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Tsukuba pursues a “Science × Smart City” vision, leveraging its unique concentration of research institutions to develop and deploy advanced technologies in real-world urban environments. The city’s strategy is centred on integrating scientific excellence with practical applications that enhance quality of life, sustainability, and urban resilience.
At the core of this approach is the Tsukuba Super Science City Initiative, which promotes the implementation of innovative solutions across key urban domains, including mobility, healthcare, governance, infrastructure, and digital technologies. This initiative is supported by regulatory flexibility under Japan’s Super City programme, enabling large-scale experimentation and rapid deployment of emerging technologies.
Tsukuba places strong emphasis on citizen-centred innovation. Through participatory processes such as workshops, consultations, and public engagement activities, the city fosters co-creation and ensures that technological advancements address real societal needs.
In parallel, the city advances its digital transformation agenda through the Digital Government Promotion Policy, which aims to improve accessibility to public services, enhance data-driven decision-making, and empower citizens to actively contribute to solving local challenges.
On the climate front, Tsukuba has been designated as a Decarbonization Leading Area, with the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, ahead of the national 2050 target. This ambition is supported by the integration of smart technologies, data platforms, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.
Through this combined approach, Tsukuba positions itself as a living laboratory for smart city innovation, where advanced research, governance, and real-life urban experimentation converge to create scalable and replicable solutions.
Tsukuba offers a distributed experimental environment embedded within its research and innovation ecosystem, rather than a single designated test district. The city hosts over 300 research and educational institutions, approximately 8 500 PhD holders, and more than 20 000 researchers — representing the highest concentration of scientists per capita in Japan. This provides a strong foundation for experimentation and technological validation.
Its innovation ecosystem is anchored by the University of Tsukuba and leading national agencies, including JAXA (space), AIST (industrial science), and KEK (particle physics), positioning the city as a natural testbed for advanced smart city technologies.
Through the Tsukuba Super Science City Initiative, experimental activities are implemented via a network of research institutions, public authorities, and private partners. This enables real-world testing across key domains, including mobility, healthcare, public administration, disaster prevention, and digital technologies.
Regulatory flexibility under Japan’s Super City framework further supports the deployment and validation of innovative solutions in real-life urban conditions.
