Saku City, Nagano

Creating a ‘Remote City Hall’ Using
Slack

Background and Reason for the Project

residents’ health, medical care, and welfare

As part of its efforts to curb the population decline,services.

Saku City has taken advantage of the recent increase

The city attracts interest particularly fromin interest in rural migration and established theresidents in the Tokyo area, by sharing information‘Saku City Promotional Policy’ in FY2018 and has

on its charm and strengths, such as its location

been working on the project since the following year,

being within commuting distance to Tokyo via theFY2019. The city aims to share the city's charm andbullet train and other advantages of the city's high-strengths, including its high ease of living, to increase

speed transportation network. The city also aims to

the number of residents and people who move to thediscourage residents from moving away andcity.

encourage those who left for higher education or

Their ‘Remote City Hall’ is a project that has been

employment to return. By encouraging people toin operation since FY2020 and was based on this Saku

visit or live in Saku City, and current residents toCity Promotional Policy. Since it was proving difficult

want to continue living there, the city can increase

for those who wished to potentially move to Saku

the population, those that have ties to the city, both

City to visit due to COVID-19, the project was

temporary and long-term residents and promote

originally started as an online group where people

regional development.

could easily exchange real information about Saku

Project Outline

City and relocation matters without traveling there.

‘Remote City Hall’ is a new relocation platform thatProject Aims

uses a business chat tool called ‘Slack’ to allow

The Saku City Promotion is one of the initiatives incurrent residents and prospective new residents tothe city's comprehensive strategy. The maincommunicate with each other about life in Saku City

objective was the ‘creation of people’ to help curb

and relocation matters. The Remote City Hall allows

the population decline and create Saku City itself, byusers to exchange real information that they would

appropriately communicating the city's charm andlike to know about life in Saku City, including bothstrengths, including its high ease of living. It aims for

positive and negative aspects of living in the city.

an increase in the population, those that have ties

The Remote City Hall is also designed to serve as

to the city, and both temporary and long-term

a platform to share ideas as well as a place for users

residents. This in turn lead to the ‘creation of jobs’

to interact with one another. Discussions are heldthat enables their residents to continue working

on issues related to Saku City and relocation, towith peace of mind through industrial development

address and solve issues that may appear. In Julyand the ‘creation of our town’ by enhancing

2021, the company announced ‘Shijuly’, a support1

and subsidy service for trial residency that wasspread to other municipalities, too.

formed from topics posted on the Remote City Hall.
In August 2021, the Remote City Hall section

Issues, Problems and Responses

managers and employees for FY2021 were decided

The biggest issue is continuing to create anvia a call for applications among Remote City Hall

environment where users can easily contribute. Ausers. In addition, the city has also put in place an

Remote City Hall operation meeting is held at theonline event called ‘Shokuin Kaigi!’ (staff meeting)

beginning of each month to review the previous

and radio content ‘FM Remote City Hall’ to further

month's results, consider the contents of the current

encourage communication.

month's postings, and discuss plans, to keep theproject going strong.

Features and Innovations

In addition, since those who post and answer

This is Japan's first government-led online group

questions are often the same group of core users, itutilizing Slack. It features an exchange of realis necessary to get more people to want to be

information, with both the positive and negative

actively involved in the Remote City Hall. The city

aspects of city life. It helps promote information onplans to increase the number of participants throughSaku City and relocations, as well as a casual means

PR and maximizing media exposure through SNS toof exchanging of information with residents.

get more people interested in Saku City and theRemote City Hall.

Results of the Projectapproximately 2,400 users today and it has fostered

Future Developments (expected effects andproject vision and issues)

active communication with approximately 20,450

Several users have expressed a desire to deepen

posts. As a result of the Remote City Hall, 89.3% ofexchanges with other users in the user survey, andRemote City Hall users said they thought Saku City

the city hopes to hold an offline event as well.

The Remote City Hall has grown into a platform with

was a progressive city, 69.8% said they wereinterested in urban development in their own city,Reference URL

and one in two said they wanted to move to Saku City.

Remote City Hall HP:
https://www.city.saku.nagano.jp/outside/citypromo
tion/salon
Slack:
https://join.slack.com/t/saku-remotecityhall/shared_invite/zt-2axupqmqcW6p7CniUL3zNf~BelPXuSA
Shijuly:
https://www.city.saku.nagano.jp/outside/citypromo
tion/shijuly/
FM Remote City Hall:
https://anchor.fm/fm-remote-cityoffice

In addition, some people moved to Saku City due totheir participation in the Remote City Hall, which wasa step towards solving the original goal of increasing
the number of residents.
In recognition of this new business initiative,
Remote City Hall was awarded Gold in two categories
at the PR Awards Asia, the Golden World Awards,
Gold and the Future Creation Award at the CityPromotion Awards, Bronze at the PR Awards GrandPrix, the Incentive Award of the Japan Marketing

Contact:Awards, ACC Silver in the ACC Tokyo Creativity

Division in Charge: Saku City, Planning Department,Awards Branded Communications Category (CPublic Information Division

Category: PR), and Grand Prize in the Municipal DX

Tel.: +81-267-62-3075

Awards.

E-mail: kohokotyo@city.saku.nagano.jp

Furthermore, the idea of remote city halls has2