In the UK it’s often said that in a recession the first two spends to be cut in local government are staff training and PR. Interestingly in Japan, investment in both remains steady through the Japan Academy for Municipal Personnel (supervised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), which runs courses year round for local civil servants of municipalities and prefectures.
While in the UK, place branding courses are not routinely offered at universities or local government training programmes, the academy in Japan has a regular three-day course offered to middle-ranking and senior officials, with places for 40 participants in each intake:
Place branding – the theory and skills needed to create, nurture and manage
1. Challenges in and future of place branding
2. Strategy for branding the public perception that places have
3. Promoting and communicating the place brand
4. Strategizing for place branding
5. Implementing a strategy for place branding
6. Place branding – by whom and how
When it comes to the task of revitalization of local and regional areas, Japan continues to invest in people as well as place.
