Establishing an award system for renowned products of the homeland

The "Furusato Meihin of the Year" program (organized by the Executive Committee <YAHOO, JTB, Rakuten, Dentsu Inc., and Trystage> and supported by the Cabinet Office) has been established to discover and honor regional treasures and the stories and initiatives behind them.

This initiative aims to inform many people about regional challenges, support market development for masterpieces that will sustain the region's future, and foster regional fans. Twenty-nine companies and organizations, including newspapers, publishers, and distributors, are listed as official supporters.

At the announcement event held on September 17 at the Central Government Building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Chairman Hima Furuta (Representative of umari) stated, "Through this system, we want to shift regional branding from 'tourism that shows the past' to 'relationships that engage people with future possibilities.' The goal is not tourism development, but relationship building." He also emphasized that the key point is for private companies to pool their wisdom and strength and engage continuously.

The awards consist of category prizes and a Regional Revitalization Grand Prize. The Category Awards recognize three themes contributing to regional revitalization through creating and selling local specialty products: "Initiatives that Cultivated Talent (People)", "Initiatives that Produced Specialty Products (Things)", and "Events or Initiatives (Things)". The Executive Committee companies and official supporter sponsors each set 23 Category Awards based on their unique perspectives and conducted the selection. The Regional Revitalization Award is judged by the Cabinet Office, with one winner selected per theme from among the Category Award winners.

Minister of State for the Cabinet Office Shinjirō Koizumi highlighted the system's features, such as being private-sector led rather than funded by the national budget, and each category having distinct characteristics with clear award criteria. He stated, "We hope this system will eventually achieve recognition comparable to Car of the Year."

Applications for each category will be accepted until the end of December, with an awards ceremony scheduled for late February 2016. Winning products will be able to use the award logo for promotional purposes. Additionally, promotional opportunities tailored to each category sponsor's strengths (such as free listings on e-commerce sites) will be provided.

Official website: http://furusatomeihin.jp/