As the population continues to decline and the birthrate falls, it is becoming more difficult to maintain public services. In response to such social issues, a new concept called "semi-public" that involves not only the government but also businesses is attracting attention. A talk event that delves deeper into this idea, "Semi-public as seen from six interviews - problem solving starting from 'I'", will be held on Monday, March 10, 2025, at COURT on the 8th floor Shibuya Hikarie.

Semi-public refers to an area where private businesses work with the government to solve public issues. NTT Communications' design organization, KOEL Design Studio, is actively engaged in activities in this area, and in 2024, together with the design consulting firm KESIKI, launched the "Semi-Public Interview" to explore advanced examples.

At this event, members of KOEL Design Studio and KESIKI will take to the stage to share their findings from the six "semi-public interviews" they have conducted so far. The interviews introduce the efforts of practitioners in a variety of fields, including energy, recycling, transportation, education, dementia care, and waste management. Based on these cases, the event will discuss specific approaches to solving public issues and the potential of semi-publics.

The speakers will include experts from various fields, such as Shunsuke Ishikawa, CEO and CDO of KESIKI, Hiroshi Nakamura, professor at the Liberal Arts Center of Tama Art University, Hiroshi Nakamura, professor at Tama Art University and design anthropologist, and Tomomi Tanaka, Head of Experience Design at KOEL Design Studio at NTT Communications.

The key to practicing "semi-public" is to balance publicness with economic efficiency. The event will discuss themes such as a mechanism to involve not only the parties involved in the problem but also service providers, an approach that combines diverse perspectives from the private sector, government, and academia, and methods for solving problems autonomously and sustainably, rather than top-down.

As social issues become more complex, it is necessary to find sustainable solutions through collaboration among people from diverse backgrounds. This event will be a place to explore the possibilities through the new perspective of semi-public.

Venue