29/06/2009
The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) of Japan conducted a nationwide survey on local governments’ efforts to reduce plastic bags on 1 November 2008. According to the results compiled on 14 January 2009, 80 percent of prefectures and 40 percent of municipalities have already implemented schemes to in some way reduce the use of plastic […]
24/06/2009
Sayonara Tokyo, Hello Tyne and Wear
The North East has been celebrating 150 years of trade between the UK and Japan at a special ceremony in Saltwell Park. Delegates from across the region met for a celebratory event in Gateshead to mark the occasion and help strengthen existing links even further. Dignitaries including Gateshead Mayor Cllr John Eagle and the Consul […]
24/06/2009
Have a look at community blog Tokyo2016Today.com and its Top 10 from Tokyo 2016 flickr group. Or indeed, check out the rest of the blog. Great work!
24/06/2009
Paro, the ‘therapeutic robot seal’, will make his debut in Britain at the JLGC stall at the LGA’s annual conference in Harrogate (30 June-2 July). One of several examples of best practice from Japanese local government being showcased at the stall, he is loaned to us from Toyama Prefectural Government (where he is built), having […]
18/06/2009
JLGC’s Seiki Kimura (who is seconded from Tokyo Metropolitan Government) attended the 2009 Plenary Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in The Hague this week. The meeting, held 16-17 June, was attended by 75 partner nations. Mr Kimura participated in the plenary session and two workshops to discuss and share best practice […]
04/06/2009
Ahead of the Copenhagen IOC meeting to determine the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games later this year, the Japanese Olympic Committee has chosen the East Midlands as its training base for the 2012 Games in London. Japanese atheletes will live and train at Loughborough, starting from this summer. A Memorandum of Understanding was […]
27/05/2009
The northern Japan town of Kuzumaki, Iwate prefecture, is making use of its windy assets in some very creative ways. Twelve wind turbines and three wind power plants generate enough power for 600 households. And if that’s not enough to blow you away, dairy cow manure is processed into clean fertiliser and methane gas. JLGC’s […]
26/05/2009
The BBC is reporting that some parts of Britain are suffering from limited or no broadband access (so-called ‘notspots’) and that the government is pledging to wire up the rest of the country by 2012. Apparently it’s a similar story in Germany as well. However, the BBC also report today that Japan has access to […]
20/05/2009
The JLGC website now carries the centre’s English language reports (ie. pre-translation to Japanese) on this page, which includes each month’s Monthly Reports (mostly British and German public sector topics), which are sent to all Japanese local authorities.
19/05/2009
London mayor Boris Johnson is in Seoul for the 2009 C40 summit of large cities against climate change. The London mayor was joined by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara at the first session of the summit yesterday.
