Kitakyushu City advances urban planning and new branding

Kitakyushu City is advancing its long-term urban development and branding initiatives. In the Kurosaki District, a panel discussion hosted by the Kitakyushu Junior Chamber brought together residents, students, and officials to discuss the area's future. Key topics included the revitalization of the vacant ‘Kurosaki Mate’ commercial facility and the city's strategy to transform the district into a ‘future living model hub’ utilizing physical AI and robotics by 2043.

Simultaneously, the city has finalized the names for its new vision characters. Following a public selection process and a final vote involving over 7,500 participants, the male character was named ‘Happy’ and the female character ‘Charmy’. Designed by illustrator Susumu Matsushita, these characters are descendants of the former Space World mascots and are intended to serve as symbols to encourage citizen participation in the city's future development.