前田村長（Mayor Maeda）

熊谷副社長（Vice President Kumagai）

In the ” Tokyo Takarajima Sustainable Island Creation Project,” Kozushima Village in Tokyo will collaborate with NTT East Tokyo West Branch, ANA NEO, ANA X, and TV Asahi to develop ” Sustainable Tourism Loop Kozushima Model.” Specifically, they will organically develop three products to match the travel process, including a virtual travel experience app, an app that aggregates information necessary for the travel process, and a mechanism to increase the number of fans of the starry sky, one of Kozushima’s attractions. They will link this to a model case that digitally overcomes the geographical disadvantage of being a remote island.
　　
Mayor Hiro Maeda of Kozushima Village said, ” Kozushima has many attractions, but it is not well known.If you come, you will be convinced, but it is difficult for people to come to the island.We want to do something about this.We need to spread the word about the charm of the island. The government alone is not strong enough, so we would like to develop various initiatives together with NTT East and other partners”.
NTT East will be responsible for overall coordination of the sustainable tourism loop Kozushima model.
Toshimasa Kumagai, vice president of the company, said, ” By applying the marketing method AIDMA, we will first make many people aware of Kozushima, get them interested, and visit.There, they will have a wonderful experience and fall in love with Kozushima. If they like it, they will become repeat customers, and they will spread the word, which will lead to new people visiting Kozushima.Moreover, we want to create a virtuous cycle like this.” He explains.
ANA NEO is disseminating the charm of Kozushima with the virtual travel platform app ” ANA GranWhale,” which allows users to freely enjoy travel destinations and culture by recreating them in virtual space.
ANA X aims to improve the ease of getting around the island with ” ANA Pocket,” an app that allows users to accumulate points during their daily travels and exchange them for ANA miles and various benefits.
TV Asahi will build a co-creative community between starry sky enthusiasts and island residents through ” Starry Sky Tunagaru Community – Tunagaru, inspired by the starry sky, will create as many projects as there are starry skies.”
Vice President Kumagai said, ” There are 416 inhabited remote islands in Japan.Many of the remote islands face situations and challenges similar to Kozushima Village.We hope to use this model as a pioneer in providing solutions for other areas. I would like to expand this as well.”
　　
The number of tourists visiting Kozushima Village is 40,000 to 50,000 annually. Currently, there are almost no tourists from overseas. During the remote island boom of the 1960s, there was a time when 100,000 people visited the island each year, and it was full of life.
It takes 3 hours and 45 minutes by jet boat from Tokyo, and 45 minutes by plane from Chofu Airport.
The starry sky is the main attraction of Kozushima, and the entire island has been certified as a starry sky sanctuary by the International Dark Sky Association. This is an effort to protect the natural night sky, and is sometimes called the World Heritage version of the starry sky.
Kozushima Village is taking measures to prevent light pollution throughout the island, and is also focusing on training stargazing guides.
Maehama Beach, which stretches for 800 meters of pure white sand, is also one of its attractions, and was ranked number one in the 2023 ranking of beaches with clean water.