DEA, GRG, and JTB Collaborate to Solve Municipal Infrastructure Issues with Participatory Social Contribution Game "PicTrée"

Digital Entertainment Asset Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and Chairman: Naoto Yoshida; Representative Director and President: Kozo Yamada; hereinafter "DEA"), in collaboration with Growth Ring Grid Pte. Ltd. (Headquarters: Singapore; Representative Directors and Presidents: Kazuki Kito, Fumi Fukuda; hereinafter "GRG"), announces its partnership with JTB Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President Executive Officer: Eijiro Yamakita; hereinafter "JTB") to provide solutions for municipal infrastructure challenges through the co-developed and operated participatory social contribution game "PicTrée" (hereinafter "PicTrée").

This strong collaborative system aims to solve infrastructure maintenance and management issues faced by municipalities nationwide, as well as promote tourism and enhance disaster awareness, by popularizing PicTrée. By integrating JTB's nationwide regional network with DEA's gamification expertise, we will propose a new form of "preventive maintenance" and "regional revitalization" where residents enjoy protecting and enlivening their towns.

◼️Background of the Collaboration: Facing a Major Crisis of Aging Infrastructure in 2050

Currently, many municipalities in Japan are experiencing an accelerated aging of facilities developed during the period of rapid economic growth. It is predicted that by 2050, there will be a rapid increase in facilities exceeding their useful life, leading to a "major crisis." Meanwhile, due to a decrease in technical staff responsible for inspection and repair, and budget limitations, it has become difficult to conduct widespread and frequent routine inspections.

◼️PicTrée Business Overview

PicTrée is a participatory infrastructure inspection solution where users take photos of urban infrastructure facilities with their smartphones, collecting image data in a game-like manner. Leveraging these features, it evolves infrastructure management from being solely handled by "municipalities" to being protected by "everyone in the community."

Efficient Data Collection: It enables "low-cost, high-frequency, widespread" data collection by citizens, moving away from traditional methods where specialized personnel visit sites.

Win-Win Mechanism: Users can earn rewards such as local vouchers or local currency, while municipalities can quickly and affordably grasp on-site conditions, leading to a sustainable model that also promotes regional development.

Furthermore, this project proposes multifaceted solutions to regional issues beyond infrastructure inspection, aiming for the simultaneous realization of inspection, disaster prevention, and tourism.

Infrastructure Inspection Efficiency: It supports all types of facilities, including utility poles, curve mirrors, manholes, streetlights, and park playground equipment, significantly reducing management costs.

Enhancing Disaster Awareness: Through stamp rally-style events that target local disaster prevention facilities and evacuation sites, citizens are provided with opportunities to reconfirm local safety while playing.

Promoting Tourism and Circulation: By planning collaborations with popular content and special missions offering local specialties as rewards, it attracts tourists from outside the region and improves circulation.

◼️PicTrée Achievements: Overwhelming Speed and Volume of Collected Data

PicTrée has already been introduced in multiple municipalities and companies, and its effectiveness has been demonstrated.

【Niigata City】

Captured all 158 curve mirrors in the city in approximately 10 days, collecting 9,000 images.

【Numazu City】

Targeted 191 disaster prevention facilities and collected over 10,000 images in one month. Additionally, a collaboration with the anime "Love Live! Sunshine!!" attracted many fans.

【Maebashi City】

Targeted approximately 20,000 utility poles and achieved 2,000 photos within 1 hour of launch.

In fiscal year 2024, it received the Good Design Award. It was also selected as 24th in Nikkei Trendy's "2025 Hit Predictions" (Infrastructure Game), and app downloads exceeded 100,000 (as of February 2026).

◼️Future Developments: Regional Support through JTB Branches

We aim for nationwide expansion of PicTrée through DEA's expertise in gamification and JTB's nationwide branch network. In the future, we will also consider customizable packages tailored to the needs of approximately 1,700 municipalities, contributing to the realization of sustainable town development with active citizen participation.

◼️Regarding this Initiative: Joint Comment from the Three Companies

With this collaboration, the knowledge cultivated by DEA and GRG, combined with JTB's nationwide branch network and its network with approximately 1,700 municipalities, has established a powerful system for social implementation. Users enjoying games while photographing and collecting infrastructure images will, as a result, contribute to "preventive maintenance" that protects local safety, and furthermore, create a circular regional economy through rewards such as local currency and local specialties.

We will expand this new form of "infrastructure tourism," which aims for the simultaneous realization of infrastructure inspection, disaster prevention, and tourism, across Japan, tailored to the needs of each municipality. We believe that infrastructure will attract people and become a new engine that drives towns, creating a sustainable social model that can be exported globally.