Building STP’s Ecosystem: Kitakyushu Approach - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 412

Fig. 10 Location of Kitakyushu City and its spatial structure. Source Author based on the figures
from some brochures of the City of Kitakyushu
the military power of Japan, did not operate well from 1955 because of some
structural shifts on trades, industries, and energies. As a result, a lot of companies
were moved to other industrial areas such as Keihin Industrial Area and Kei-
hanshin Industrial Area, and the number of employees decreased. The industrial
decline of this area did not get better in spite of the merger of five old cities in
1963, and the regional economy began to be sluggish (Table 9 ).
In 1988, the Kitakyushu Renaissance Plan to regenerate the locality was drawn
up. This plan pursued the keynote theme ''international technology city'' as a new
industrial city model based on rich natural environment and active exchange
supported by high-technology until 2005. And, ''Science and Research City''
based on STP development was a city image to be aimed at the Plan.
3.2 STP Development: Scheme on New University
of Kitakyushu and Kitakyushu Science
and Research Park
According to the master plan drawn up in 1989, the purpose of the Kitakyushu
Science and Research Park (KSRP) development was to build a core of S&T in
Asia for technology advancement and new industry creation making the most use
of the geographical advantage, local condition as the biggest cluster of industrial
technology in Western Japan, and experience of technological cooperation in
environmental fields with other Asian countries.