[Held on 10th Sep] OUGI hosted a public seminar titled “The Future of the Region × The Forefront of Technology – focusing on tourism-guide training and employment”

On Thursday, 10th September, 2026, OUGI Inc. held a public seminar titled “The Future of the Region × The Forefront of Technology – focusing on tourism-guide training and employment,” in collaboration with the Mayoral Alliance for LOCAL JAPAN, KAKUSIN Inc., and Inspired. Lab. Conducted in a hybrid format—online and on-site in Tokyo— the seminar was designed for professionals involved in tourism, community development, and regional policy. During the seminar, speakers explored the future of regional tourism by focusing on tourism-guide training, job creation, and new approaches to inbound tourism leveraging technologies such as XR, while highlighting practical case studies from local governments and private enterprises.

The current tourism scene highlights two major challenges: a shortage of guides who can share local culture and stories with inbound tourists, and the difficulty for individual local governments to secure the necessary operational frameworks on their own. Furthermore, past pilot projects typically concluded after a single year, causing difficulties for their results to take root in the community and posing a significant obstacle. To address these issues, OUGI believes it is crucial to foster sustainable business operations by creating new tourism experiences and jobs while combining the development of personnel conveying local appeal with technologies such as XR and AI. Based on that policy, OUGI is currently developing tours designed to help resolve these challenges.

This seminar was held as part of OUGI’s initiatives. In a hybrid format, the event drew 108 participants in total (58 on-site and 50 online). Attendees represented a diverse range of sectors, including local governments from across the country, corporations, startups, and educational and research institutions. The sessions fostered an exchange of questions and opinions with the speakers, providing an opportunity to deepen understanding of local communities’ challenges from a practical perspective. We also received feedback from online participants: “The presentation of concrete regional case studies allowed us to envision how these examples could be applied to their own communities”. OUGI would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to attend.

The seminar was structured in three parts, featuring presentations on practical case studies, promotional activities by local governments, and pitches by startups.

Part 1: Practical Case Studies

This part was moderated by Mr Naohiro Kaji, Manager of the Culture & Creative Industries Division, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Titled “The Future of the Region × The Forefront of Technology – focusing on tourism-guide training and employment,” it featured a case study presentation by Mr Takaaki Ota, the CEO of OUGI, followed by a panel discussion involving Mr Masami Suzuki (Executive Officer/CPO, OUGI), Mr Katsuhito Yamauchi (Toyota Boshoku Corporation), and Mr Kenji Ito (Fellow, Sanko Gakuen / Evaluation Committee Member for the Regional Future Grant).
Participants engaged in an in-depth discussion from their respective perspectives on topics such as linking guide training to job creation, the concept of transforming travel time into an experience, and designing projects to ensure continuity beyond a single fiscal year.

Part 2: PR by Local Governments

This part featured promotional activities and practical case studies presented by Osaka University of Tourism, Usa City, and Kaga City—partners with whom OUGI collaborates on content development. Hearing concrete examples directly from those involved, participants seemed to easily envision how to apply these approaches to their own regions. This session proved that sharing real-world regional initiatives can encourage other areas to take the next steps.

Part 3: Startup Pitches

This part featured startups’ pitches, and speakers presented concrete proposals. The startups aim to tackle regional issues by providing technologies and services that can address local governments’ challenges, extending beyond the tourism sector.

After the seminar, OUGI held a networking reception. It aimed to facilitate interaction between speakers and participants—including representatives from government ministries, corporations, and local governments—creating opportunities for new connections among regions, companies, and startups. The event has already sparked individual discussions, paving the way for concrete steps toward future collaboration.

OUGI will continue to combine local cultural, historical, and tourism assets with human resource development and technology. We aim to create new jobs and tourism experiences, ultimately establishing a sustainable regional tourism framework that extends beyond one-off initiatives.

[Event Overview]

Title: The Future of the Region × The Forefront of Technology – focusing on tourism-guide training and employment
Date & Time: Thursday, 10 September 2026, 16:00–19:30 (Seminar: 16:00–18:00 / Networking Reception: 18:00–19:30)
Format: Hybrid (In-person & Online)
Venue: Inspired. Lab (Tokyo) – Otemachi Building 6F, 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Target Audience:
Local governments (Mayors and people in charge of tourism, culture, and industrial policy), DMOs, tourism and culture-related businesses, educational and research institutions, etc.
Organisers: Mayoral Alliance for LOCAL JAPAN / OUGI Inc. / KAKUSIN Inc. / Inspired. Lab
Number of Participants: 108 (58 in-person / 50 online)

[Seminar Details]

“The Future of the Region × The Forefront of Technology – focusing on tourism-guide training and employment”
Website (in Japanese):

https://ougi-japan.com/seminar/tour-guide-technology-2026/

Recorded Video (Parts 1 & 2 Only):

Upon your request, we will send you the link to the seminar recording.
Please submit a request via the inquiry form below:
https://ougi-japan.com/en/contact/