Shopping Park ASC

Shopping Park ASC (ショッピングパークアスク) is a community-oriented shopping centre in the Naganuma district of Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Its nickname "ASC" stands for Amenity (comfort), Safety (peace of mind) and Convenience, a name chosen to express the kind of everyday shopping experience the founders wanted to offer. The centre opened on 23 November 1995 as a locally led joint store (地元主導の共同店舗): six shops from the Naganuma area of Sukagawa came together to create a new commercial hub for the old Iwase district's western area, which was then becoming commercially under-served. With support from the national and Fukushima prefectural small and medium enterprise organisations, the Organisation for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Sukagawa City (then Naganuma Town) and many local people, roughly five years of preparation produced a hand-made shopping centre. The centre is not a single retail chain but a collection of independent tenants under one roof. Its store mix covers most everyday needs: a supermarket for fresh food, prepared dishes and seasonings; a drugstore and health consultation counter for medicines, cosmetics, hygiene goods and tobacco; fashion and student clothing; a bookstore with stationery, watches and cleaning services; a gift shop selling gifts, bedding, tableware and shoes; and service tenants such as a hair salon, coin laundry and restaurants. The official site lists tenants including V Chain Shin-Naganuma, Takaku Group, Island Nemoto, Oshare Plaza Maruzen, Drug Wachi, Tsuruha Drug Sukagawa-Naganuma, Naginuma Shokudo, Kiza Beauty Salon Naganuma and a coin laundry. Beyond retail, ASC functions as a small community hub. It hosts seasonal events, prize draws, children's artwork exhibitions, health and exercise sessions with physiotherapists, child-rearing support centre newsletters, and cultural events such as the "Writers' 3.11" series, whose final day has featured a performance by the taiko group Kodo. The centre has been cherished as a local landmark since opening and states that it will continue working to be a shop loved by the community. ASC is a private, locally rooted enterprise rather than a listed company or a branch of a national chain. Its identity is tied to its place: a rural shopping centre built by local merchants to keep everyday commerce and community life in the Naganuma area.

Shopping Park ASC opened on 23 November 1995 in the Naganuma district of Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture. It was founded as a locally led joint store by six local shops from the Naganuma area, who acted because the western part of the old Iwase district was becoming commercially under-served. Their aim was to create a new commercial "navel" (へそ) for the area. The project took about five years of preparation and was supported by the national and Fukushima prefectural small and medium enterprise organisations, the Organisation for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Sukagawa City (then Naganuma Town) and many local people, resulting in what the centre describes as a hand-made shopping centre. The name "ASC" was chosen as a nickname with three meanings: Amenity (comfort), Safety (peace of mind) and Convenience. Since opening, the centre has been treated as an important local shop. It carries most goods and services needed for daily life, from food to fashion, books, medicines and services, and it also hosts seasonal events, prize draws and children's artwork exhibitions, so that people use it for more than shopping. Over the years the tenant mix has included local and regional names such as V Chain Shin-Naganuma, Takaku Group, Island Nemoto, Oshare Plaza Maruzen, Drug Wachi, Tsuruha Drug Sukagawa-Naganuma, Naginuma Shokudo, Kiza Beauty Salon Naganuma and a coin laundry. The centre continues to present itself as a community hub, with health consultations, exercise sessions led by physiotherapists, child-rearing support information and cultural events such as the "Writers' 3.11" series. It states that it will keep working to be a shop loved by the community.

• Shopping Park ASC opens as a locally led joint store in Naganuma, Sukagawa, Fukushima.

• Announcement of the 4th 'Writers' 3.11' event, 7–12 October, with a Kodo performance on the final day.

A locally led, community-rooted shopping centre serving everyday needs in the Naganuma area of Sukagawa, Fukushima.

• Supermarket goods (fresh food, prepared dishes, seasonings)

• Drugstore goods and health consultation

• Fashion and student clothing

• Books, stationery, watches and cleaning services

• Gifts, bedding, tableware and shoes

1. 1ショッピングパーク アスク | 福島県須賀川市長沼にあるASCオフィシャルホームページn-asc.com
2. 2ASCについて | ショッピングパーク アスクn-asc.com
3. 3Shopping Park ASC - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4ショッピングパークアスク - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org