NGK Insulators, Ltd. (President: Shigeru Kobayashi, Headquarters: Nagoya City), Kyushu University Urban Research Center (Director: Shunsuke Managi, Headquarters: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture), and aiESG Inc. (CEO: Daikichi Seki, Head Office: Fukuoka City) have started joint development of the "Resident Satisfaction x Policy Analysis System (tentative)," which quantitatively visualizes the wellbeing (happiness and satisfaction) of local residents in response to municipal policies and measures, and enhances the conviction of decision-making.

In the past, it was difficult for residents to see the value of measures implemented by local governments, such as decarbonization and disaster reduction, and decisions by local governments tended to be one-sided. This system visualizes the gap between the needs of residents and the intentions of local governments, supports decision-making from the residents' perspective, and aims to establish a new mechanism to increase the residents' sense of conviction by converting measures into monetary values.

Specifically, we will combine the following two approaches to identify differences in attitudes toward policies between residents and local governments.

• Collected and analyzed through questionnaires from local residents to quantitatively understand the measures and satisfaction levels that residents value.
• AI analysis of a municipality's comprehensive plan to visualize the direction of measures to be focused on in the future

By cross-checking these data, we can visualize the gap between residents and local governments in terms of policy intentions and priorities and residents' needs, and share this data with local governments to support the planning of prototypes.
Furthermore, the social and economic impact of the measures will be clarified by converting the effects of decarbonization and disaster prevention measures through the introduction of photovoltaic (PV) power generation and storage batteries as municipal measures into monetary values from the perspective of improving the wellbeing of residents.

Roles of the three parties in the development of the "Resident Satisfaction x Measure Analysis System (tentative)

This system is scheduled to be completed during the first half of FY2025, and after completion, NGK plans to conduct fieldwork targeting local governments. Based on the results of the fieldwork, NGK will build a system that is valuable to all three parties (residents, local governments, and companies) as a "co-creation solution" for carbon neutrality and disaster prevention that matches the needs of local governments and local residents, thereby contributing to the realization of sustainable local communities.

About NGK Insulators, Ltd.

Since its establishment in 1919, NGK Insulators, Ltd. has been a comprehensive ceramics manufacturer that has provided numerous innovative products, solving social issues by utilising its proprietary ceramic technologies. With energy, mobility, IT, and industrial fields as the pillars of its business, NGK Insulators, Ltd. operates in more than 20 countries around the world. In addition to providing high-capacity energy storage systems that build sustainable energy infrastructure and compact, thin lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that support the world's shift to IoT, NGK Insulators, Ltd. is actively working to reduce its impact on the global environment as a leading manufacturer of ceramics for automotive exhaust gas purification. NGK Insulators, Ltd. will continue to contribute to the creation of new value and the realization of a sustainable society by providing innovative products and services in two areas: carbon neutrality and the digital society.

About Kyushu University

Kyushu University was founded in 1911 as the fourth imperial university in Japan. It currently has approximately 19,000 students and 8,000 faculty members, 12 faculties, 20 graduate schools, one of the largest university hospitals in Japan, and an affiliated library. There are four main campuses: Ito Campus as a center for integrated science and demonstration experiments, Hospital Campus as a center for life and medical sciences, Chikushi Campus as a center for fusion of advanced science, and Ohashi Campus as a center for advanced design, each of which conducts distinctive research and education.

About aiESG, Inc.

aiESG is an academic startup that began in the Manaki Laboratory of Kyushu University. Through multifaceted research, aiESG's mission is to continue to accurately decipher the complex and intertwined world and to design an ideal society. aiESG was founded to realize the design of an ideal society through the means of business. We will deliver to the world through business the results of the research that aiESG has conducted with conviction.

For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact:
Public Relations, aiESG, Inc. e-mail: pr@aiesg.co.jp