17/08/2011
JLGC at the Japan Matsuri 2011, 18 September
The first large-scale urban matsuri took place in London’s historic Spitalfields Market in September 2009. Previously Matsuri had taken place in Hyde Park (1991 and 2001) but this was the first time a Japanese community celebration was held in the middle of a thriving modern mixed commercial and residential area. 2009 Japan Matsuri was a vibrant […]
12/08/2011
‘Heartfelt thanks from the people of Japan’
The Japanese community of Colchester is holding a very special event to express their gratitude to the town for its generosity and support following the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Soon after the quake and tsunami struck Japan’s Tohoku region on 11 March 2011, a group of local artists conducted a […]
08/08/2011
Amid the debate around the pros and cons of the proposed UK’s High Speed 2 rail project, Dr Christopher Hood of Cardiff University has an article in the Social Science Japan Journal on ‘The Shinkansen’s Local Impact’, which assesses the effect high speed rail has had on local areas in Japan. The article “look[s] at […]
08/08/2011
Lessons from Japan: investing in local identities
The Guardian‘s Local Government Network website carries a feature today on place branding practice by local authorities in Japan, including several quotes by JLGC’s Keith Kelly and a precis of our office’s activities in the UK. The article also mentions the JLGC case studies ‘Using regional products and PR to revitalise local areas’ (PDF) and […]
05/08/2011
JET Programme UK intake Summer 2011
This year 195 participants have been selected to go to Japan from the UK as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) based in schools or as Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) based in local government offices working to promote international links at the grassroots level. On 4 and 5 July 2011, the successful applicants attended their pre-departure orientation at […]
05/08/2011
External promotion of the Channel Islands
JLGC staff Andrew Stevens and Marie Yoshikawa visited the Channel Islands for the first time, in what is hoped to begin a new relationship and understanding of the Crown Dependencies, the self-governing islands associated with the United Kingdom. The visit to Guernsey and Jersey follows a visit in May to the Isle of Man, the third […]
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 […]
