04/08/2011
Renewable energy and low carbon Scotland
A delegation including Japan Local Government Centre staff visited Scotland this week to look at the Scottish Government’s challenging 2020 targets for a renewable energy society. Led by Chairman of the Japan Productivity Centre Hiroya Masuda (former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan (2007-08) and Governor of Iwate Prefecture (1995-2007), the visitors included […]
03/08/2011
Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Japan and Isle of Man comes into force
On August 2 the Embassy of Japan in London received notification from the Government of the Isle of Man, informing the completion of its internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of “the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the Isle of Man for the Exchange of Information Relating to […]
01/08/2011
Japan’s urban future: Kitakyushu
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has selected Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture as the first green growth model city in Asia for policy assessment, according to the Mainichi. Under the programme, the OECD will send a survey mission to Kitakyushu, southwestern Japan, to analyze and assess the municipality’s economic growth and environmental policies […]
01/08/2011
Japan Day Seminar – July 29 2011
Japan and the North East of England – Investing in People and Places Gateshead Civic Centre Chaired by Professor Marie Conte-Helm OBE, Director of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, the seminar of public officials, business figures and academics looked at investment links between the North East of England and Japan, and how future regional growth could […]
27/07/2011
More on the Japanese ‘Big Society’
We’ve mentioned previously how the ‘Big Society’ concept is gaining something in the way of traction in Japan and how Japanese approaches are also being readily studied in the UK in the form of hureai kippu (Caring Relationship Ticket Scheme). Earlier this month Wilton Park, the UK government’s arms-length historic institution for international dialogue and […]
22/07/2011
A new website in English for “international voices” has been launched by the City of Sapporo Government, with first hand news of great cuisine and local tourist hotspots in and around Sapporo and the wider Hokkaido area, Japan’s northern most island. The site aims to be an authentic voice for people visiting Hokkaido as videos […]
21/07/2011
Tokyo Tourism Representative encourages people to ‘Yes! Tokyo’
Yes! Tokyo is the title of a stand being manned by the Tokyo Tourism Representative at the HYPER JAPAN 2011 event, Olympia Two, London. The earthquake and issues surrounding the disaster in March have had a serious effect on tourist numbers to Japan over the past six months. The stand at HYPER JAPAN will allow […]
19/07/2011
This week the annual Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index for 2011 was published, with Simon Anholt remarking that “The stability of Tokyo’s brand image comes as no surprise, since the city consistently ranks impressively on welcoming people, amenities, cultural richness, education and business climate,” JLGC’s Andrew Stevens also has a lengthier analysis of the Tokyo city […]
15/07/2011
David Cameron meets with Keidanren at Downing Street
UK Prime Minister David Cameron met members of Japan’s Business Federation the Keidanren last week at a meeting hosted by Business Secretary Vince Cable. According to an announcement by the British Embassy in Tokyo, the Prime Minister said that the UK had long been the recipient of Japanese investment: “The first wave of companies had […]
13/07/2011
JLGC at the LG Group Conference
JLGC’s participation at this year’s LG Group Conference in Birmingham has been noted on their conference blog – you can see the article here. We’d like to thank everyone who came to talk to us for the chance to find out what UK local authority staff are interested in, in terms of the Japanese experience of local government, as […]
