03/06/2015
Tokyo 2020 to promote Japan’s distinctive regional cultural offer
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has released its ‘Tokyo Vision for Arts and Culture’ to announce the basic direction of Tokyo’s cultural policies, looking ahead to the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. This complements other global strategies for promoting Tokyo to the world, such as last year’s ‘Basic Strategy for City Diplomacy’ and more […]
02/06/2015
‘Tokyo Brand’ is new branding project by Tokyo Metropolitan Government to establish Tokyo as a powerful destination, with Tokyo 2020 and beyond in mind. Tokyo is the centre of the world’s attention now due to Tokyo 2020. Therefore, TMG wants to rediscover Tokyo’s appeal and communicate the Tokyo brand to the world with confidence. As part […]
01/06/2015
Knowledge Exchange for Creative Cities in Japan and Europe
A global network of creative cities supported by UNESCO has met in the Japanese city of Kanazawa to agree a platform of actions aimed at furthering knowledge exchange for urban cultural development. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (CCN), which was set up in 2004 to promote creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development, has six […]
31/05/2015
Cities and Local Government Devolution – reforms for Japan’s ageing society
In 2012 a new law was passed by Japan’s national parliament to allow urban areas (see ‘New law for Japanese megacities’) to shift to a new form of metropolitan wider area governance from 2015, should local governments and their citizens want this. Subsequently a referendum was held under the law in the city of Osaka […]
14/04/2015
Recruitment: ‘Kobe City Overseas Business Coordinator’
The City of Kobe Government (the City) is currently in the process of recruiting a ‘Kobe City Overseas Business Coordinator’ contractor position (either the City as a corporate company client, or employing a self-employed consultant). The role will be to report to the City with up-to-date market information from a target region, and the successful candidate […]
31/03/2015
Research for Regional Revitalisation – our 2014/15 review
As one of CLAIR’s network of overseas offices, the JLGC London Research Team is responsible for a programme of activities aimed at providing benefit and impact for our member cities and regions in Japan. Over 2014/15 our staff were engaged in active workstreams supporting the office’s work in undertaking and commissioning policy research, as well […]
24/03/2015
Universities in Kyoto collaborate to offer two week study programme
Universities in Kyoto collaborate to offer two week study programme introducing city’s full-featured academic environment Kyoto City and The Consortium of Universities in Kyoto has launched Kyoto Study Programme: from Anime to Zen, which is a non-degree two week programme offering international students an excellent introduction to Japanese society and culture. The programme provides special […]
06/03/2015
Tokyo’s Strategy for City Diplomacy
Last October Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe made a series of city diplomacy-related overseas visits to city leaders in London and Berlin. This was followed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s ‘Basic Strategy for City Diplomacy’ (PDF), compiled in December 2014. The strategy (PDF) clarifies the key principles for Tokyo’s city diplomacy as: TMG shall strategically implement city […]
28/01/2015
Local Japan: Case Studies in Place Promotion – Manga and Anime statues as local landmarks
JLGC Researcher Benjamin Preece has written a new case study looking at how Japanese local authorities use their unique ties to manga and anime characters for place identity and promotion. Among Japan’s most popular exports of the past several decades are Japanese comics and cartoons, or manga and anime as they are better known. There […]
26/01/2015
Two decades of inter-municipal learning from Japan
Along with our annual Japan Day Seminar held in the UK, our Study Tour to Japan held in association with Japanese cities each year is a core activity of JLGC in London alongside our work in research, study visits and the JET Programme. Beginning in 1994, the tour has seen over 200 alumni visit and […]
