How much has activity increased since the store opened?

According to KDDI's Nobuya Muramoto, the whole area's activity level is up over 120% compared with before the opening. KDDI Location Analyzer data shows elderly residents' activity rose by more than that.

What was actually built in Fushiodai?

Happy Lawson Town combines a Lawson store selling locally grown fresh food with a community space, AI signage, a consultation booth, solar power, disaster signage, emergency communications and an AI drone takeoff and landing site.

What are the remaining challenges?

Ikeda's Naoki Hashimoto said residents are not yet aware they can use the AI-avatar consultation counter daily. Lawson's Yuko Washizu said event activities need better promotion beyond in-store leaflets.

RoboticsAI Watch (Impress)10m agoOct 29, 2026, 16:00 JST

Happy Lawson Town lifts Ikeda activity over 120%, KDDI says

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3 Key Points

What happened
KDDI's Nobuya Muramoto said 100 days after Happy Lawson Town opened in June 2026, the Fushiodai area's activity level was over 120% of before, measured via KDDI Location Analyzer location data.
Why it matters
Elderly residents' activity rose even more than 120%, and the store's backup role for AI drone flights and disaster-response gear appears to be turning a shrinking new town into a community and safety hub.

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Context & Analysis

Fushiodai was developed in the 1970s as a green hillside new town near Itami Airport, and like many Japanese suburbs it now faces a falling, aging population. KDDI signed a comprehensive partnership with Ikeda City and began the revitalization project in December 2025, starting by gathering residents' views through briefings and surveys before deciding what to build.

The answer, opened in June 2026 with Lawson, was deliberately broader than a convenience store: locally harvested fresh food, a community space, administrative consultation, and a disaster-response base. Over the first 100 days, AI drones flew 140 times for school-route monitoring and inspections, and solar generation, storage batteries and Starlink satellite links provided emergency communications.

KDDI is now looking beyond Ikeda. Questions about the AI-avatar setup have come from 20 municipalities and 25 companies, and KDDI plans to offer the know-how as a solution, KDDI Avatar Canvas. Muramoto also suggested that routinely collected drone footage could reveal slight terrain changes that hint at disaster risks, while regular drone classes at a local elementary school may get children thinking about drone development and piloting as future work.

FAQ

How much has activity increased since the store opened?: According to KDDI's Nobuya Muramoto, the whole area's activity level is up over 120% compared with before the opening. KDDI Location Analyzer data shows elderly residents' activity rose by more than that.
What was actually built in Fushiodai?: Happy Lawson Town combines a Lawson store selling locally grown fresh food with a community space, AI signage, a consultation booth, solar power, disaster signage, emergency communications and an AI drone takeoff and landing site.
What are the remaining challenges?: Ikeda's Naoki Hashimoto said residents are not yet aware they can use the AI-avatar consultation counter daily. Lawson's Yuko Washizu said event activities need better promotion beyond in-store leaflets.

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