Matsuura City, Seino HD, Aeronext, KDDI SmartDrone, and Dentsu Kyushu sign agreement for regional development through the use of next-generation advanced technologies including drones.～Aiming to build a new smart logistics system that contributes to addressing regional issues～

Matsuura City (Mayor: Yoshiyasu Tomoda), Seino Holdings Co., Ltd. (Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, President: Yoshitaka Taguchi, hereinafter “Seino HD”), Aeronext Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Keisuke Toji, hereinafter “Aeronext”), KDDI SmartDrone Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President＆CEO: Masafumi Hirono; hereinafter “KDDI SmartDrone”), DENTSU KYUSHU INC. (Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, President and CEO: Toru Suzuki; hereinafter “Dentsu Kyushu”) signed a collaboration agreement on February 27, 2024, for regional development through the use of next-generation advanced technologies, including drones.
On November 29, 2023, Matsuura City, Seino HD, Aeronext, KDDI SmartDrone Inc., and NEXT DELIVERY Inc., a subsidiary of Aeronext, conducted a demonstration experiment of drone delivery on remote islands, aiming to build a new logistics infrastructure by utilizing next-generation advanced technology. The experiment was conducted to study the societal implementation of the new smart logistics*1 system SkyHub®*2, combining drone delivery and land transportation, which Seino HD and Aeronext are developing and implementing.
The purpose of this agreement is to further accelerate the study of and promote activities utilizing next-generation advanced technologies, including drones, through mutual coordination and cooperation, and to facilitate measures that will contribute to regional development.

<Agreement Outline>
1. Date
February 27, 2024
2. Agreement Details
Through the use of drones and other next-generation advanced technologies, coordination on the following areas:

1. Promotion of agriculture, tourism, industry and economy
2. Regional employment, human resource education, human resource development, and industrial infrastructure development
3. Ensuring sustainable regional transportation and logistics that are both carbon neutral and convenient, and creating a more livable environment
4. Contribution to local disaster prevention and development of new societal infrastructure
5. other matters deemed necessary upon consultation between all parties.

３．Outline of Planned Initiatives
Matsuura City is located in the northeastern part of Nagasaki Prefecture and is a seaside town rich in nature, including Fukushima, Takashima, Aoshima, Kuroshima, Tobishima, and other islands off the coast of Imari Bay. On the islands, access is possible by surface or ferry, but there are no commercial facilities nearby, and most residents have to drive to the adjacent urban areas (Karatsu City, Imari City, and Matsuura City) for shopping, which poses a challenge for shopping refugees due to the aging of the population. In addition, remote islands that require ferries may become isolated in the event of an emergency, then the issue of transporting goods in the absence of transportation becomes an issue.
Against this backdrop, in order to solve the problems of shopping refugees and isolation in times of emergency, we will first address the problems of logistics with digital technology, and at the same time, we will also work to promote tourism, industry and economy, disaster prevention, disaster response, and human resource development.

At an event held for the agreement held on February 27, the five representatives made the following comments.

<Yoshiyasu Tomoda, Mayor, Matsuura City>
Matsuura City’s greatest challenge is to address its declining population. I believe it is important to construct a response plan that is well suited to this region while utilizing the latest technology. We conducted a demonstration experiment on Takashima Island last November, and we believe that the use of drones will help solve issues such as shopping assistance on remote islands and in remote areas where the population is aging. In the future, if a system can be developed in which local vendors receive orders and use drones to deliver supplies to parents and relatives living in Matsuura City by ordering from e-commerce sites, this could be undertaken as a “filial duty project” for people from Matsuura City who live outside the city. We expect that this agreement will lead to solutions to the issues facing our city and has a variety of possibilities. We are convinced that the advanced efforts in Matsuura City will make the city a place where Matsuura citizens want to live and continue to live for the benefit of the local community.

<Shuji Kawai, Executive Officer, Seino HD>
In the area of last-one-mile delivery, Seino HD is responding to lifestyle and structural changes by leveraging its strengths in trunk line transportation, and is actively pursuing and expanding the construction of last-one-mile services that solve societal issues such as measures for vulnerable shoppers and impoverished households. In Matsuura City, there is a problem of vulnerable shoppers on inhabited islands that require ferries and the possibility of being isolated in case of emergency. We will work not only with logistics companies but also with transportation companies to improve the efficiency of movement of people and goods. Furthermore, we will promote the creation of a sustainable and safe environment for residents and the maintenance and improvement of resident services through the implementation of technology with a view to drones.

<Keisuke Toji, CEO, Aeronext>
I am happy to announce that we have signed Kyushu’s first agreement with Matsuura City today. We conducted a demonstration experiment of drone delivery in Matsuura City on November 29 last year and observed that this area is facing issues of vulnerable shoppers due to the aging of the population and also that logistics drones will become indispensable infrastructure from the perspective of disaster prevention, such as maintaining medical infrastructure and isolating remote islands in case of emergencies. Per this agreement, we are committed to addressing each of these issues.

<Masafumi Hirono, President＆CEO, KDDI SmartDrone>
We are honored to be able to help bring new value to local life in Matsuura City through a partnership agreement with Matsuura City in Nagasaki Prefecture, using our drone communication and operation management technology. We believe that drones have a wide range of possibilities, including disaster response and the transportation of goods. We will do our utmost to contribute to the development of the local community in Matsuura City and help make the lives of its residents richer and more convenient.

<Taichi Inatomi, Senior Executive Officer, Dentsu Kyushu>
The Dentsu Group aims to be a “growth partner” that creates new value by confronting the challenges faced by companies and local communities and proposing integrated solutions. Furthermore, we have adopted the management policy of “B to B to S,” which aims to contribute to society through the resolution of business issues and beyond.
In other words, Dentsu Kyushu would like to discover societal value in the future that can be imagined but that no one has yet seen, make them a reality, and contribute to society. We believe that this new smart logistics business is just such a case. It is said that co-creation and collaboration are necessary for future regional revitalization, and we promise to work with a wide variety of partners to tackle this project with autonomous ambition and creativity, aiming for a better society by utilizing our human resources, the greatest asset of our group, together with our diverse partners.

Through this agreement, the five parties will mutually collaborate and cooperate to address regional issues and contribute to regional development in Matsuura City by utilizing next-generation advanced technologies, including drones, in accordance with the city’s challenges and the needs of its citizens.