07/12/2011
Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Japan and Guernsey
Japan and the Channel Island government of Guernsey have this week signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA). The Agreement provides for a detailed mechanism for the exchange of tax information, including local government taxes, with a view to preventing cross-border fiscal evasion and tax avoidance (see also Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.) Deputy […]
02/12/2011
Creative Clyde, Sustainable Glasgow
This week JLGC staff visited Glasgow City Council to examine approaches to regeneration in port cities as part of a CLAIR report. While in the Scottish city, they saw the waterside media village being constructed on the Clyde as part of efforts to bring new business and creativity to a neglected district under Creative Clyde. […]
25/11/2011
Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures’ International Divisions have published English language versions of their post earthquake and tsunami recovery updates, detailing local government projects helping communities in the affected areas, rebuilding public facilities and infrastructure, and highlighting some of the natural beauty attractions in Tohoku which are still very much open to tourists. There are also […]
21/11/2011
This weekend JLGC staff attended the London Councils Summit at the London Guildhall. The event is the annual summit for the 32 London Boroughs and the City of London Corporation. This year the centre has attended the Local Government Association annual conference (as sponsor and stall), as well as those of the National Association of […]
16/11/2011
Local Japan: Case Studies in Place Promotion
The latest ‘Local Japan’ case study focuses on the place promotion of Kitakyushu, which is making the transition ‘from grey city to green city’ and aiming to become ‘world capital of sustainable development’. You can read the case study here (PDF). Our earlier Local Japan case studies on place promotion through pop culture and regional […]
16/11/2011
This week staff from JLGC accompanied a delegation from Shizuoka Prefectural Government on official visits in the UK and Germany, based around their interest in renewable energy. In the UK they visited London Array, a wind farm manufacturer, while in Germany they visited Munich, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and Rothenburg, looking at geothermal, solar and biomass programmes […]
08/11/2011
Visiting London Olympic Park and City Hall
This week members of Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly visited London, supported by JLGC staff, inspecting progress at the Olympic Park ahead of next summer’s 2012 Olympic Games, as well as visiting officials at London City Hall to learn about London’s successful bid. They also attended a reception held at the Embassy of Japan in support of […]
07/11/2011
From skyscrapers to Saxony – JLGC in Germany
Last week JLGC staff, including Director Tanaka, visited Germany to promote the Tohoku region at Japan Week 2011, held 5-12 November in Frankfurt am Main. The city was the obvious choice for the week of Japan-themed events – over the past 20 years the Japanese community in Frankfurt has grown steadily, with 3,300 Japanese people […]
04/11/2011
Go Shinohara, Member of the Yokohama City Assembly, was one of the presenters at WaterfrontExpo 2011 in Glasgow this week. His presentation on the Yokohama waterfront (above) was one of several on how the waterfront regeneration aspirations of four international and three UK cities actually have turned out in practice and how their achievements to […]
04/11/2011
In cooperation with local authorities and the relevant government offices, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will to carry out various domestic projects to advance the idea of the “construction of creative hubs”, suggested by the public-private expert panel on creative industries, as a part of the ‘Cool Japan Promotion Strategy Project’. These […]