Higashikawa Town (Hokkaido, Kamikawa-gun, Mayor: Shin Kikuchi) and hide kasuga 1896 (Head Office: Tokyo, President: Hideyuki Kasuga) concluded a "Collaboration Agreement between Higashikawa Town and hide kasuga 1896 for the realization of a Circular Economy" on October 18, 2024.
Outline of the Collaboration Agreement
Date of conclusion:October 18, 2024
Items of cooperation in this agreement
(1) Matters related to demonstration tests for the promotion of sustainable community development
(2) Matters related to education and human resource development
(3) Matters related to the promotion of local industries and the creation of new industries
(4) Matters related to environmental conservation, etc.
Higashikawa Town
Higashikawa is celebrating the 130th anniversary of its settlement in 1895 and the 40th anniversary of its declaration as a "town of pictures". Higashikawa has a total population of 8,590 (as of August 31, 2024), and has been promoting a "suitable sparse lifestyle," which is not depopulation, and has continued to increase its population, which is rare in a time of population decline. In an era of declining population, the town's population continues to grow, a rarity in Japan.
hide kasuga group
Since its establishment in 2012, the "hide kasuga group" has been engaged in a full range of recycling-oriented business operations, from research and development to marketing, with the aim of building a circular economy. The Group operates the environmentally conscious brands BLANC BIJOU PARIS® , hidek 1896® , and TRANSWOOD® , and develops and markets highly recyclable materials and finished products. In addition, the company runs the industry-academia-government CE consortium "Green Composite Hills by hide k 1896," which implements social implementation of CE in cooperation with various organizations.
Comments from Shin Kikuchi, Mayor of Higashikawa Town
Since declaring itself the "Town of Photography" in 1985, Higashikawa has been promoting the creation of a sparsely populated town with time, space, and friends where people can live their own lives, with a focus on creating a "photogenic" town where nature, culture, and people can meet. We are pleased to announce the signing of a "Cooperation Agreement between Higashikawa Town and Hide Kasuga 1896 for the Realization of Circular Economy" with Hide Kasuga 1896, Inc. We would like to work together with the business partners on co-creation projects to create new business opportunities, promote zero-carbon initiatives, promote local industries, and create new industries, with the aim of realizing a recycling-oriented society.
Hideyuki Kasuga, Representative Director of hide kasuga 1896 Co.
The hide kasuga group is engaged in various efforts to build a circular economy through collaboration among industry, academia, and government. Higashikawa Town, which has long been involved in the development of a cultural circular economy, is attracting nationwide attention as a town that people want to move to. We would like to work together with the people of Higashikawa, a town that attracts many people, to collaborate with the local furniture industry and the hk group's environmentally friendly materials, and to conduct a demonstration experiment in editing a lifestyle that blends the old and the new. We will work together to make Higashikawa a world-class model for the implementation of cutting-edge circular economy.
