24/09/2010
Japanese visitors get insight into Leeds’ care
From this week’s Municipal Journal: Delegates from Tokyo’s Nihon University have been in Leeds to see how council cares for older people. The visitors were escorted around various projects by a group of staff from West North West Homes Leeds (WNWHL). They also looked at how to build stronger links with the voluntary community sector. […]
22/09/2010
From love hotels to toilet rolls: delivering planned communities in Japan
By Sarah Longlands, Patsy Dell (www.lgcplus.com) It’s refreshing to find that the problems that we are grappling with in the UK are not so different from the challenges faced by planners and economic development professionals on the other side of the world… apart from that is, the economic contribution of Love Hotels in planned communities. […]
22/09/2010
The lessons from Japan’s public sector challenge
Aidan Rave reports on a recent study tour to look at local government in Japan where he discovered surprising similarities in public sector challenges with the UK This was my first trip to Japan and on so many levels it lived up to expectations. Our tour took in both Tokyo and Kyoto, with the theme […]
22/09/2010
Saitama Prefecture employees set up bike sharing scheme
In June 2010 employees of Saitama Prefectural Government and the Saitama Risona Bank set up a communal bike share scheme called ‘E-cycle Sharing Saitama’ with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions by encouraging the switch from cars to bikes. The scheme currently has thirty bicycles which can be used and dropped off to one of […]
21/09/2010
The October issue of Monocle magazine has a short feature on Tokushima prefecture, which is home to one of Japan’s lesser-known claims to fame – as the world’s number one LEd-manufacturing centre. Dubbed LEdValley, local officials plan to build further upon its status. Already, there are 86 LEd-related companies in the region, the most famous […]
16/09/2010
UK JETs meet Foreign Minister Jeremy Browne in Osaka
Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne met with JET Programme participants from the UK during his recent visit to Japan to boost business ties, and follow up on the Foreign Secretary’s commitment to deepening UK-Japan relations. During his three-day visit, from 9 to 11 September, Jeremy Browne spent a day in Tokyo before travelling to Osaka. […]
15/09/2010
Japan Local Government Centre’s Andrew Stevens has been published on the comment Guardian Public website. His article ‘Jumping on the brands wagon’ discusses the issues around place branding and its use by local authorities. The piece is a preview of his chapter in the forthcoming book City Branding – Theory and Cases which is to be […]
14/09/2010
JLGC at the Japan Matsuri 2010
On Saturday 18 September 2010, the Japan Local Government Centre will be taking part in Japan Matsuri 2010. The festival is taking place at Spitalfields Market near Liverpool Street Station and will be a celebration of all things Japanese: food, music, anime, manga, tradition arts, sake, and much, much more. From 10am to 8pm there […]
07/09/2010
Embassy Reports on JET and JETAA Activities
The Embassy of Japan in the UK have posted up a special article on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme and the JET Alumni Association in the United Kingdom. Featuring a piece from former JETAA Chairman Julian Paisley, the article gives a nice overview of the organisation, now in its 20th year: The Japan […]
03/09/2010
Setouchi Art Festival Television Program on SKY/Freesat Ch 209
An English-language television series called Islands of Affluence will be broadcast starting September 3rd on NHK World, available in the UK on Freesat and SKY on Channel 209. The Art Setouchi 2010 Festival is now being held in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, and is the world’s first major modern art festival to take place on multiple […]
