OITA, Japan – Ramon Magsaysay awardee and former Oita Prefecture Gov. Morihiko Hiramatsu said that due to their rich natural resources and unique products, countries in the Southeast Asia Region are expected to achieve the biggest economic growth in the 21st century using the “One Town, One Product” movement, which started here in Japan.

In a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) journalists here, Hiramatsu encouraged local governments to continue promoting local products to increase revenues in their locality and  improve people’s income level.

“I believe that East Asia and ASEAN will be the biggest growing area in the 21st century,” Hiramatsu said.

Elected Oita governor in 1979, Hiramatsu served six terms for 24 years, and is known to be the longest serving prefecture governor in Japan due to his promotion of the “One Town, One Product” movement, which is now spreading all over the world, including in ASEAN countries.

He is currently the president of the Oita One Village One Product (OVOP) International Exchange Promotion Committee at 85 years old.

According to Hiramatsu, it is about time that “soft power” should be used rather than military or political power, especially during this time of economic crisis.

“Soft power is using wisdom to promote OVOP, to promote exchanges around the world so income level could be improved. It is the way to move forward in order to bring peace around the world,” he said.

He said the success of the OVOP lies in six areas: Awareness building or changing the mindset of the people in the locality; identifying local treasures; perseverance; making high value added products; securing market channels; and human resource development.

“Not all OTOP [programs] are successful. What is important is that you don’t stop after you experience failure. You have to find out the causes behind that failure and make improvements to come out with unique products,” Hiramatsu said, adding that this will strengthen economic power and the capacity of the local community.