Wakayama Prefecture

Wakayama Workation Project

Background and Reasons for Deciding to Undertake

related population comprising people who maintainthe Project

connections with a region even though they are

Within Wakayama Prefecture, the Kihoku region

based outside it is an urgent issue. Human resources

has been successful in enticing large factories to its

and companies that are interested in acting as

flat and reclaimed land areas, whereas the Kinan

partners—not guests—of a region in its revitalisation,

region has had difficulty securing the wide areas ofwhile turning attention to the particular resources offlat land necessary for attracting factories because ofeach region, are important pieces in regional

the close distance between the region’s coastal andrevitalisation. While leading the country in thesemountainous areas. For this reason, Wakayama

efforts,

Prefecture, in collaboration with local municipalities,implementing and publicising workations that go

has been pouring effort into enticing ICT businesses

beyond the simple “Telework + Tourism” type ofto the Kinan region since FY2001.

workation seen overseas to create a prototype for aWakayama

PrefecturehasbeenAlthough these efforts to bring ICT businesses tosustainable Japanese workation model that matches

the Kinan region have been steadily bearing fruit,businesses’ and the regions’ purposes, and is still

unsurprisingly many businesses have said that “therecontinuing its workation initiatives today with theare high hurdles to overcome, such as relocating

aim of realising a society in which the “workation”

employees and employing local staff”. Accordingly, inworking-style, or lifestyle, is ubiquitous.

2017 Wakayama Prefecture began implementing“Workations”—aconcept

thatwasgainingrecognition in other countries at that time—as an“entry point to attracting businesses” by providing
people with a vision of what working in Wakayama
Prefecture would be like while giving them a sense of
Wakayama’s appeal.
Project Aims
Wakayama Prefecture is the first government bodyin Japan to promote workations, and has been doing

Development training camp-type workation

so since FY2017. With population decline continuing
unchecked in regional areas due to declining birth

Project Outline

rates and population aging, there are limits to(1) Wakayama Workation Networks

regions simply stealing each other’s populations

Private business operators in Wakayama

through relocation and settlement, and so creating a

Prefecture willing to cooperate with accepting
1workationers are recruited and registered asadvertised Wakayama’s suitability as a workation“Wakayama Workation Networks”; PR is carried

destination. As of the end of November 2021, 202

out through centralised dissemination oflocal government bodies (1 circuit, 22 prefectures,information via a dedicated website.

and 179 municipalities) are members of the alliance.

(2) Workation experience meetings (FY2017)
The acceptance of workationers got off to a
shaky start in FY2017, but first of all initiatives
werecarriedoutto conduct

workation

experience meetings and obtain feedback about
workations from the employees of IT companies
in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
(3) Parent/child Workations (FY2018, FY2019)
Parent/child workation events were plannedand conducted in order to “entice entire

Inspecting local sites where there are issues

families to come to Wakayama”.
(4) Collective Impact Leadership Training (FY2019)

Project Features and Innovation

Using the Ministry of Internal Affairs and(1) Good access from the Tokyo metropolitan areaCommunications “Project to create and expand

and Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe. It is possible to fly fromrelated-populations” grants, human resources

Haneda Airport to Nanki-Shirahama Airport intraining was conducted for companies utilising

approx. 70 minutes, and Nanki can be reachedworkations.

from Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe by limited express train(5) Wakayama Online Workation (FY2020)
Althoughhumanmovement,in approx. 2 and a half hours.

especially(2) The communications infrastructure is improving.

between prefectures, has been restricted due toThe region boasts the second-highest number ofthe spread of the COVID-19 virus, awareness ofWi-Fi spots per capita in Japan,* and a top-classthe term “workation” suddenly spread all atnationwide network environment is provided.

once. Taking this opportunity, “Wakayama*TownWiFi Inc. survey results (April 2018)

Online Workation” events introducing the(3) World-renowned tourism resources. The region

appeal of Wakayama workations in terms ofis blessed with a rich abundance of tourism

both business and tourism were held in theresources beginning with the Kumano Kodo Trailform of webinars.

and Koyasan temple site, two of the UNESCO(6) Establishment of the Workation Jichitai KyogikaiWorld Heritage designated “Sacred Sites and(known as the Workation Alliance Japan (WAJ))

Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”.

Workation pioneering local government bodies inWakayama is also drawing substantial attention

Wakayama and Nagano Prefectures invited local

from outside Japan, with the international travel

government bodies nationwide to establish a

guide Lonely Planet ranking the “Kii Peninsula”

workation alliance in November 2019. The activities

5th in its “Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Regionsof this alliance have further spread and establishedAward” and “Wakayama” being selected as No.

the concept of workations, and at the same time,

1 in sustainability for the guide’s “Best in Travel

Wakayama Prefecture’s proactive leadership of the2021 Readers’ Choice Award”.

alliance’s activities has widely publicised and2Results of the Project

therefore precious human resources who not only

In Wakayama Prefecture, vigorous efforts aregenerate simple economic effects but also bring

being made to attract ICT businesses to the region,

vitality to the region. Accordingly, by providing anand ICT companies are currently gathering in mainly

environment that enables them to carry out theirTanabe City and Shirahama Town. Wakayama

work as usual while on workation, we are

Prefecture’s workation project is creating theendeavouring to lower the hurdles for them to comepotential

to Wakayama Prefecture, thereby generating humanfor

open

innovation

byproviding

opportunities for exchange between these ICT

flow into the prefecture.

businesses that have come to the region andbusinesses that are implementing workations.

Future Developments (Anticipated Results, Outlook

Moreover, smart city demonstration experiments arefor the Project, Issues, etc.)

beingborn

throughcollaborations

between

The Japanese Government has been preparing

companies that have come to Wakayama on

variousworkations and the region, and there are more andconcentration of population and industry in the

more cases in which local residents and tourists canTokyo Metropolitan area. In particular, “creating jobs

also feel the benefits of innovation created as ain regional areas” is regarded as a first step towards

result of workations.

creating a flow of people to regional areas, and withmeasuresforcorrecting

theover-the spread of teleworking due to the COVID-19
pandemic and other factors, working environments
freed from locational restrictions—not only offices—
are gradually spreading, and we are approaching amajor paradigm shift that will enable people to comeand go from regional areas while working. At thisturning point, workations are expected to become
major tools for generating human flow to regional
areas.
Local company operators pitching their businesses
Reference URLs
Issues and Responses

https://wave.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/020400/workati
on/index.html

Initially, the goal of the workation project was toenticecompanies

toWakayama,

withtheiremployees relocating and settling here; however,Contact

having various companies implement workations

Division in Charge: Information and Communicationand conducting discussions with participating

Policy Division, Wakayama Prefecture

employees of these companies brought a different

Phone: ＋81- 073-441-2406

value to light—“Creation of related-population”.

E-mail: wwp_info@pref.wakayama.lg.jp

Even if they are not considering relocating toKey Terms

Wakayama Prefecture, related-population members
will become fans of Wakayama and interact withlocal residents on their frequent visits to the region
and disseminate information externally. They are3