Announcing the 'Participatory Manifesto' for the Tokyo Gubernatorial Election

My name is Takahiro Anno, and I am a candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election to be held on July 7, 2024. I am a 33-year-old independent, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, and have spent my career pursuing three professions that involve 'envisioning the future': AI engineer, entrepreneur, and author.

Today, I have released the detailed version (ver. 1) of my manifesto. I am very grateful for the overwhelming response I received from so many of you after releasing the summary version last night.

Click here for the summary version

In a nutshell, my policy is: 'Towards a Tokyo that leaves no one behind through technology'.

I have set out five pillars in my manifesto to make Tokyo, which has seen its global reputation for future potential decline significantly in recent years, the world's number one innovation city once again.

Through this manifesto, I naturally want to convey the content of my policies. However, there is one more thing I poured my effort and passion into while creating this document. That is the fact that this manifesto is a 'participatory manifesto'.

■ What is a 'participatory manifesto'?

Allow me to explain what a 'participatory manifesto' is.

In completing this manifesto (ver. 1), I received the cooperation of over 100 experts, including researchers, engineers, consultants, educators, and medical professionals.

However, I do not believe this manifesto is perfect. This is because there is a limit to the world that one person can see. While this manifesto reflects the valuable opinions of over 100 people, it is true that it does not reflect the perspectives of others.

Therefore, I will continue to listen to your opinions and update the manifesto as needed. While it is difficult for humans to listen to every voice equally, AI and technology make it possible. This is the vision of a 'Tokyo that leaves no one behind' that I am aiming for.

This stance will continue not only during the election period but also after I become Governor of Tokyo. Using the power of technology, I will quickly reflect your opinions in the metropolitan government and continue to make real-time updates.

So, how will I improve and reflect the manifesto quickly and make real-time updates?

As a method, I will enable 'proposals for improvement and changes to policies' on the internet. Using GitHub, a tool commonly used in open-source development, I will allow anyone to propose requests regarding policies. (I will make the final decision on whether to reflect each opinion as the person responsible.)

I will also read all posts on social media that use the hashtag '#TOKYOAI', and I will soon hold an AI town meeting on YouTube featuring my AI avatar, 'AI Anno'. I will answer your questions and receive your opinions and requests in the live comment section.

▲ I also extracted comments regarding my candidacy announcement and created an analysis report using AI.

Of course, I will also be giving street speeches, so you are more than welcome to ask questions or share your opinions in person. (The schedule for street speeches will be announced on the website as they are scheduled.)

As I mentioned during my candidacy announcement press conference, all the election campaign programs I developed for this run will be open-sourced after the election and made available for anyone involved in future elections to use.

I strongly hope that this form of 'participatory manifesto,' where we envision the future together with voters, will become the standard for elections and political participation in the future.

■ Applying the 'MVP (Minimum Viable Product)' concept to the world of politics

I have experience managing startup companies, and in the startup world, there is a concept called 'MVP (Minimum Viable Product)'.

MVP translates to 'Minimum Viable Product' in Japanese. This is the idea of releasing a product or service with the bare minimum necessary features as quickly as possible, and then updating it into a product that increases customer satisfaction while checking customer reactions.

At present, I believe the world of politics is moving in the opposite direction of the 'MVP' concept. Of course, that is not necessarily wrong, but there is a high possibility that policy decisions will lack speed, and furthermore, those decisions will fail to fully reflect public opinion. Moreover, once something has reached a 'finished product' stage, it is difficult to update.

Have you not also felt this way regarding politics?

This 'Participatory Manifesto' was also born from the MVP concept, and even after I become the Governor of Tokyo, I want to conduct politics that reflects public opinion at high speed using the 'MVP' concept.

Please continue to share your opinions with me, including feedback on this manifesto.

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