Project
Otoineppu
Developing technology in the field to connect residents' words to local decision-making in a village of around 600 people.
On May 11, 2026, Plural Reality and Otoineppu Village in Hokkaido co-hosted a conversation about the village's future. AI analyzed the discussion of 17 people, including the mayor, in real time, preserving each contribution while organizing it into a form that can connect to the village's decisions.
Thirty questions and 324 votes produced from the conversation were structured into three topics and nine subtopics. The record surfaces conditions and values that simple approval or opposition cannot capture: the future of Seicomart, accountability in local government, participation by temporary residents, and relationships between newcomers and the community.
The point is not to work only with people already interested in technology or civic participation. It is to use the system in the everyday life of a place experiencing population decline early. Otoineppu is not a case of bringing in a finished product; it is research and development that improves the product itself for voices that are otherwise hard to reach.
