11/06/2013
By Atsuko Yamaguchi, Assistant Director. Last week several staff attended an event organised at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (DAJF) to promote greater understanding of Japanese sake culture and its economic importance. Chaired by Minister Kawakami of the Embassy of Japan in London (who is seconded from the Ministry of Finance, which has responsibility for taxation […]
25/03/2013
Public Seminar – From Kobe to Tohoku: Civic Responses to Disasters in Japan
Friday 29th March 2:30pm Japan Foundation, London The Japan Foundation is pleased to present this special public seminar to mark the two year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Dr Simon Avenell (Australian National University) will examine the role played by volunteers following the triple disaster. In particular, he will trace the evolution of […]
22/03/2013
City governance: lessons from English cities
This week JLGC assisted a visit to English cities by former JLGC Director Shigeru Naiki, who is now a Professor within the Department of Regional Economics at Teikyo University in Japan. Professor Naiki visited Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool to research the consequences of the Localism Act on their city governance, in particular the elected mayor […]
27/02/2013
Japanese economic growth plan shows the benefits of local autonomy
A participant on JLGC’s recent Japan Study Tour to Nagasaki, Guardian Local Government Network editor Hannah Fearn has a piece in today’s Society Guardian on Nagasaki’s green deal: “Yet, unlike many British cities, Nagasaki has a convincing vision for its future. Its prefectural government (comparable to a large county council or combined regional authority) has set out a […]
12/02/2013
At the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development last year, the Government of Japan was the lead organiser of the ‘Future Cities We Want – Linking and Spreading Sustainable Future Cities’ side event (alongside Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the City of Yokohama), which examined the potential for Japan’s own ‘FutureCity’ Initiative as a means through […]
11/01/2013
Japan400: from the high seas to the high street
Japan400 marks the 400th anniversary of the first contacts between Britain and Japan, recalling the voyage of the East India Company to Japan in 1613 which led to a successful and stable relationship between our two island nations, which endures and prospers to this day. What began with an exchange of gifts between the British […]
10/12/2012
Local Japan: Cycle Hire Schemes
We have now produced a ‘Local Japan’ briefing detailing the scale and presence of local cycle hire schemes in Japan, including an overview of their size and ubiquity. Click here to read (PDF) The briefing was assembled by Keisuke Hamada during his time on secondment to our office studying the London Cycle Hire Scheme, using […]
24/10/2012
Event: After the Tsunami – Rebuilding Tohoku
Film event and panel discussion at SOAS. Time: 14:00 – 16:00 + networking time from 16:00-16:45. Date: Sun, 11 November 2012 A one day film and talk event attended by Governor of Miyagi Yoshihiro Murai, the prefecture in Japan hit hardest by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake, will be held in London at SOAS reflecting […]
17/10/2012
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has published an update on its ‘Promotion of the Cool Japan Strategy and Creative Tokyo Project’ (PDF). As a part of such initiatives, METI will promote the ‘Creative Tokyo’ project in the capital city as a showcase of Japanese creative industries. Related ministries and agencies, shopping districts, […]
02/10/2012
Co-branding: lessons from Kent and Kyushu
Last week JLGC assisted a visit to Kent County Council from the Kyushu Economic Research Center. The Kyushu researcher, Mr Kabu, visited Kent to learn more about their cross-channel partnership with Nord-Pas de Calais and West Flanders on account of Kyushu’s own active link to neighbouring Korea. The Kent-France co-branded link up around tourism and economic […]
