[NEWS] Awashima Island in Niigata Prefecture begins recruiting digital islanders

On the 5th, Awashimaura Village in Awashima, Niigata Prefecture, announced that it will begin recruiting "digital islanders" through hometown tax donations.

Hometown tax donors will be issued an NFT "Islander Certificate" and will be offered similar islander experiences such as an "Awashima Fish Set" and "voting rights to decide the future of Awashima." This will be the first attempt to issue a full-scale islander certificate.

Awashimaura Village (Hinominyama, Awashimaura Village, Iwafune District, Niigata Prefecture) is depopulating, with only 325 residents, and is facing a shortage of human resources due to the population decline and a chain of financial difficulties. This project will utilize NFTs to create a population of visitors to the island and create a sustainable future for Awashima.

As the first step, NFTs will be issued as a return gift to hometown tax donors from the 11th. Those who wish to do so can create a wallet (Mata Mask) before paying the tax and make a donation through the hometown tax donation site "JRE MALL."

The five gifts planned for Awashima Digital Residents are as follows.

1. "Island Resident Certificate"

An NFT featuring the murals painted on Awashima will be issued. It will be a unique proof of Awashima resident status.

The NFT art used for the Awashima Digital Resident Certificate will be "Awashima Benten" for 30,000 yen, limited to 35 people, "Awashima Hayabusa" for 30,000 yen, limited to 15 people, "Fanfarria" for 30,000 yen, limited to 50 people, and "Joint Ownership of Mural Art with Awashimaura Village" for 300,000 yen, limited to one person, for two sets.

2. "Island Resident Gift"

As gifts, an "Awashima Fish Set" and an "Awashima Sake and Shochu Set", which can only be obtained on Awashima, will be presented.

3. "Voting rights to decide the future of Awashima"

Digital islanders will be asked to vote on what they want to do on Awashima through the Awashima app "Shirassai".

4. "Calling for opinions for the future of Awashima"

Opinions will be collected through the Awashima app "Shirassai", and then events will be implemented using donations from the hometown tax system.

5. "Awashima event information"

Information on Awashima events for digital islanders.

Also, on the 21st, a "Digital Island Opening" event will be held in the square in front of Awashima Port. There will be a trial session for applying for a new Awashima Kisen ship and for digital voting.

If the digital islander project using NFTs is successful, it will open up a new future for Awashimaura Village. It could also become a success story that can be imitated by other local governments facing similar challenges.

To date, there have been more than 16 successful cases of regional revitalization using NFTs, including the town of Yoichi in Hokkaido (issuing the right to purchase wine as an NFT), the city of Yubari (issuing the right to ship one Yubari melon as an NFT), and the village of Yamakoshi (issuing digital art as an NFT and using it to create an electronic resident registration card).

Reference: Announcement
Image: Quoted from the announcement