Hello and Goodbye
As colleagues and regular readers will know, seconded staff returning to and coming from our member local authorities in Japan is a regular feature of JLGC office life. This summer saw the departure of Director Yuichiro Hanyu, returning to a central government role, in the Office of Decentralization Reform, in the Cabinet Office in Tokyo.
Our new Director is Mr Kazuya Shima, seconded from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, our parent ministry with responsibility for local government in Japan. Director Shima previously worked in the Cabinet Legislative Bureau as a counselor, and positions in Fukushima and Gunma Prefectures, with considerable experience in the area of electoral systems.
Assistant Researcher Hannah Waterson has also departed JLGC for a new role working in TV production. The Assistant Researcher position is filled by Benjamin Preece, who has previous Japanese local government experience working as a Coordinator for International Relations in Hyogo Prefecture in the Kansai region of west Japan while on the JET Programme from 2010-2013.
We wish the very best to those embarking on new roles and a big welcome to those who have just joined us.
London Borough of Richmond visit
JLGC staff were able to visit the London Borough of Richmond for the day in September to look at the functions of the council and the issues facing local residents as well as the services provided for them. The five areas the council are working on are maintaining the Olympic Legacy from the Games in 2012 of which the area hosted events, the Achieving for Children (AFC) project organised jointly with neighbouring Kingston-upon-Thames supporting young people, schools and families, park development, social care and redevelopment of the central shopping area of the town.
JLGC would like to offer our deep thanks to the London Borough of Richmond for this invaluable opportunity for Japanese staff to see the functions of local government in the UK, which helps with Japanese seconded staff’s personal development and offers their local authorities back in Japan an international perspective on delivering public services.
Speciality and Fine Food Fair 2014
A variety of food and wine from Japan was on display at the Specialty and Fine Food Fair exhibition at London’s Olympia 8 – 9 September, and JLGC staff were on hand to assist producers and exporters at the Japan Pavilion organised by the Japanese government agency JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation). Japanese local government has a comparatively central role in helping Japanese manufactures and producers in marketing their goods and produce overseas and developing international markets. JLGC staff have over the years been tasked with researching markets and standards for Japanese regional producers, and local government helps local businesses with exporting local produce such as sake from Niigata, nori (sea weed) and green tea from Shizuoka, honey and tofu from Tokyo, sesame products from Osaka, and many more, who were amongst those exhibiting at the Japan pavilion.
One recent big push from Japan is to promote wagyu – Japanese beef. Wagyu (‘和牛’ Wagyū, literally ‘Japanese cow’) refers to several breeds of cattle, the beef of which has intense marbling and produces a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. The meat from wagyu cattle is known for its quality, and demands a high price. In several areas of Japan, wagyu beef is shipped carrying area names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima, Matsusaka, Ōmi, and Sanda beef. Zen-noh, Japan’s national federation of agricultural cooperative associations, has been active in promoting wagyu in Europe, including events at Fortnum and Mason on London’s Piccadilly. Japan’s local government works extensively with such bodies to help revitalize the local economies of regions producing such goods.
JLGC Intern Programme
JLGC London had two guests from our Tokyo HQ in the months of September and October. Every year Japanese staff seconded from Japanese local authorities for one year at our Tokyo HQ spend a few months at overseas offices on short term research projects. Ryosuke Nakamura and Takeshi Togashi, both from Aichi Prefectural Government. Both were here in the UK researching the following areas in UK local government; Mr Nakamura met with the advisors to the Young Mayor (youth workers) at London Borough of Lewisham council and also met with staff from Newcastle City Council working on similar projects. Mr Togashi met with staff at the Liaison Group of Airport Consultative Committees, as well as with staff at Newcastle Airport. JLGC would like to thank all those who gave up their time to help and welcome Mr Togashi and Mr Nakamura, and for assisting with their research.
