Akinori Ogasawara is involved in the development of public-private partnership projects at the Business Production Headquarters. He is responsible for not only concept design, design, engineering, and production, but also business operations, and has boldly worked to create unprecedented business schemes. Looking back on the main projects he has worked on so far, he talks about his passion for public-private partnership projects.
The Business Producing Headquarters is responsible for creating new business schemes for sustainable business operations that transcend the boundaries of existing business domains. In particular, the Public-Private Partnership Project Development Department is promoting efforts to formulate projects in collaboration with the public and private sectors and turn them into businesses. Ogasawara belongs to the PFI section. I am mainly in charge of public projects that utilize private funds and technology.
Ogasawara: "PFI stands for Private Finance Initiative, and is a method of utilizing private funds and know-how to design, construct, maintain, and operate public facilities. We are currently working on the '(tentative name) Shizuoka City Marine and Earth Museum Construction and Operation Project.' This is a project to establish a new 'marine and earth museum' that will combine the functions of an aquarium and a museum in a corner of Shimizu Port in Shizuoka City. This is the first time that our company has participated as a representative company in a PFI project.
"We are in charge of producing displays and running the facility. We have been involved in running public facilities since around 2001, but this is the first time we have attempted to cover most of the operating costs through admission fees. A major feature of this PFI project is that the private sector bears the revenue risk for operations."
In implementing a PFI project, it is common to establish a special purpose company (SPC). This time, NOMURA acted as the representative company and established "Shizuoka Maritime Culture Network Co., Ltd." together with other companies participating in the project, with Ogasawara serving as Board Directors of the company.
Ogasawara: "In a PFI project, a special purpose company (SPC) raises its own funds and uses the fees for services received from the city and admission fees to repay loans and outsource operations to the individual business companies that make up the SPC. NOMURA is the representative company and shareholder, but it is also the contractor that receives the orders."
The business concept is “a campus for everyone connected to Suruga Bay”. Together with universities and national research institutes, we aim to create a facility that conveys the joy of exploring the connections between the global environment, the ocean, and people.
Ogasawara: “Like a university campus, learning and academics will be the axis, and the people who gather there will become the center of the city’s activity. We plan to conduct business activities with that concept. In cooperation with Tokai University, JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), and various other people involved in the ocean, we would like to promote projects such as research, exchange, creation, and dissemination, and build a base for marine culture through public-private unity. I think"
The goal of this project is not just the success of the facility itself. The ultimate goal is the realization of “Shimizu, an International Maritime Cultural City”.
Ogasawara: “This project is based on a redevelopment plan for the wharf area where the facility will be built. This facility is positioned as a leading project to restore the bustle of the town. Our biggest mission is to boost community development.”
▲ Tokyo Water Science Museum | The powerful “Mizuno Tabi Theater” surrounded by 4-screen images
Ogasawara became interested in social education facilities such as museums because his father was researching museums. After studying broadcasting technology at university, he chose NOMURA as his job because he wanted to be involved in a wider range of expression.
After joining the company, I was assigned to the Cultural Environment Division, which I had hoped for. After being in charge of corporate museums, I was involved in the Water Science Museum of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Waterworks.
Ogasawara: "I participated as a leader in the project to completely renovate the facility, and was in charge of project management. Initially, I was only contracted to carry out the usual displays work, such as research, concept design, design, engineering, and construction, but later, I had the opportunity to propose a scheme for comprehensive management service outsourcing, which involved comprehensively outsourcing the management and operation of the facility.
At the time, there was no precedent for entrusting operation services under such a scheme. The challenge was how to ensure incentives for operators and demonstrate originality and ingenuity while still engaging in the form of outsourced work.
It was a struggle, as we had to run simulations over and over again, but we were able to secure the contract after planning events and PR measures to be carried out as part of the operations and proposing ways to attract more customers to the facility."
For Ogasawara, this event will be a great source of inspiration for the promotion of subsequent projects.
Ogasawara “For example, I learned that I could get exposure even with a limited budget by planning an event related to Water Day, putting out a news release, and getting reporters to visit. We were able to make a difference, and I think it was very important that we were able to experience a series of processes for attracting customers that we hadn't put much effort into until then."
▲Hamamatsu Science Museum "Mirai-La" | Mirai-La Core, where the science show is held
After that, Ogasawara became the chief. I was put in charge of project management for large-scale cultural facilities, and one of the most challenging projects was Hamamatsu Science Museum Miraira.
Ogasawara: "We were solely responsible for the design, construction, and operation of displays renovation of a large facility with a total floor space of over 6,000 square meters, and we completed the project in just a short period of about a year and a half, from schematic design to completion.
"For facilities like this, where local governments are the project owners, it usually takes as long as 10 years, and at the very least, three years. In that situation, we were also contracted to manage and operate the facility as the designated manager, so we had to proceed with the operation plan and design work at the same time."
At the time, it was the first time in the industry that a proposal had been received for an educational facility using the so-called DBO method (※), in which a private company receives a comprehensive contract for design, construction, and operation. With no know-how within the company, Ogasawara, who was leading the project, was forced to use trial and error here as well.
Ogasawara: "When building a museum, the general procedure is that the administration and the curators in charge of operations first decide the direction of the facility, and then we propose displays space based on that. However, we were short on time and the operation plan and displays production had to proceed simultaneously, so even within the company, the operation team and displays production team were ceding control to each other, and the project was stalled for a long time.
Therefore, I decided that I should oversee the project from a producer's perspective, and with the help of my then-general manager, I came up with an overall concept. I then passed this on to the software (operation) and hardware (displays production) teams, and we put the project together.
Nowadays, this is a common practice, but at the time, NOMURA had almost no precedent and was feeling its way around. We had to consider a wide range of business areas in parallel and ensure consistency."
Ogasawara successfully led the design, construction and operation in just 17 months. Although he acknowledges there are areas for improvement, he says he felt a great sense of accomplishment through this project.
Ogasawara: I believe that it is the charm of the people who run the facility that attracts visitors and leads to repeat visitors. With that in mind, we placed the show space, which is often built in a corner of the facility, right in the center of the Hamamatsu Science Museum, and designed it so that the stage could be seen from anywhere.
This kind of planning idea was born because the intended operators were involved from the design stage onwards. I believe we have been able to create an displays space that is unique to the DBO method."
*DBO (Design, Build, Operate) method: A method of public-private partnership in which the public sector provides the funds and comprehensively orders the design, construction, maintenance, and operation to private businesses.
At the forefront of public-private partnerships, Ogasawara has chosen to take operational risks willingly and has taken the lead in expanding the scope of its business. We will continue to maintain that stance.
Ogasawara: Currently, the contracting business in fields such as commerce and events is in an oligopoly state, and we are falling into price competition. I think we need to actively participate.
Nonetheless, as the declining population becomes a social problem, businesses that benefit only private businesses are unsustainable. I would like to improve the quality of our services by devising a monetization scheme in which both citizens and citizens can share risks and returns.
Especially in public works, precedents are emphasized. Since this is not a field in which we can expect large profits, our current goal is to first accumulate experience so that we can control risks well. I believe that by accumulating results in this way, we will be able to become an irreplaceable company.”
Until now, Ogasawara has demonstrated its presence in the area of public cultural facilities. He says that he would like to expand into the fields of education and child-rearing in the future, using the experience and knowledge he has cultivated there.
Ogasawara: As the number of dual-income households has increased, children are spending more and more time alone. I would also like to be involved in on-site reforms.
In addition, as parents go out to work, the local community is being diluted. We are currently trying to incorporate into the park business a system that allows parents to exchange information on holidays, and I would like to take the initiative in socially good initiatives to solve such social issues.”
Turning the profits of the company into the profits of customers and society - as we enter an era of public-private collaboration in urban space development, Ogasawara and NOMURA have been striving to create better spaces and towns, and a new page in their public-private partnership business is about to be opened.
He joined NOMURA, Ltd. under the slogan "Total production of a museum that Japan can be proud of around the world." He is in charge of sales and PM for public cultural facilities. Since working on the operation management of a science museum in Tokyo in 2010, he has been producing the museum from planning to operation. In 2022, he established a special purpose company for the aquarium PFI project and became Board Directors the company.
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