Kyoto Prefecture (outside link) and The City of Edinburgh have on 15 October signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in fields such as economy, tourism and student exchange. Governor Keiji Yamada during his visit and in the signing ceremony vowed to deepen the exchanges in the future.
Scotland’s capital The City of Edinburgh with its historic cityscape has been designated a World Heritage Site. The agreement to partner with Kyoto Prefecture started in 1997, with activities such as an exchange of children’s pictures, and an invitation to a bagpipe band to play at last year’s National Culture Festival. As well as establishing a group for language exchange for prefectural high school students, Kyoto University last year signed an agreement to broaden the range of academic exchanges with Edinburgh University.
The current agreement, with the purpose of strengthening more deeply the friendship alliance, will also clearly strengthen cooperation in terms of economic and academic exchanges, joint research, as well as the promotion of further cultural and student exchange.
Governor Yamada stated “Edinburgh continues to protect its heritage, as well as greatly strengthen its role in technology and leading manufacturing, and here are other joint areas for further collaboration. The Prefecture has a role in supporting industry-university cooperation and we want to match companies with the universities”.
Edinburgh City Council Leader Councillor Andrew Burns also said “we give thanks for the relationship so far, and I hope we are able to better build on the relationship for the next 15 years”.
Governor Yamada also met with Humza Yousaf MSP, Minister for External Affairs and International Development in the Scottish Government, to discuss devolution and the independence referendum. Governor Yamada is also Chairman of the National Governors Association of Japan and a leading figure in Japanese devolution. The debate over Scottish independence as the issue of devolution is attracting more attention in Japan. It was a coincidence that Prime Minister David Cameron visited Edinburgh to meet First Minister Alex Salmond to agree the “Edinburgh Agreement” paving the way for a referendum in 2014, at the same time as the Governor’s visit while the reaffirmation was being signed between Kyoto and Edinburgh.
Governor Yamada’s group included Kyoto Prefecture Assembly members, as well as a citizens group made up of members of the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and an expert on Japanese teas, who gave a presentation and tasting show to senior Edinburgh City Council staff after the reaffirmation. The group also travelled to the Hague to meet with JLGC’s partners in VNG – Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten (the association of Dutch municipalities), who presented on policies for the elderly, childcare and people with disability in local authorities in the Netherlands. The tour finished in the UK, with a return to London for culture and cuisine events organised by the Embassy of Japan. A meeting with Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP was also held with Governor Yamada.
JLGC would like to thank all the staff and our colleagues at the Edinburgh City Council, Scottish Government and VNG for their hard work in organising and arranging all the visits and activities, as well as their warm hospitality, and we look forward working with you again in the future.
