Nara Prefecture x eiicon Regional Issue Resolution Program "Dive+Su Meetup 2026"

eiicon Co., Ltd. (eiicon) (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Ayuko Nakamura), which operates the open innovation platform "AUBA," today begins accepting applications for co-creation partners for the program "Dive+Su Meetup 2026" (hereinafter referred to as "this program"), commissioned by Nara Prefecture, aiming to solve regional and administrative issues.

https://eiicon.net/about/divetsumeetup2026/

This year, three municipalities – Nara Prefecture, Ikoma City, and Uda City – will participate, seeking co-creation proposals to solve regional issues and administrative needs across a total of six themes.

Furthermore, starting this year, in addition to proposals for themes presented by municipalities, a "Startup Free Proposal Type" has been newly established, allowing startups to freely propose ideas to municipalities. This aims to generate new co-creation ideas that contribute to solving administrative issues and revitalizing the region.

eiicon will leverage its expertise in open innovation support and regional co-creation support cultivated across the country to promote the growth of startups originating in Nara Prefecture and to resolve regional issues through public-private co-creation with Nara Prefecture.

Nara Prefecture x eiicon "Dive+Su Meetup 2026"

Nara Prefecture will implement the co-creation project "Dive+Su Meetup 2026," which aims to solve regional issues and create new administrative services by collaborating with startups possessing innovative technologies and ideas. This year, three municipalities – Nara Prefecture, Ikoma City, and Uda City – will participate, presenting a total of six themes aimed at solving regional and administrative issues. Proposals will be solicited from startups nationwide, and following matching, support will be provided for demonstration experiments and business development towards implementation in the region.

In addition, this year, the "Startup Free Proposal Type" will be newly established to foster more diverse co-creation opportunities through proposals to municipalities based on the free ideas of startups.

□ Application Themes (6 in total)

【Nara Prefecture】

Theme 1: Creating a mechanism to visualize and encourage action for young people's "frustrations" (Regional Creation Department, Children and Women's Bureau, Children and Women Division)

Theme 2: Streamlining and standardizing record-keeping tasks at child guidance centers (Regional Creation Department, Children and Women's Bureau, Children and Family Division)

Theme 3: Nara's accommodations chosen for sustainability (Environment and Forest Department, Decarbonization and Hydrogen Society Promotion Division)

Theme 4: Creating a system to connect residents' daily actions to decarbonization (Environment and Forest Department, Decarbonization and Hydrogen Society Promotion Division)

【Ikoma City】

Theme 5: Building a system to identify administrative and regional issues using data and AI (Management Planning Department, Public-Private Partnership Promotion Division)

【Uda City】

Theme 6: Building a business improvement app platform and digital human resource development training (Policy Promotion Department, Planning Division, DX Promotion Office)

□ Startup Free Proposal Type

Proposals on themes such as the following are welcome.

【Depopulation Countermeasures】 Population decline, logistics/last-mile delivery, vacant house countermeasures, etc.

【Administrative DX】 Sewerage infrastructure, maintenance, civil engineering/architectural drawings, etc.

□ Eligibility

- Must be a legally registered corporation. - Must be a startup, small and medium-sized enterprise, or mid-sized enterprise. - Must possess products or technologies for solving social issues. - Must be able to proactively drive projects for regional issue resolution.

Nara Prefecture x eiicon "Dive+Su Meetup 2026" Application Page

https://eiicon.net/about/divetsumeetup2026/

*Application Deadline (for both themed proposals and free proposals): July 26, 2026

Issue Announcement Event "Dive+Su Meetup 2026" Government Pitch

To be held on July 15 (Wed) at QUINTBRIDGE (Osaka)!

To commemorate the start of applications for this program, an issue announcement event "Government Pitch" will be held, where representatives from each municipality will directly explain the issues and expected co-creation content to startups and others from Nara Prefecture and nationwide who are considering applying.

On the day, in addition to pitches from Nara Prefecture and its local government departments for each application theme, there will be a presentation of last year's co-creation examples and a networking session. We encourage anyone interested to attend!

Issue Announcement Event "Dive+Su Meetup 2026" Government Pitch

Date & Time: July 15, 2026 (Wed) 15:00-17:30 (Reception starts at 14:30)

Venue: QUINTBRIDGE (Osaka, Kyobashi)

4-15-82 Higashinoda-cho, Miyakojima-ku, Osaka City. Please use public transportation.

Approx. 10 min walk from the North Exit ticket gate of "Kyobashi Station" on the JR Osaka Loop Line

Approx. 10 min walk from the West Exit ticket gate of "Kyobashi Station" on the Keihan Main Line

Approx. 5 min walk from Exit 3 of "Kyobashi Station" on the Subway (Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line)

Participation Fee: Free

Organizers/Operators: Nara Prefecture / eiicon Co., Ltd.

Sponsors: Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry; Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (SMRJ) Kinki Headquarters; Kansai Economic Federation

Details & Event Participation Application URL: https://divetsumeetup-2026.peatix.com/

*Application Deadline: July 14, 2025 (Tue) 12:00 PM

Schedule:

15:00 Opening Remarks

15:20 Presentations by previously selected startups

15:40 Government Pitches

16:30 Explanation of future schedule & Closing

16:45 Networking

17:30 End

*The schedule and content may change without prior notice on the day.

*No online streaming will be available.

*Participation in this event is not related to future applications or selection processes. Please join if you are interested.

□ Future Schedule *Subject to change.

July 3, 2026: Partner recruitment begins *This press release

July 15: Issue Announcement Event "Dive+Su Meetup 2026" Government Pitch

July 26: Partner recruitment deadline

Document screening, interview screening

Late August: Co-creation partners decided

- Thereafter, Nara Prefecture and eiicon will provide ongoing support for the demonstration and realization of co-creation ideas.

February 2027: Results presentation event scheduled

Nara Prefecture x eiicon "Dive+Su Meetup 2026" Application Page

https://eiicon.net/about/divetsumeetup2026/

*Application Deadline: July 26, 2026

About "Dive+Su Meetup"

"Dive+Su Meetup" is a public-private co-creation support program that aims to create new public services and regional value by combining the ideas and technologies of private companies, startups, etc., with the administrative issues faced by Nara Prefecture and its local municipalities. It promotes social implementation through co-creation with diverse players, utilizing open innovation methods to address regional issues that are difficult for local governments to solve alone.

*"Dive+Su Meetup": The program name "Dive+Su Meetup (Dive-tsu Meetup)" is a combination of "Daibutsu" (Great Buddha), a symbol of Nara, and the meaning of "diving in with startups."

*Reference: Previous year's program introduction article

Report on the results presentation of Nara Prefecture's first co-creation program for administrative issue resolution, "Dive+Su Meetup"

-- 8 teams presented on tourism, regional revitalization, disaster prevention, administrative DX, etc. --

https://tomoruba.eiicon.net/articles/5530

□ Inquiries about this program

Dive+Su Meetup Operations Office (Operated by: eiicon Co., Ltd.)

TEL: 03-6670-3273 Mail: divetsu-meetup@eiicon.net

*Please convert (@) to @.

□ eiicon Company Overview https://corp.eiicon.net/

Company Name: eiicon Co., Ltd.

Representative: Ayuko Nakamura, President and CEO

Establishment Date: April 3, 2023

Headquarters: 2F, Toranomon 36 Mori Bldg., 3-4-7 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo *Relocating to the following address from April 1, 2026

Tokai Branch (within STATION Ai): 1-2-32 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture

Shizuoka Base (within FUSE): B1F, The Zaza City Hamamatsu Chuo-kan, 100-1 Kaji-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture

Kanagawa Base (within WeWork Ocean Gate Minatomirai): 8F, Ocean Gate Minatomirai, 3-7-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Kansai Base (within Startup Plaza Hyogo): KiP, 56 Naniwa-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture

Okinawa Base 1 (within Lagoon KOZA / KSA Works): 1-7-8 Chuo, Okinawa City, Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Base 2 (within Have a good day): 18-4 Higashi-machi, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture

Singapore (eiicon Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.): 20 Anson Road, #11-01 Twenty Anson, Singapore 079912

Business Activities: Operation of open innovation platform "AUBA," event planning and support services, sourcing services, etc.

eiicon Co., Ltd. supports business creation and commercialization through its open innovation (OI) support and business creation support tailored to the business phase of companies, utilizing Japan's largest open innovation platform and hands-on consulting specializing in OI.

What is Open Innovation?

An innovation methodology proposed by Henry W. Chesbrough (USA) in 2003, which states that "innovative new value is created by combining internal and external media and technologies within a company." It is an approach that advocates for actively incorporating external collaborations, not just relying on internal resources.

Services offered by eiicon

Japan's Largest Open Innovation Platform "AUBA"

Japan's largest web platform specializing in open innovation, with over 39,000 registered companies. It provides an ALL IN ONE system for creating business opportunities, leading to discontinuous growth and business survival. AUBA is a service for intentionally creating innovation. ISO 56001 certified.

https://auba.eiicon.net/

Cross-border Co-creation Platform for Overseas Companies, Supporting and Accelerating International Co-creation (Overseas Companies x Japanese Companies)

"AUBA for Global"

An open innovation platform that supports and accelerates approaches from overseas companies and organizations aiming for co-creation with Japanese companies and organizations. It provides support through innovation advisors for connections with Japanese companies and organizations registered on "AUBA," and applications for acceleration programs operated by eiicon and AUBA for companies and municipalities. Many overseas companies and organizations, particularly in Southeast Asia, are registered, accelerating encounters between overseas and Japanese companies and aiming to create an environment where cross-border co-creation can occur more intentionally.

https://corp.eiicon.net/forglobal

Full Hands-on Support Service "AUBA Enterprise"

Our consultants, experienced in business creation support, provide fully customized support plans tailored to each company's concerns and needs, including internal new business and open innovation projects. We support commercialization through services ranging from business strategy support to creating specific opportunities for co-creation with partners and team building, and new business creation support, tailored to the company's phase.

https://corp.eiicon.net/service/enterprise

Media to Vitalize Business "TOMORUBA"

A "media to vitalize business" for business professionals creating businesses. It delivers information on fundraising, funding, joint research, and know-how for creating businesses from startups, SMEs, and large corporations across various industries and regions, as well as local governments and universities.

https://tomoruba.eiicon.net/

Major Awards

In December 2022, received the Excellence Award at the "4th Japan Service Awards" for its innovative and excellent service.

https://service-award.jp/result04.html

In February 2023, received the Commissioner's Award of the Sports Agency at the "5th Japan Open Innovation Awards" for its initiatives in open innovation, including matching and co-creation between sports teams/organizations nationwide and partner companies through acceleration programs.

https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/stmain/20230120oip.html

*The information posted is current as of the date of announcement. Please note that it may be subject to change without notice.

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  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: press_release