FUJISAWA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fujisawa SST Council, a consortium led by Panasonic Corporation spearheading the development of the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Fujisawa SST), held today a grand opening ceremony for the forward-looking town located on the outskirts of Tokyo. With its core facility supporting sustainable development of the town and its community now coming into operation, the Fujisawa SST is moving from the construction stage into a new stage where the town is nurtured to grow in full-scale into an eco and smart town that puts a high priority on the residents’ lifestyles.

Called the Fujisawa SST SQUARE, the core facility is also the main landmark of the town and serves as a central communication base for people who get together there. The SQUARE plays a pivotal role in promoting the town’s growth through its functions of managing the town, welcoming guests and fostering community. The Fujisawa SST Management Company is the town management company located in the SQUARE. Together with partner companies, the company provides five essential services in the town: energy, security, mobility, healthcare and community. The company will also collect and manage information pertaining to the town's overall environment, energy, security and safety to support an eco and smart life in the town.

For the guest support and community fostering services, there are various facilities in the SQUARE that are designed to promote interaction among those who gather in the town. The SQUARE Center has a cafe and kitchen corner where people can relax or host environmental education and other events, as well as a presentation corner that introduces main appeals of the town. The SQUARE Lab is a food and craft studio offering interactive workshops for the residents. The SQUARE Mobility provides environmentally-friendly means of transportation. In mid December, a cultural complex called the Shonan T-SITE will open on the south side of the Fujisawa SST SQUARE. The aim is to make the combined site a place that will foster enriched lifestyles by maximizing its value to the people who gather there, including not only the town residents but also people living in the vicinity and visiting from elsewhere.

As a fresh development in the town, the Fujisawa SST has set a detached housing zone for non car owners for the second phase of sales. By using the town’s eco-car sharing and rent-a-car services, residents in the zone can enjoy their lifestyles without the need to own a car while reducing economic burden and making effective use of the lot. Preparations are also underway for a new base to provide environmentally-friendly logistic services to the residents.

As a town developing continuously and sustainably, the Fujisawa SST will embark on new initiatives for the future. The land under administration on the west side, presently unused and due for completion in 2018, will be used in collaboration with partner companies as a venue for verifying next-generation lifestyles and businesses. Starting with the Car Life Lab facility to be opened in December for display and test drives of electric vehicles, the new venue will be used as a place to generate new innovations, validating next-generation mobility for the practical use and verifying next-generation lifestyles with show homes. By using the state-of-the-art equipment and services that take shape here to create future towns, Fujisawa SST Council will pick up the pace of its efforts to realize the Fujisawa model, a town that can develop sustainably for 100 years.

[Video]The opening ceremony and the facility tour on November 27, 2014https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6WSXTWJY0QLearn more about the Fujisawa SSThttp://ch.panasonic.net/contents/14568/[Fujisawa SST Official Site]http://fujisawasst.com/EN/[Panasonic’s Eco Solutions]http://panasonic.net/es/solution-works/

Fujisawa SST Council MembersLead organizer:Panasonic Corporation

Organizers:Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd., Dentsu Inc., Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co. Ltd., Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, PanaHome Corporation, So-Two Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

Council members:Accenture, Ain Pharmaciez Inc., Gakken Cocofump Holdings Co., Ltd., Nihon Sekkei, Inc., Sohgo Security Services Co., Ltd., Sunautas Corporation

New members:Social Welfare Corporation Camellia,¹ Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.- Social Welfare Corporation Camellia, Koyama Healthcare GroupRepresentative: Yasunari KoyamaAddress: 3-36-13 Kameido, Koto Ward, Tokyo, Japan- Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.Representative: Toshihiko Hiratsuka (Branch Director, Yokohama Branch)Address: 5-31-27 Sugita, Isogo Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

^1. Newly participated as a provider of health, social welfare and education facilities, following the departure of the Social Welfare Cooperation Nagaoka.

Overview of Fujisawa SST SQUAREOpening: November 2014Address: 6-21-1 Tsujido-motomachi, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanLand area: 6,453.14 square meter (Total floor area: 1,485.11 square meter)Structure: Two-story, steel frame constructionOverview:Fujisawa SST Management CompanyUndertakes businesses such as providing and operating services for the entire town; providing information and communications services; planning and running events; generating, supplying, selling and buying power.Sunautas CorporationProvides total mobility services at SQUARE Mobility such as sharing of eco-cars and electric-assisted bicycles, rental vehicle delivery and solicitation of life and property insurances.

Overview of Shonan T-SITEOpening: Planned for December 2014Address: 6-20-1 Tsujido-motomachi, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanLand area: 7,694.86 square meter (Total floor area: 5,921.12 square meter)Structure: Two-story, steel frame constructionOverview:Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.A cultural complex with unique shops centering on those offering books and magazines. With the spatial design based on the concept of a Shonan lifestyle, the complex proposes the “spice of life” to enhance lifestyles of people living in Shonan, a region located along the Pacific Ocean in central Japan.

Overview of Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (for reference)Address: 6-4-1 Tsujido-motomachi, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanLand area: Approx. 19 hectaresPlanned land use : Residential homes (approx. 1,000 homes)/commercial facilities/public facilitiesPlanned population: Approx. 3,000 peopleSchedule: Town to be completed by 2018Total project cost: Approx. 60 billion yen