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 […]
31/12/2014
‘Local revitalization in which local governments play the main role’
The 47th general election of the Japanese House of Representatives was held December 14 and led to the re-election of the Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Ahead of the election, the ruling LDP set out its policies around economic revitalization for Japan’s cities and regions, which are detailed below: Growth […]
04/12/2014
Japan on Film: Ishikawa – ‘A Tale of Samurai Cooking’ showing in London from 12 December
On 12 December, A Tale of a Samurai Cooking, a film set in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast will open at the Curzon Mayfair, giving movie-goers a silver screen look into this soon-to-be easier to access part of Japan. Director Yuzo Asahara chose to set the film in Kaga Domain, the former […]
01/12/2014
Local links: researching shared cultural history of Tyneside and Japan
Links between Japan and the North East of England were celebrated as part of the ‘UK-JAPAN 150’ year of events in 2008 to mark the 150th anniversary of Japan-UK relations. Now the region’s vibrant historic links with Japan are being explored through a cultural research project which aims to tell the story of five young […]
17/11/2014
Last week JLGC supported a study mission to London by Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, examining in particular how to embed a sustainable legacy for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics based on London’s experience of 2012. The group were hosted by Transport for London, who were able to arrange visits to Crossrail, the Emirates cable car […]
17/11/2014
With the assistance of JLGC, LSE Cities has developed a case study on aspects of urban governance in Tokyo. The case study was first presented at LSE Cities’ 2014 Urban Age conference ‘Governing Urban Futures’ and can be viewed here, with the datasets on Governance Structures viewed here. LSE Cities, the urban affairs research centre […]
14/11/2014
A trade mission supported by Fukuoka City Government took place 11-14 November at the Apps World conference in London. Fukuoka aims to become Japan’s leading ‘Start Up City’ and the delegation was the second to London since its signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Tech City. For more details see the Apps World website.
05/11/2014
Japanese cities and regions such as Kobe, Kyushu and Okinawa, as well as the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), are again exhibiting at this year’s World Travel Market. The UN World Tourism Organisation supported event, which takes place 3-6 November at London’s ExCel Exhibition Centre, will see other Japanese destinations such as Osaka and Kinosaki […]
