Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture and Change Holdings Sign Comprehensive Partnership Agreement for Regional Revitalization and Sustainable Urban Development

Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture (Mayor: Fumiaki Okahara, hereinafter "Uwajima City") and Change Holdings, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Satoshi Fukudome, hereinafter "Change HD") have signed a comprehensive partnership agreement*1 regarding regional revitalization and sustainable urban development. Through this agreement, and in pursuit of Uwajima City's vision of becoming a 'City of Choice 2.0,' Change HD will leverage its group assets to build a 'Policy Ecosystem.' This will be achieved by driving DX, fostering industry-academia-government-citizen collaboration, utilizing external talent, securing financial resources, and concretizing business concepts. This marks the first time Change HD has signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with a local government in Japan. *1 A 'comprehensive partnership agreement' refers to a collaborative relationship that builds cooperation across multiple fields, rather than for a single purpose. ■ Overview of the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement ・Purpose: To strengthen cooperation based on a shared understanding of regional issues, and to effectively utilize human resources, physical resources, financial resources, and technology to engage in regional revitalization and sustainable urban development.

・Areas of Cooperation: (1) Regional revitalization through industry-academia-government-citizen collaboration (2) Creation of 'related populations' (people who have a connection to the region) (3) Promotion of regional and public DX (4) Other matters related to the promotion of regional revitalization and sustainable urban development

Since 2022, Change HD's subsidiary, Govermates, Inc. (Headquarters: Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture; Representative Director: Fuyu Tanaka), has been supporting the city's DX initiatives. This new agreement further strengthens this relationship, utilizing the assets of over 20 companies within the Change Group to implement measures for regional revitalization and sustainable development. ■ Key initiatives to be promoted by Uwajima City and Change HD under this agreement: ・Strengthening the public-private partnership framework and developing projects using diverse financial and material resources to promote regional revitalization and sustainable urban development.

・Strengthening internal planning functions and creating mechanisms to solve regional issues by incorporating external expertise into the formulation of comprehensive plans and various policy proposals.

・Introducing methods to collect and reflect a wider range of opinions by utilizing digital technology alongside in-person engagement to enhance resident participation.

・Promoting new initiatives that contribute to information dissemination and building continuous connections with the region to create and expand the 'related population.'

Change HD is committed to regional revitalization by visualizing regional issues, reforming operations, and supporting the implementation of digital technology. By leveraging the talent, knowledge, services, and networks of its group companies, it promotes sustainable regional development alongside local governments. Through this agreement, Change HD will further support Uwajima City's efforts in regional revitalization, the creation of related populations, industry-academia-government-citizen collaboration, and public DX. Uwajima City is advancing new measures in a wide range of fields to realize 'City of Choice 2.0,' including refining regional resources, promoting tourism, ensuring the sustainable development of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and commerce, enhancing childcare and educational environments, and strengthening disaster prevention, regional transportation, and medical welfare. To steadily advance these initiatives, the city requires a partner that can provide integrated support from policy formulation to execution, public-private collaboration, and digital utilization. By partnering comprehensively with Change HD, with whom it has already collaborated on DX, the city will accelerate the resolution of regional issues and sustainable urban development. Moving forward, based on this agreement, Uwajima City and Change HD will further develop their existing partnership to advance sustainable urban development that balances regional earning power with quality of life, while promoting regional revitalization by scaling successful models nationwide. 【About Change Holdings, Inc.】