10/02/2011
Professor David Cope, Director of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) spoke to Japanese officials at JLGC today about the work of the office, particularly its international dimension. The talk addressed not only its advisory role on issues as diverse as the menace of chewing gum in the urban environment and local authority […]
10/02/2011
First ever conference of German cities with Japanese links in Berlin
As part of the 150-year anniversary celebrations of the first Prusso-Japanese treaty, on February 8 2011 the first ever conference of German cities with ties to Japanese cities took place at the Japanese Ambassadors’ Residence in Berlin. More than 70 participants turned out for this event, among them mayors and former mayors for major German cities as […]
09/02/2011
Creating value through local partnerships – Japan Day Seminar
The Japan Day Seminar: Local Links Conference will be held on Friday March 4 2011 at the Corn Exchange, Rochester in Kent. Featuring presentations from British local authorities and Anglo-Japanese organisations, the event will focus on how local bodies have been able to use their international partnerships with counterparts in Japan in new ways to […]
31/01/2011
The story of Paro the robot seal (who made his UK debut at our LGA conference stall two years ago) is now well-known here, but as the Daily Yomiuri reports, local governments in Japan are finding ever more innovative ways to keep their elderly populations mentally stimulated and alert: An increasing number of social welfare […]
21/01/2011
Yamanashi Prefecture brings Koshu Wines to London
Yamanashi Prefectural Government accompanied 14 wineries to London this week in support of efforts to market Japanese “Koshu” white wine, using the UK as a base for entry into the European market. This follows a very successful event last year where industry professionals were introduced to the region for the first time at events promoting the wine varieties as […]
19/01/2011
Anglo-Japanese Local Governance Study Visits
All staff of JLGC were fortunate to attend two days of lectures this week at the Institute of Local Government Studies of the University of Birmingham. Monday’s session, led by Professor Tony Bovaird, covered ‘From Performance Management in local government and its legacy to new forms of council management and service provision’, while on Tuesday […]
14/01/2011
Visits to Brighton and Southend-on-Sea
Assistant Director Yoshihisa Ogawa and Research Manager Andrew Stevens visited Brighton and Hove City Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council this week for a CLAIR report on local authority policies for tourism promotion as part of local economic development. In Brighton they heard about the council’s use of social media to reach out to new visitor […]
10/01/2011
JLGC takes part in the Efficiency Exchange
Coming soon, the ‘Japanese Experience’… for the week commencing 17th January 2011 the Japan Local Government Centre in London and colleagues in Japan will be participating in a week-long warmseat to highlight the experiences of local government in Japan during a crisis period. Communities of Practice for Public Service, a community platform run by Local […]
06/01/2011
The ‘Big Society’ is by now an embedded and accepted feature of the policy landscape in the UK, as the Coalition government’s narrative and guiding approach to public service reform and decentralisation. Within Japan however, efforts are proceeding among the new administration of the Democratic Party of Japan under Prime Minister Naoto Kan towards an […]
04/01/2011
Administrative Reform in Japanese Local Governments
The Institute for Comparative Studies in Local Governance (COSLOG) was established within the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) of Japan in 2006 and is associated with our parent body, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Each year the Project on Comparative Studies in Local Governance disseminates information on research results […]
