LY Communications

LINE Group seeks to connect people to the information, products, and services they desire with the help of the Fukuoka City government and private enterprises, and in so doing, to help make Fukuoka City a more convenient and enjoyable place to live (making it a "Smart City")

LINE Fukuoka Corporation (Head Office Location: Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. Representative Director/President: Noritaka Ochiai), a Fukuoka-based subsidiary of LINE Corporation (Head Office Location: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. Representative Director/President: Takeshi Idezawa), and LINE Pay Corporation (Head Office Location: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. Representative Director/CEO: Youngsu Ko. Henceforth referred to as "LINE Pay"), another subsidiary of LINE Corporation that operates "LINE Pay," a mobile service for sending money and making payments on "LINE," have teamed up to bring to Fukuoka an umbrella sharing service called "i-Kasa" (Operated by: Nature Innovation Group Co., Ltd. Head Office Location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Representative Director: Shoji Marukawa), and to run a campaign in which people who pay with LINE Pay will be able to borrow umbrellas at the rate of 1 yen a day.

i-Kasa is an umbrella sharing service that started in December of 2018, and is the first service of its kind in Japan. This service starts operating in Fukuoka City on May 21, 2019, following its start in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. i-Kasa can be used by opening one's LINE account and reading the QR code printed on an umbrella. The standard fee is 70 yen per day (24 hours), and the fee is payable with LINE Pay. Returning an umbrella is a simple matter of reading a return QR code at the closest umbrella share spot.

• The umbrella share spots located in Fukuoka City are as follows. (As of May 21, 2019)
  41 Locations:
• - Fukuoka City (3 locations at the Fukuoka City Hall Main Office, 1 location at the Fukuoka City Central Ward Office, 1 location at the Fukuoka City Subway Tenjin Station)
• - Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co., Ltd. (1 location at Nishitetsu Fukuoka Tenjin Station, 4 locations at Solaria Stage, 2 locations at Solaria Plaza, 1 location at Tenjin Core, 1 location at Nishitetsu Inn Fukuoka)
• - The Nishi-Nippon City Bank, Ltd. (1 location at the head office), 1 location at the Fukuoka branch, 1 location at the Daimyo branch)
• - Fukuoka Jisho Co., Ltd (2 locations at Canal City Hakata, 1 location at Hakata Center Building, 1 location on Kurasu Keyaki St.)
• - Mitsubishi Jisho Retail Property Management Co., Ltd. (4 locations at IMS)
• - AEON Store Kyushu Co., Ltd. (2 locations at AEON Shoppers Fukuoka)
• - Parco Co., Ltd. Fukuoka (1 location at the main building, 1 location at the new building)
• - OHI Co., Ltd. (2 locations in North Tenjin)
• - The Hakata Daimaru, Inc. (1 location at the information center on the first floor of the main building)
• - The Nishinippon Shimbun Co., Ltd. (2 locations at the Nishinippon Shimbun Kaikan, 1 location at Elgala Hall, 1 location at the Elgala Building)
• - Seinan Gakuin University (1 location at Cross Plaza, 1 location at the entrance to Building No. 2)
• - 3 locations at LINE Fukuoka Corporation

LINE Corporation, LINE Fukuoka Corporation, and LINE Pay Corporation are teaming up via work such as the "Comprehensive Partnership Agreement" and "Fukuoka City Full Support Verification Test" to bring futuristic benefits to Fukuoka with LINE's technology and in so doing, make Fukuoka a "Smart City." Great strides have already been made with regard to the use of this technology for the dissemination of information and the promotion of cashless payments, and LINE Pay is being increasingly adopted at Fukuoka City government facilities and counters as well as at private facilities.
LINE Fukuoka Corporation, LINE Pay Corporation, and Nature Innovation Group Co., Ltd. have teamed up to run the "Only in Fukuoka! 1 Yen Umbrella Rental Campaign." With this campaign, LINE Group is providing a chance for people to experience living in an "on-demand society," where through cashless payments and sharing, they can go about their day conveniently with just a smartphone (using LINE and LINE Pay), but without the need to carry a wallet.

- Far left image: The "Fukuoka City LINE Official Account" makes it easy to check the weather and information relevant to going out.

With the start of the i-Kasa service in Fukuoka City, we're running a joint campaign in which people can rent umbrellas for 1 yen a day when they pay the fee with LINE Pay.
Through this campaign, we hope to let more people experience going out without carrying an umbrella or wallet.

Campaign name: Only in Fukuoka! 1 Yen Umbrella Rental Campaign
Campaign period: Tuesday, May 21, 2019 until Thursday, June 20, 2019 (with a possibility of extension)
Eligibility: Anyone who borrows an umbrella with the i-Kasa umbrella sharing service in Fukuoka City during the period of the campaign, and who selects LINE Pay as the payment method.
Organizers: LINE Fukuoka Corporation, LINE Pay Corporation, Nature Innovation Group Co., Ltd.

• Notes:
• - Only people who pay with LINE Pay are eligible for this campaign. People who have their payment method set to anything other than LINE Pay at the end of the month during the campaign will not be eligible to receive the discount for that month.
• - This campaign is limited to Fukuoka City. i-Kasa usage outside of Fukuoka City will not be eligible to be discounted in this campaign.
• - We cannot be held responsible for any trouble that may occur during the period of this campaign.
• - We reserve the right to cancel or change the campaign without prior notice.

Check the i-Kasa website for details: https://i-kasa.com/

We have carried out multiple projects with Fukuoka City thus far via such work as the "Comprehensive Partnership Agreement" reached with Fukuoka City in August, 2018 and the "Fukuoka City Full Support Verification Test." We aim to make Fukuoka City a more attractive city through our efforts to improve the convenience of government services and citizens' lives.

• - Opened a LINE official account for Fukuoka City (LINE ID: @fukuokacity) - First for a city designated by government ordinance
• - Opened a Fukuoka City bulky trash disposal reception account (LINE ID: ＠fukuokacity_sdg) - First for a local government
• - Opened a Fukuoka Smart Move account (LINE ID: @eaf2269u)
• - Cashless payments

Check this website for details: https://smartcity.lycomm.co.jp/

We are looking to accelerate Fukuoka City becoming a Smart City by working with a variety of companies and organizations moving forward, and we consider this project to be our first step.

The LINE Group will continue to concentrate on partnering with other organizations and make use of our cutting-edge technologies in areas such as AI and FinTech in order to make a prosperous and convenient Smart City a reality.