NTT West Appoints Two New "Regional Revitalization Advisors" to Accelerate Regional Revitalization

NTT West Corporation (Representative Director and President: Ryota Kitamura, hereinafter "NTT West") and Regional Revitalization Co-design Institute Inc. (Representative Director and President: Hidenori Kigami, hereinafter "Regional Revitalization Co-design Institute") announce that two new experts will be appointed as Regional Revitalization Advisors, effective April 1, 2026. NTT West and the Regional Revitalization Co-design Institute are engaged in practical regional revitalization efforts through co-creation with local governments, universities, and regional companies. They utilize diverse human and intellectual assets, not limited to ICT, to address various regional challenges. This appointment of advisors will further deepen these existing initiatives. (Reference) Regional Revitalization Advisor Introduction Page (Regional Revitalization Co-design Institute official HP): https://codips.jp/advisors/ **1. Newly Appointed Advisors (as of April 1, 2026)** Atsunobu Kimura Representative Director, Japan Living Lab Network Associate Professor, Faculty of Urban Life Studies, Tokyo City University **

** Living Lab, Well-being Policy Design, Regional Revitalization, Design Science, Information Science **** While engaged in R&D in information science and design science at NTT Laboratories and business development for the NTT Group, he felt the limitations of R&D and business development confined within a single company. He then launched research and practical projects for social design/living labs, co-creating with stakeholders and regions. After joint experimental projects with Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Nara City, Nara Prefecture, and the establishment of an intermediate support organization in the region, he was involved in and participated in the establishment of the Regional Revitalization Co-design Institute in 2021. In 2023, he established the Japan Living Lab Network*1 as a general incorporated association and became its Representative Director. From 2026, he will serve as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Urban Life Studies, Tokyo City University, and head the Social Design Laboratory. His publications include "Beginning Living Lab" (NTT Publishing | 2025) and "The Future of Information and Communication Technology Life in 2030" (NTT Publishing | 2015), among others. *1 [URL truncated]