JTB Launches 2nd Phase of Local Product Development Service "Furupo CoLABO"

JTB Corp. has launched the second phase of "Furupo CoLABO," a service that provides comprehensive support from the planning and development of new local products to their commercialization and sales. This is an industry-government-academia collaboration project in partnership with Hiroshima City and Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior & Senior High School.

In this initiative, JTB collaborates with local government (Hiroshima City), educational institutions (Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior & Senior High School), and local businesses to plan new products utilizing local resources while incorporating the perspectives and sensibilities of students into the product planning.

This is an industry-government-academia collaborative effort where young people, who will be the future leaders of the region, proactively engage with local industries and resources, making it possible to simultaneously achieve sustainability of the local economy and the development of the next generation.

(Furupo CoLABO HP: https://j-furusato.com/furupo_colabo)

■ Background of the Initiative

Since 2014, JTB has been involved in the hometown tax donation (furusato nozei) business, supporting the creation and promotion of products utilizing local resources alongside municipalities and local businesses. On the other hand, many regions face apparent challenges such as a lack of new ideas and successors, as well as insufficient opportunities for young people to experience local industries and manufacturing, despite having valuable resources. Furupo CoLABO connects different businesses within a region, consistently supporting the planning and development of new local products that leverage mutual strengths, commercialization as hometown tax return gifts, and promotion. In the first phase, they provided product development support in Yufu City, Oita Prefecture.

(https://www.jtbcorp.jp/jp/newsroom/2025/10/01_jtb_furupocolabo.html)

In the second phase, they are partnering with the educational field. For many years, JTB has connected schools and regions through various initiatives such as educational travel. Leveraging this expertise and network, they aim to realize "local product development involving young people from the creation process" with the students of Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior & Senior High School, contributing to fostering a sense of ownership toward the region and building a sustainable local economic model.

■ About Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior & Senior High School

Through proactive and exploratory learning by the students themselves, Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior & Senior High School practices education that nurtures the ability of each individual to think, act, and disseminate information while connecting with society. This initiative is highly compatible with the "education that deepens learning through engagement with society" which the school values. (HP: https://www.hjs.ed.jp/)