Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Program 'Linn' Phase 2 to Launch in July 2026

The SHIBUYA QWS Innovation Council (Chairman: Yukio Nomura) and ADDReC Inc. (Representative: Daigo Fukushima) will hold Phase 2 of the co-creation project 'Linn (SHIBUYA Co-Creation Lab for Living Innovation)' starting Monday, July 6, 2026. With the main theme of 'Living and Housing: Living Innovation,' this 3-month co-creation program will bring together universities, research institutions, local governments, companies, creators, and artists across disciplines to jointly conceive and practice future ways of living, housing, and life. Applications open today, Wednesday, June 10, and close on Monday, June 29.

■ Phase 1 Results and Phase 2 Launch

In Phase 1, held from August to October 2025, 23 participants from companies, universities, local governments, and QWS projects took part. Through 3 months of co-creation, approximately 40 industry-academia-government collaboration ideas were generated, and several collaborative projects were launched. The co-creation program received high ratings with a satisfaction score of 4.3/5 and a continuation request score of 4.8/5. In Phase 2, based on the results and insights from Phase 1, the secretariat, involving the SHIBUYA QWS Innovation Council and design firm ADDReC, will strengthen its accompaniment support function, aiming for deeper industry-academia-government co-creation and accelerated implementation.

■ Program Features: Cross-disciplinary Co-creation Project Studio 'Linn Co-Creation Program'

Linn (Co-Creation Lab for Living Innovation) is a research and practice organization that deepens the question 'What is the richness of living and housing?' through cross-disciplinary collaboration among companies, universities, local governments, and also involving creators and artists. It aims to discover new ways of living and housing together.

The 'Co-creation Project Studio Linn Co-Creation Program,' now in its second edition, is not just a training session or ideathon. It is a 3-month co-creation workshop where participants bring their own company or personal resources, combine them with others to generate ideas, and launch seed projects. The projects that emerge will be guided by the Linn secretariat's accompaniment support towards concrete outcomes such as participation in the QWS Challenge, joint research, demonstration experiments, academic presentations, and co-authored papers.

■ Linn Secretariat's PMO Function: Accompaniment Support Leading Ideas to Implementation

To prevent ideas generated in workshops from stalling before implementation, the Linn secretariat is equipped with a PMO (Project Management Office) function. The PMO is a specialized secretariat function that bridges the languages and customs of companies, universities, local governments, creators, and artists, providing consistent accompaniment support from project formation to implementation. Specifically, it offers the following support:

- Matching companies with laboratories and local governments, and coordinating joint research agreements
- Coordination for demonstration experiments and commercialization (including providing fields like SHIBUYA QWS)
- Support for paper writing and academic presentations
- Support for securing implementation budgets and grants, and connecting with the QWS ecosystem

Collaborative projects born in Phase 1 are also being advanced under the continuous accompaniment support of this PMO function. Phase 2 aims to further strengthen this system and produce even more implementation results than Phase 1.

■ Facilitator Introduction

The main facilitator for Phase 2 will be Yukinobu Yokota, continuing from Phase 1.

Mr. Yukinobu Yokota

Innovation Director at ADDReC / Executive Fellow at i.school / Part-time Lecturer at Waseda University Business School. He served as Director at the University of Tokyo's i.school for 10 years and founded the innovation consulting firm i.lab in 2011. He is an expert in innovation creation and new business development, having supported over 100 new business and organizational transformation projects, primarily for major companies. His book 'INNOVATION PATH: How to Run Innovation Projects that Produce Results' (Nikkei BP, 2016) has been published in Japan, China, and Taiwan. He provides frontline facilitation that allows participants to learn while practicing future insight and business design.

■ Phase 2 Sub-themes and Theme Owners

With the main theme of 'Living and Housing,' theme owners bring their own research, business, issues, or future hypotheses as sub-themes, exploring possibilities for joint research and joint ventures starting from that direction. Participants will divide into groups based on their interests, bringing perspectives and experiences from other fields to explore the creation of ideas and collaboration possibilities with theme owners.

① Technology and the City (Living, Housing, and Technology)

Mr. Kota Minamizawa

Chair and Professor, Graduate School of Media Design (KMD), Keio University
Project Manager, Moonshot Research and Development Program Goal 1, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Graduated from the Department of Mathematical Engineering and Information Physics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo in 2005, completed his Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo in 2010. He directs the KMD Embodied Media Project, promoting research, development, and social implementation of embodied media that shares, creates, and extends physical experiences, and the Haptic Design Project for disseminating haptic design. He serves as Secretary of the Young Academy of Japan, Science Council of Japan, and Technical Advisor to Telexistence Inc.

② Shibuya Ward and Community Development

Ms. Yuki Hashimoto

Shibuya Ward Assembly Member

Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, University of Tokyo. After working as an idol under the name 'Kamen Joshi,' she was first elected to the Shibuya Ward Assembly in 2019 (the youngest at the time). She focuses on promoting diversity and inclusion, supporting women's health, and creating new mechanisms for 'community development' that transcend administrative boundaries. As a Shibuya Ward Assembly Member, she leads the co-creation of the region's future between the administration and the private sector.

③ Travel and Tourism

Theme Owner: Coming Soon

■ Value for Participants

In Phase 2, the program will strengthen diversity, which was a challenge in Phase 1, and expand participation opportunities for local government and university members. For participants from each sector of industry, academia, and government, Linn serves as a place to aim for the following outcomes:

[For Researchers] Opportunities for joint research, testing specialized knowledge in real society, and dialogue with diverse stakeholders.

[For Companies] Seeds for new businesses through collaboration with different industries and government, and acquisition of fields for social implementation.

[For Government] Building sustainable collaborative regional problem-solving schemes incorporating insights from the private sector and research institutions.

■ Phase 2 Application Guidelines

Program Name: Linn Co-Creation Program Phase 2
Program Period: July to September 2026 (5 sessions total / 2.5 hours each / Venue: SHIBUYA QWS)
Day 1: Monday, July 6, 18:30-21:30
Day 2: Friday, July 24, 18:30-21:30
Day 3: Monday, August 4, 18:30-21:30
Day 4: Friday, August 14, 18:30-21:30
Day 5: Wednesday, September 2, 18:30-21:30
Target Participants: Individuals and organizations from any field, including companies, universities/research institutions, local governments, creators, and artists.