Osaka Prefecture has developed as a symbolic city of Japan since ancient times, facing a calm inland sea from east to west, and with the ability to transport goods by water using the rivers. It has been a major political and economic city in Japan for over 1,000 years, with the capital being Naniwa-kyo during the Asuka and Nara periods.
Osaka was nicknamed "the kitchen of the world," and during the Edo period it became a major commercial city where products from all over the country were gathered, thanks to its convenient water transport. In particular, the Dojima rice market, where rice tax was collected and converted into cash, is remembered in world history as the first market in the world where futures trading was conducted.
The temperament of Naniwa merchants, who were the first to obtain information on planting area and harvests from all over the country and quickly acted when an opportunity arose, is said to have been inherited by the Osaka people we imagine today. If you think about it, it was Osaka's Sakai merchants who organized the mass production of imported firearms, and after the Meiji Restoration, it was in Osaka that Japan's first chamber of commerce was established and the production of Western-style coins began.
When a new environment is born, the first thing that the city of Osaka does is test whether it can actually be used and then industrialize it.
Naturally, in Osaka, both the public and private sectors are actively working on cutting-edge technology related to Web 3.0. This year in particular, with the Osaka-Kansai Expo being held, which will have extensive coverage of Web 3.0, a number of prefectural-wide projects are being launched one after another.
