For you, if you want 100 times more energy!
Takashima
and Little Duck
AR Camera
Here you can read a story about dreams from Soichiro Takashima, the 35th Mayor of Fukuoka City, along with his picture book “Little Duck's Dream.”
My dream
Hi! I'm Soichiro Takashima, the 35th Mayor of Fukuoka City. For 16 years, from 2010 to 2026, the people of Fukuoka trusted me to do the mayor's job.
Little Duck's dream was “to fly in the sky.” My dream was “to make Fukuoka the liveliest city in Japan, a place where everyone wants to live.”
At first, things didn't go well
When I became mayor at 36, Fukuoka City owed a lot of money. When I tried something new, some people said, “No way. That's impossible.”
It was just like when Little Duck's friends said, “Ducks can't fly. That's just how it is.”
Some nights, I felt like crying. But I didn't give up.
I changed my plan and kept trying
Super Boo taught us that it's important to “change how you think.” Here are 4 challenges I took on.
1Helping people start new companies
In 2012, I declared Fukuoka a “Startup City.” More and more people like Super Boo, who start their own companies, came to Fukuoka.
2A new heart for the city
The “Tenjin Big Bang.” We replaced old buildings with new ones. Now there are more places to work and more places to have fun.
3Helping kids and families
We made daycare free for a family's second child and up. We also helped pay for doctor visits all the way through high school. The number of kids grew by 13,000.
4Planting flowers together
The “One Person, One Flower” movement. Each person grows one flower. Companies and schools joined in, and now there are flowers all over the city.
16 years later, here's what happened
- +200KMore peopleThe biggest population growth in Japan
- +13,000More kidsFrom 2010 to 2025
- 1.6xCity income (taxes)¥265.4 billion → ¥426.3 billion a year
- −¥656.8BLess debtWe cut it by about 28%
Just like Little Duck
Say your dream out loud
Just like Dad said, when you say your dream out loud, people show up to teach you how. Lots of people helped me, too.
If it won't work, change how you think
Guts alone won't make you fly. If something doesn't work, look for another way. That's what matters.
Share your feelings, and more friends join in
When you tell people why you want to do something, more people cheer you on. That's how it went when we made Fukuoka better, too.
To all of you
Schoolwork, sports, making things—I bet they all work the same way. Even if you fail, even if you cry, try again!
Say your dream out loud and keep trying again and again. Then I'm sure it will come true!
Soichiro Takashima
For grown-ups: the Soichiro Takashima Official Fan Site is 
here(opens in a new tab). The pictures and words in this picture book are the work of the author, Soichiro Takashima.
This site is made by the Soichiro Takashima Official Fan Site, which is run by volunteers (not by Mr. Takashima himself or by Fukuoka City). Picture book art: story and pictures by Soichiro Takashima (Essential Publishing, 2022)
