growth strategies—startup counseling services (Startup support) and tourism and MICE business (Note 1)—have brought local dynamism.
change. In May 2014, Fukuoka City was selected as a national strategic special zone "Transnational Entrepreneurship and Employment Opportunity photo background removing Creation Special Zone", and actively promotes entrepreneurial counseling and subsidy programs. The opening rate (Note 2) of Fukuoka City ranked first in the country in 2013-15 and 2018 respectively (Note 3), and the ratio of young entrepreneurs is also high. In addition, according to the tourism statistics of Fukuoka City, the number of foreign arrivals in 2018 is about 3,094,000, an increase of 2.6 times in the past five years. South Korea accounted for 51% of the arrivals, and Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong were included, and the top four countries/regions accounted for 74.8%. In fact, going back to 2000 years ago, Fukuoka was connected to the Korean Peninsula and Eurasia by sea, and was the first to come into contact with unknown foreign cultures.
Moreover, it has developed means of production and economic activities that have never been experienced before, overcomes threats that have never been encountered before, and has always maintained the appearance of a prosperous and prosperous city. Today's Fukuoka City has injected new vitality through "Startup" and "Foreign Exchange", as if inheriting the historical DNA inherited from ancient times. Ancient Japanese diplomacy and trade table entrance The rice farming technology that came from the Korean peninsula can be traced back to 2,500 years ago, and the Fukuoka Plain was the first place where paddy rice farming appeared in Japan. According to a survey conducted in 1978, the irrigation technology of adjusting the amount of water through canals and weirs was confirmed in the Itatsu ruins (Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City) of the Huanho settlement. For the Japanese who eat rice as their staple food, the Itatsu ruins are the oldest rural villages.