Hokkaido Kyogoku Town Becomes First in Japan to Introduce 'QooGate' with Screening Function for Local Government Partnership Proposal Desk, Free of Charge, One Month After Launch

LLC Qoo (Headquarters: Osaka City, Representative Member: Mikito Sugiyama) announced that it launched 'QooGate' on May 7, 2026, which automates the primary screening of local government 'public-private partnership proposal desks' using AI, and that within one month of launch, adoption and discussions are progressing in multiple municipalities, including Kyogoku Town in Hokkaido. The usage fee for local governments is free, reducing the workload of desk staff by approximately 30 minutes per case. It can be introduced immediately by simply replacing the URL, and is a simple system that can be used even in the LGWAN environment.

Achievements in the First Month of Launch

QooGate was launched on May 7, 2026. Kyogoku Town in Hokkaido became the first in Japan to adopt it, and on May 27, it was published on the town's official website as 'Acceptance of Proposals for Public-Private Partnership / Citizen-Government Partnership'.

Kyogoku Town official website 'Acceptance of Proposals for Public-Private Partnership / Citizen-Government Partnership'

As of one month after the release, inquiries about adoption have been received from multiple local governments besides Kyogoku Town, and several mayors with whom the company's representative regularly interacts have responded with comments like 'This is amazing! I'll have my staff contact you.'

Why QooGate is Needed — Structural Issues with Local Government Desks

Staff in charge of local government public-private partnership proposal desks originally have the core task of 'how to collaborate with relevant departments and shape good proposals.' However, currently, a large number of 'mere sales materials' with unclear means of solving social issues are also sent, putting staff in a situation where they cannot concentrate on their core work due to the burden of primary screening.

As a result,

- Truly excellent proposals are postponed. - It leads to decisions such as 'we don't want to set up a desk' or 'we don't want to PR its existence.' - It becomes a structural barrier to the momentum of solving social issues through public-private partnerships. - Ignored companies remain unaware of how to improve.

This negative cycle is occurring nationwide. QooGate solves this structure.

How QooGate Works — Strict Judgment Based on 9 Criteria + Educational Feedback

QooGate strictly screens proposal documents submitted by companies against 9 criteria.

[9 Screening Criteria]

The screening criteria are published on the QooGate official website.

Proposals that do not meet the above criteria are automatically returned with educational feedback, prompting resubmission, so that only proposals meeting the criteria are notified by email to the desk staff. Furthermore, the system incorporates nationwide local government budget-related materials and simultaneously judges whether the proposal aligns with the 'direction that the QooGate-installing local government aims for.'

There are S/A/B/C judgments, and proposals rated B or lower are subject to resubmission. Only proposals rated A or higher reach the local government.

Benefits for Local Governments

Benefit Content

Free: Usage fee for local governments is ¥0. Can be introduced with zero budget.

Immediate Deployment: Only a URL replacement announcement is needed; can be operational from the same day at the earliest (can be set up within 24 hours).

Workload Reduction: Approximately 30 minutes of workload reduction per case (conservative estimate including creation and sending of educational feedback and handling of preliminary inquiries).

LGWAN Countermeasure: Only proposals that meet the criteria are sent directly to the designated contact email address along with the screening results. Can be confirmed on LGWAN terminals via existing email sanitization systems.

Responsibility Boundary: Responsibility for screening results and handling of inquiries is assumed by LLC Qoo. The local government does not have to take the lead.

Transparency: Systemization eliminates suspicions of 'black boxing' or 'favoritism.' Can be explained to citizens and assemblies as a 'highly transparent process.'

About the Designer — Designed Directly by a Former Osaka City Council Member (2 Terms, 8 Years)

The algorithm of QooGate was directly designed by the company's representative, a former Osaka City Council member (2015-2023, 2 terms, 8 years) and current system developer. After retiring from the council, the representative served for three consecutive years as the sole primary screener for business pitches for local governments (organized by Ichini Co., Ltd.), and based on experience screening hundreds of proposals, devised and implemented a unique logic to determine whether a proposal is worth reading by council members, local government staff, and mayors.

The concept is 'a screening system to lift up, not to drop.'

Expected Effects

Approximately 30 minutes of workload reduction per returned proposal, and about 1 minute for passing judgment and responding to companies. The freed time is directed to the core task of connecting with relevant departments. As a result, the number of high-quality public-private partnership proposals connected to relevant departments increases, enhancing the potential for solving social issues. Furthermore, sudden phone sales or meeting requests through council member introductions can all be delegated to QooGate, completely eliminating suspicions of favoritism.

In a society with a declining population, the number of public servants is decreasing, while social issues are becoming more complex rather than decreasing. It is becoming increasingly difficult for local governments alone to solve social issues, and leveraging the power of private companies is important.

For companies proposing solutions to local governments, being taught how to improve to be accepted is far more beneficial than being ignored. QooGate contributes to improving the proposal capabilities of companies challenging 'public-private partnership,' and as it plays an important role in Japan's pursuit of a sustainable society, it is provided free of charge to local governments as a social contribution project of LLC Qoo.

Future Developments

LLC Qoo aims to expand to all 1,788 local public entities nationwide. Starting from the network of mayors with whom the company's representative regularly interacts, while carefully communicating with relevant departments of each local government, we will spread it nationwide as a 'sustainable infrastructure that reduces staff workload with zero budget.'

About LLC Qoo

LLC Qoo develops and provides services specialized in the GovTech field. In addition to the free service for local governments 'QooGate,' we have officially started providing the questioning ability evaluation system 'QooScore for Public' (for council members, factions, political parties, and council secretariats) today, triggered by an inquiry from a certain council secretariat.

* With the intention of setting a countermeasure period for council members, provision to media will be embargoed until December 2026.

For details, please visit https://public.qooscore.jp.