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Participating in the "Global South Campus of Knowledge Manufacturing" initiative by LIVERNESS - tonari will connect 6 sites in Southeast Asia, including the Center of Garage, to strengthen the ecosystem.
(Head office: Sumida-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshinobu Osaka; hereinafter "GLOKA LINK") has announced that it has established a new company, GLOKA LINK, Inc.LIVERNESS Corporation(Head office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Group CEO: Yukihiro Maru) has launched a space-sharing system calledtonariIn the "Global South Campus of Knowledge Manufacturing" concept, six Southeast Asian bases are permanently connected through the "Global South Campus of Knowledge Manufacturing.
At the Center of Garage (COG), a social implementation base facility for research and development venture companies in Tokyo operated by Glocalink, COG's tenant companies(headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Taj Campbell, President; hereinafter "TONARI"), and in September 2024, the company will introduce TONARI, developed by TONARI, Inc.Permanent connection between Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, including COGis now permanently connected to the Internet.
tonari," an infrastructure for connections that changes the concept of distance.
Researchers, companies, and start-ups from Japan and abroad meet and work together at tonari to enter new markets and create opportunities for new projects.
tonari is a communication tool that connects distant locations with ultra-low latency and high-resolution images via a life-size screen. The screen allows the user to see the entire room of the connected party, creating an environment as if they are in the same office. This allows for the natural creation of daily chats, consultations, and collaborative work without feeling distant, even between Japan and overseas, while maintaining "co-presence" (a sense of co-presence where people feel connected).
This will reduce the number of "business trips to meet" and realize a new daily routine of "working together while staying connected. In areas where on-site presence is required, such as R&D, education, and manufacturing, tongari makes it possible to exchange knowledge in real time with other on-site workers.
What is the "Global South Campus of Knowledge Manufacturing" concept of LIBERNESS?
| Due to the lack of cross-border railroads, highways, and other land-based infrastructure in the research, education, and industrial fields in Asia, the exchange of people and knowledge is still limited to "point-to-point" cooperation, relying only on airplanes. As a result, excellent technologies and research themes have been divided among regions, and collaboration has not progressed, especially in fields such as deep tech and manufacturing, which require face-to-face discussions on the ground. In order to solve this problem, RIVANES has launched the "Global South Campus" concept that links Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, utilizing the spatial expansion system "tonari. By realizing an always-connected network that organically links laboratories scattered across Asia and manufacturing sites in Japan without relying on business trips or travel, we will create a new social infrastructure that enables researchers, companies, educational institutions, and government agencies to co-create on a daily basis, which until now has been hampered by distance. This concept is based on the idea of creating a new place where the hubs of the knowledge manufacturing ecosystem that RIVERNESS has built over the years are clustered together like a single campus through the use of the new tonari technology. We will realize GX/DX as Asia's version of a "knowledge transportation network" where people, technology, and knowledge move back and forth, transcending mobility restrictions, aiming to create an infrastructure that links education and industrial development across the board. |
Background of the concept: Overcoming "on-site disconnection" where distance is a barrier
In Asia, the international overland infrastructure is underdeveloped, and the flow of people and knowledge within the region tends to be intermittent. For example, a round trip from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur takes about 10 hours and emits about 1 ton of CO₂/person. This "on-site culture based on travel" has made business trips for confirmation, attendance, and coordination the norm, slowing down the speed of cooperation.
With the goal of "connecting knowledge in the field every day," six bases in Japan and ASEAN are constantly connected via tonari. From "traveling to meet" to "staying connected and moving together. The circulation of knowledge centered on the field is already underway.
Role of each LIBANES site: Knowledge transportation network starting from the field
🇯🇵 Japan 🇯🇵 - The mother ship connecting research and industry
Starting from the RIVANES headquarters, the Center of Garage (CoG) in Sumida and Toranomon UntroD, domestic mid-sized companies, universities and start-ups are constantly connected to overseas offices. It functions as a one-stop command tower to promote everything from R&D to demonstration and commercialization.
🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇲🇾 - Regional hub function by Southeast Asia HQ
Leave a Nest Malaysia is the regional headquarters (HQ) for Southeast Asia. With the Center of Garage Malaysia in Cyberjaya at its core, Leave a Nest Malaysia unites startup/research communities in Japan and ASEAN countries and implements co-creation operations with constant connectivity. Program management, investment, and human resource development are accelerated across the region.
🇵🇭 Philippines 🇵🇭 - Cross-border implementation of educational and sustainable technologies
Focusing on education, human resource development, and local problem solving. Collaborating with Japan and Singapore on a daily basis on themes such as renewable energy and local industry, mentoring and "on-site workshops" in the style of LIVERNESS are always connected. Become a starting point for decentralized innovation that does not rely on concentration in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
🇸🇬 Singapore 🇸🇬 - Hub for international collaboration and R&D acceleration
Asia's center of research, investment, and innovation. Office costs and space constraints are complemented by constant connectivity. Connects to sites in Japan and neighboring countries and serves as an international gateway for R&D collaboration and market development.
Effectiveness of the implementation sought by Liverness (internal observations)
| Ability to understand situations including non-verbal 8x Frequency of dialogue with management 10 times 10,000 unscheduled "accidental interactions" per year |
This has reduced the number of conventional "business trips for reporting" and "meetings for coordination," while fostering an organizational culture that is not bound by distance, where chit-chat, consultation, and immediate decisions are made on a daily basis.
Voices from RIVANES Locations
In-house joint project, employees in Singapore and Japan work together for a quick check.
Yusuke Shinozawa, Executive Officer, LIVERNESS Co.
In the past, it was common practice in manufacturing and research sites to "be present at the site together. The tonari system has begun to function as a mechanism for moving forward with research and development while maintaining a sense of temperature and trust in the field, regardless of distance. It is beginning to function. We believe that the creation of an environment in which all team members, including younger employees, can exchange opinions and collaborate on a daily basis, rather than simply reducing business trips, will greatly contribute to improving our on-site capabilities in the future."
Because the space is now connected, "How are you?" and other greetings have increased between the Philippines and headquarters. and other greetings between the Philippines and the head office have increased.
Yevgeny Aster T. Dulla, Representative, Liberace Philippines
Tonari has finally arrived in the Philippines!
In the past, interactions with headquarters employees whose projects did not overlap were limited to a few business trips and events per year.
In the future, we expect that through tonari, a routine of 'working in the same environment' will be created, so that younger workers will be able to easily consult with the head office without feeling that crossing the border is something special."
Malaysian team that is readily available for consultation if you come before TONARI.
Abdul Hakim Sahidi, Representative, Libernes Malaysia
CoG Malaysia is the regional headquarters for the Southeast Asia region, so I still have to make many business trips, but I am now able to have casual conversations and maintain natural contact with people through introductions, which could only happen by "going there. I feel that the increased number of such occasions has helped us to build a relationship of trust.
It is essential for Japanese companies to have an environment where they can continue to engage with our startups and partners once they visit our facility, which is essential for building close partnerships."
Event by LVNS headquarters with Asian universities and multinational companies in Singapore
Kihoko Tokue, Representative, Liberace Singapore
Singapore is home to many of Asia's top universities and multinational companies' research and innovation centers. We see this place as a "Global Knowledge Hub where knowledge is accumulated and created. The tonari enables us to call out to people the moment they arrive, introduce them, and start a discussion with them. One of the mechanisms that supports the way we work is tonari, which makes the most of serendipity.
RIVERNESS Management Message: Making Connections a Social Infrastructure
Starting from the six Asian locations to be permanently connected through tonari, RIVANES plans to expand to other major ASEAN cities (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.) by 2026. We aim to build a "knowledge sphere without distance" where people and knowledge circulate continuously by forming an Asia GX collaboration platform across research, education, and industry, involving companies, universities, and governments.
新しく設置されたフィリピンのtonariと、シンガポールオフィスでの集合写真
株式会社リバネス 代表取締役 グループCEO 丸 幸弘
「リバネスの活動は“知と人をつなぐ”ことにあります。tonariを導入したことで、アジア各地の拠点が距離を意識せず、日常的に交流できるようになりました。これにより、プロジェクトのスピードや信頼関係の形成が目に見えて変化しています。出張の削減は結果であり、本質は”関係の持続可能性”です。」
tonari corporation
等身大のスクリーンを介して2つの空間をつなぐコミュニケーションツール tonari を開発する2018年創業のスタートアップ企業。2020年から法人向けに販売を開始し、JR東日本やNTT西日本、欧米や東南アジアなど国内外に導入。tonariは他拠点間のシームレスなコミュニケーションを可能にし、物理的な距離による境界のない世界を目指し、新しい働き方による事業創出に貢献します。
ホームページ : tonari.no
導入事例 : stories.tonari.no
Facebook : facebook.com/heytonari
Instagram : instagram.com/heytonari
Press release from ◾︎tonari Corporation: ◾︎
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000018.000069342.html
◆tonari Corporation
Representative : Taj Campbell, Ryo Kawaguchi
住所 ：東京都渋谷区元代々木4-5 クレアトゥール 3C
WEB:https://tonari.no
◆LIVERNESS Inc.
Reps: MARU Yukihiro, TAKAHASHI Shuichiro, INOUE Kiyoshi
Address: Iidabashi Miyuki Building, 1-4 Shimomiyaibicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
URL:https://lne.st
◆Gloka Link Corporation
Rep: OSAKA Yoshinobu
Address : Center of Garage, 1-16-3 Yokogawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
WEB:https://glocalink.com
◾︎Inquiries regarding this matter: ◾︎
株式会社グローカリンク（担当：大坂）
TEL：050-1746-2770 MAIL : [email protected]