Rural Japanese prefecture eyes partnership with Korea on batteries, EVs for green transition
Published: 26 Jan. 2026, 17:14
Updated: 26 Jan. 2026, 17:20
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- LEE SOO-JUNG
- [email protected]
![Tokushima Gov. Masazumi Gotoda speaks to a delegation of visiting Korean students at the Tokushima government complex in Japan on Jan. 23.[LEE SOO-JUNG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/26/0bf611d7-7249-4d63-9dfd-6db39a6847c8.jpg)
Tokushima Gov. Masazumi Gotoda speaks to a delegation of visiting Korean students at the Tokushima government complex in Japan on Jan. 23.[LEE SOO-JUNG]
The Korean national flag was hoisted alongside the Japanese flag at the Tokushima prefecture's government complex as a delegation of 67 Korean undergraduates visited on Friday. The students — 34 from the greater Seoul region and 33 from Busan and Jeju Island — were surrounded by local Japanese officials waving Korean flags and greeting them in Korean as they made their way from the ground-floor lobby to the auditorium on the 11th floor.
The Korean students were visiting Tokushima as part of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (Jenesys), a people-to-people exchange program that has invited more than 4,000 Korean college students to Japan since 2007 through coordination with the state-managed Japan-Korea Cultural Foundation.
During an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily held on the sidelines of the student-focused event, the Tokushima governor said that his prefecture is open to collaboration with Korean conglomerates using the eco-friendly technologies available.
Tokushima is home to a joint factory run by Panasonic Energy and Toyota that produces lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars. The governor said he recently had talks with a Korean conglomerate chief regarding the batteries produced at the Tokushima plant.
"The storage batteries produced by the Panasonic and Toyota plant are well-received around the world," he said. "While the global EV market is challenged by Chinese automaker BYD and with U.S. policy shifting toward a gasoline-oriented structure, I see potential for collaboration between Japan and Korea in the field of EVs and hybrid cars."
![Korean students from Busan and Jeju Island pose for a photograph with Tokushima mascot dolls after attending a student greeting event at the Tokushima prefecture government complex on Jan. 23.[LEE SOO-JUNG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/26/e235a558-808a-4ead-96b1-0a0742267c92.jpg)
Korean students from Busan and Jeju Island pose for a photograph with Tokushima mascot dolls after attending a student greeting event at the Tokushima prefecture government complex on Jan. 23.[LEE SOO-JUNG]
The governor also stressed that Tokushima has so much to offer to Korean tourists.
"Tokushima has more splendid natural scenery, history and gastronomical experiences than any other city, and thus offers the so-called 'unseen' aspects of Japan to Korean tourists," Gotoda said to the students. "Since the launch of direct flights connecting Incheon and Tokushima, the number of Korean tourists has increased nearly 10-fold."
By nationality, Korea ranked first in terms of the number of Japan-bound tourists last year. A total of 9.45 million Koreans visited Japan, accounting for 22 percent of total international visitors.
Tokushima prefecture spans 4,146 square kilometers (1.02 million acres) and has a population of around 680,000, including 297 Korean residents as of June last year.
According to the Tokushima prefectural government, 39,560 Korean tourists stayed overnight in the prefecture from January to October last year, a significant leap from the yearly figure of 7,040 in the previous year.
Korea's low-cost carrier Eastar Jet has been flying to Tokushima Awaodori Airport three times a week since December 2024.
Gotoda said that one of the prefecture's initiatives in the new year is to encourage more people from Tokushima to visit Korea. He believes that both inbound and outbound travel should be facilitated in a mutually balanced way in order to realize the "genuine meaning of exchange."
"I truly believe Korea has much that we should learn from, and the younger generation should be aware of that," Gotoda said.
"My idea starts from helping schools in the prefecture take their students to Korea for their field trips via direct flights, instead of Hokkaido, where they have to transfer at least once, mostly at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo."
![Tokushima mascot dolls holding Korean national flag and Korean instant ramyeon noodles in the style of Tokushima ramen are displayed at the Tokushima prefecture government complex in Japan on Jan. 23. [LEE SOO-JUNG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/26/b21ab054-068a-4410-bee1-223b86890abf.jpg)
Tokushima mascot dolls holding Korean national flag and Korean instant ramyeon noodles in the style of Tokushima ramen are displayed at the Tokushima prefecture government complex in Japan on Jan. 23. [LEE SOO-JUNG]
Last November, Korea's Jeju Island and Tokushima established a friendship and cooperative relationship — in a year when Korea and Japan marked the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations.
Jeju Island and Tokushima share great similarities in populations and environmental features. Both Mount Tsurugi on Tokushima and Mount Halla on Jeju Island have a similar altitude of approximately 1,950 meters (6,397.6 feet) above sea level. Also, their regional specialties are highly alike: green citrus fruit from Tokushima and tangerines from Jeju Island.
Gotoda said Tokushima can step toward the future by looking beyond the prefecture.
Tokushima is projected to experience about a 30 percent decline in its population due to its aging society, which would consequently reduce its economy by 30 percent, according to the governor.
"This forecast means our region must inevitably shift toward an export-oriented system," Gotoda said. "While Korea boasts that 40 percent of its GDP comes from exports, Japan's remains between 15 and 25 percent."
"In this sense, I believe Korea has set an example," Gotoda said.
The governor also shared his affection for Korea to the students.
"I love Korea," Gotoda said during his address. "Just like characters in Korean or Japanese romance dramas confess that their love is greater than their partner's, I could say that I like Korea even more."
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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