【Event Report】'Noto Recovery Forum' Held in Shika Town, Ishikawa, Focusing on Utilizing Vacant Houses

On Saturday, May 30, 2026, we hosted the 'Noto Recovery Forum based on Shika Town's Vacant Houses' in Shika Town, Hakui District, Ishikawa Prefecture, aiming for the recovery of the Noto Peninsula and sustainable community building. The event secretariat was managed by Asian Bridge Co., Ltd. (HQ: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Hiroyasu Konishi), a company providing local hiring and migration support.

The event brought together professionals at the forefront of various fields, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), ANA Holdings, architecture, real estate, regional economy, and relationship population creation. Furthermore, municipal officials from Shika Town, Nakanoto Town, Hakui City, and Himi City attended. Discussions and workshops were held based on the theme of 'what can we actually do as concrete actions,' moving beyond mere idealism.

Background: A Wide-Area Noto Regeneration Model Starting from Shika Town

Flexible and bold utilization of increasing vacant houses is a critical issue in the recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake. This project started when Asian Bridge, having been consulted by a vacant house owner in Shika Town, sought cooperation from AlbaLink, an expert in vacant house regeneration. The project centers on the renovation of a 181-year-old traditional house. Shika Town has high potential as a 'relay point and wide-area hub for recovery support,' as it provides access to the entire Noto region, including Nanao City, Wajima City, and Suzu City, within 1 to 1.5 hours. This forum was held as a kickoff to rapidly deploy the success model in Shika Town to neighboring municipalities and lead to wide-area regeneration of the entire Noto region.

Event Program

1. Perspective from the Government and Private Sector: Input from Public and Private Leaders At the start, Masayoshi Kuroda, Director-General of the Minister's Secretariat at MLIT, spoke about issues surrounding dual-residency and vacant houses, along with government efforts. Following this, Yoshiaki Tsuda, Senior Executive Vice President of ANA Holdings (Co-representative of the National Platform for Promoting Dual-Residency), shared advanced insights regarding the promotion of dual-residency and the ANA Group's 'ANA BLUE SKYLIFE' initiative.

2. Field Inspiration: Inspection of the 181-Year-Old Traditional House to be Regenerated by AlbaLink Participants gathered to inspect the 181-year-old traditional house in Shika Town, the starting point of this project. Beyond simple renovation, they experienced the challenges and possibilities from the ground up, considering how it should be reborn as a 'wide-area hub' to accelerate Noto's overall recovery.

3. Guiding Future Actions: 'Future Press Release' Workshop In the latter session, group work was conducted under the theme of 'Thinking about Noto's Regeneration from Vacant House Utilization.' By creating a virtual 'Future Press Release' (results aimed to be achieved in a few years), players from different fields—construction, vacant house regeneration, architectural design, regional trading companies—sat together with municipal officials to announce their next actions.

In the final part, Governor Yamano of Ishikawa Prefecture provided greetings. He touched on traditional architectural insights, such as how the main building of the 181-year-old 'Kuroda House' acted as an 'earthquake isolation structure' during the earthquake and the role of surrounding trees as natural embankments.