Higashikawa, a small town near the center of Hokkaido, has taken on a new challenge. The town, with a population of 8,600 residents, has joined hands with Nudge, a provider of the credit card “Nudge Card”, to issue its own card. Known as the home to Mount Asahi (Asahidake), the highest peak in Hokkaido and a popular hiking destination, as well as abundant natural groundwater resources, Higashikawa has attracted residents drawn to its natural beauty and cultural richness. The town, which declared itself a “Town of Photography” in the 1980s, ranked first in population growth within Hokkaido in 2021. The aim of creating its own card is to foster new relationships with residents, particularly among the younger generation, many of whom have established new roots in town.
Town of Photography
Higashikawa’s history dates back 40 years. At the time, the nationwide “One Village, One Product Movement” (isson ippin undō), an economic and cultural initiative that encouraged communities to create unique products or services based on their resources and traditions, was thriving. Higashikawa town made a bold choice. Although it is an area known for rice cultivation, the town deliberately chose photography as the theme for its development. Kaisei Horiguchi, an official in the Economic Promotion Division of Higashikawa Town’s Economic Promotion Office, explained, “Photography can be adapted in various ways.” This flexible mindset is the foundation for Higashikawa’s diverse development initiatives.
Since declaring itself the Town of Photography, Higashikawa has pursued town development based on three pillars: creating a photogenic town, fostering photogenic people, and producing photogenic goods. This involves organizing the townscape with attention to aesthetics, crafting furniture that stands out in photographs, and refreshing residents’ mindset.
This initiative did not end as a mere slogan. Today, 18 photographers have made Higashikawa their permanent home. The town also hosts an annual nationwide high school photography contest called “Photo Kōshien”, attracting young photography enthusiasts from across Japan. In Japan, Kōshien primarily refers to two major high school baseball tournaments, but the term has now come to refer to prestigious national competitions across various fields.
Higashikawa’s appeal goes beyond its natural environment and facilities. It has its own unique version of Japan’s hometown tax program (furusato nōzei) called “Higashikawa Shareholder System”. Unlike the typical hometown tax program where taxpayers donate (in lieu of paying taxes) to local governments in exchange for regional products or tax benefits, Higashikawa’s system seeks to foster deeper relationships with donors as “shareholders” rather than simply giving out gifts in return. These donors receive special certificates that grant them benefits such as access to town facilities at resident rates. Since launching in 2008, Higashikawa’s unique program has attracted approximately 180,000 donors - over 20 times the population of Higashikawa. Horiguchi emphasizes the town’s focus on building lasting relationships with these donors.
Hometown tax-like system created by Nudge cards
Higashikawa has teamed up with Nudge to launch a new initiative connecting people to the town. When a user makes a purchase using a Nudge card, co-issued by both Higashikawa Town and Nudge, a portion of the amount spent is returned to the town while the user receives benefits. Nudge has partnered with a wide range of businesses, such as in the entertainment and sports sectors, to issue original credit cards. It is garnering attention as a new solution that enables fan marketing beyond just payments and value deals.
The most significant feature of the Higashikawa Nudge card is that simply using it helps to support the town. Because a portion of the card’s transaction fees is paid to Higashikawa, a user can contribute to the local community in a similar fashion to the hometown tax program. People who have left their hometown and are busy with daily life can easily support their hometown through everyday shopping. Even if the financial return may not be significant, the Nudge card allows its user to feel connected to their hometown in daily life.
Nudge’s founder Takashi Okita also described the power of the card’s design, which features beautiful landscapes from Higashikawa, making the card a medium that conveys the town’s charm.
Connecting Generation Z to their hometowns
The town hopes this approach sits better with younger generations compared with the hometown tax program, which can be an administrative hassle. Horiguchi explained, “This card makes it easier to approach younger people, such as university students, who are typically hard to reach with the hometown tax program."
Some university students from Higashikawa Town have already begun to create the card and promote it on social media. Horiguchi is grateful for this development: “We are very thankful that they are engaging in such activities simply because it’s their hometown.” He also plans to encourage alumni of the Photo Kōshien hosted by Higashikawa Town to use the card. These alumni participate as volunteers in the annual competition and have a strong connection to the town.
By utilizing the familiar tool of a credit card, Higashikawa aims to create what they call a “relationship population”, people with diverse relationships with a region, who may be “settlers” who have moved there or “tourists” who simply visit. The Higashikawa Town card has the potential to create a new form of relationship population, where people are loosely connected to the community through their everyday daily transactions.
There are also challenges. Okita recalled a past failure where a card was introduced without putting enough effort into awareness-raising activities related to credit card spending, and emphasized that expanding outreach with a clear message is crucial for this new initiative to succeed. Horiguchi hopes that the number of people who use Nudge cards to genuinely support Higashikawa Town, rather than simply collect incentives, will increase over the long run. He believes that the true success of this project will come from evoking a sense of attachment and desire to support Higashikawa Town, not just economic benefits.
This initiative, while still in the early stages, holds significant potential as a new form of regional contribution through daily actions. Higashikawa Town’s efforts could serve as a new model case for local governments to create a relationship population and gain ongoing support.
