My Oulu: The Japanise ambassador of Finland visited Oulu

When asked what the Ambassador Kazuhiro Fujimura was particularly hoping to see during his visit to Oulu, he had a prompt answer.

“We hope to observe industry-academia-government collaboration and cooperation in wireless communication technology and other cutting-edge ICT technologies. We also hope to see the local activities that form the soil for such cooperation.”, Mr. Fujimura said.

Fittingly, the delegaton visit Linnanmaa, where the Ambassador and his delegation visited the PrintoCent research and development Centre at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The guests had an introduction to the PrintoCent operations and were given a tour of the centre, including the printed intelligence pilot factory.

“We are interested in how the University of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, companies, the City of Oulu (BusinessOulu), and related facilities work together as organizations,” the Ambassador stated.

While in Linnanmaa, the guests were then shown around Oulu University of Applied Sciences along with its Business Corner and the Oulu Game Lab, which has signed a collaboration agreement with the City of Sendai in Japan, before visiting the University of Oulu Innovation Centre. 

A prestigious delegation’s visit to Oulu would not be complete without being initiated into the secrets and local expertise in wireless communications. Hence, the programme continued with an introduction to the 6G Flagship research and discussion about the global R&D situation concerning 6G, as well as the status of Finnish-Japanese cooperation around the topic. The in-depth visit was hosted by Research Director, Dr. Marja Matinmikko-Blue and Director Government Relations & Public Affairs Iina Peltonen of the 6G Flagship.

Eye on technology from Oulu

According to Ambassador Fujimura’s wishes, his visit involved a lot of high technology.

“I was especially attracted to Oulu because of the city’s national and international reputation for high-tech innovation, which is vividly depicted in the book ‘Oulun ihmeen tekijät’,” said the Ambassador.

Naturally, the guests were then escorted to Rusko for an introduction and tour of the local Nokia site, including Nokia Flagship Over-the-air laboratory OTAVA. The Ambassador was hosted by Ecosystem Manager at Nokia & 5G Test Network lead Olli Liinamaa, engineer Kenichi Komatsu, and engineer Jere Aallikko.

Important cooperation and development issues to consider

Ambassador Fujimura regarded his visit and all the discussions as fruitful and felt that they gave him a lot of ideas for the future. When asked what kind of cooperation he would like to see between Japanese and Finnish companies and institutions, he said:

“In 2016, a joint statement on the strategic partnership between Finland and Japan was signed by then Prime Minister Abe and President Niinistö. In May of this year, Prime Minister Sanna Marin visited Japan and at a summit meeting with Prime Minister Kishida, cooperation between the two countries in the field of science and technology was emphasized. Today, the world is in upheaval due to various issues such as security environment and global warming. In this context, I think it is very important that Japan and Finland, which share the same aspirations, cooperate with each other by leveraging each other’s strengths in the latest science and technology.”

On a more specific note, there were some points of interest for the Ambassador as far as Oulu was concerned.

“I understand that the City of Oulu, BusinessOulu, the universities, and companies are working together with industry, academia, and government to build a ”Radio Park”. I feel that this is a very interesting concept for the development of advanced communication technology and its implementation in society,” he envisioned.

But what, then, could Oulu improve on from a Japanese perspective? Ambassador Fujimura had a clear view on this, too:

“Unfortunately, I have also heard that the name of Oulu and its value are only well-known in certain fields in Japan. To open new horizons, I think it is important to raise the profile of Oulu, which has such a wonderful environment, and to strengthen external communications and PR activities so that various industries from Japan can participate.”

The Ambassador even had some practical ideas on how to improve the international visibility of Oulu.

“Of course, the people of Oulu have already been making efforts to this goal. In addition to this, I would like to suggest that the city of Oulu use the major events scheduled for the future as opportunities to attract the attention of the world. For example, the Osaka-Kansai Expo to be held in Japan in 2025 and the Oulu European Capital of Culture in 2026 could be such opportunities,” he concluded.

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