Founding City of the Summit: Fukuoka City
Fukuoka City is the biggest city in the Kyushu region of Japan. Fukuoka is an energetic city, and it is the political, economic and cultural centre of Kyushu.
It has long served as a gateway for exchanges with the Asian continent, and the city has been developing itself openly towards Asia.
Even in The Fukuoka City Master Concept, which clarifies the city’s basic policies on urban planning,
Fukuoka aspires to be Fukuoka: the Exchange Hub City of Asia.
The City has so far held various events and projects related to Asia, such as:
- The Asian-Pacific Exposition;
- The Fukuoka Prize, which honours the eminent achievements in academic research, arts or culture in Asia; and
- In combination with the Fukuoka Prize, the Focus on Asia Fukuoka International Film Festival, which introduces films from Asian countries, and the Asian Party, where you can enjoy live music performance by artists from Japan and Asia.
Then in 1992, Fukuoka City advocated establishing an international Summit organized by cities from Asian-Pacific region, the Asian-Pacific City Summit, and in 1994, the first Asian-Pacific City Summit was held with participants from 21 cities from 11 countries.