Harry and Hikonyan on the day of the Michigan Governor visit
I’m Harry, the new Programme Coordinator at JLGC from January 2025.
I recently returned from Japan, where I worked as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) at Shiga Prefectural Government through the JET Programme. As a CIR, I worked on translation, interpreting, and school outreach. Shiga Prefecture is located next to Kyoto and is known for Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan!
A highlight for me was the visit by Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, in September 2023. Michigan and Shiga have a long-standing sister state relationship that dates back to 1968. Being able to contribute to this relationship is something that I will always be proud of. I remember the day I met American participants on the Goodwill Mission that year – I was deeply moved by how Michiganders of all ages were welcomed by local Japanese people into their homes for their visit to Shiga Prefecture. I met Governor Whitmer at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU), a consortium of 15 public universities in Michigan, including Michigan State University. Its campus in Hikone (known for its original castle!) offers programs for both Japanese and American students and students from around the world.
Michigan and Shiga set an example of how local government can collaborate on an international level to benefit local communities, from cultural exchange to economic collaboration. Closer economic ties began with the 1969 visit by the Michigan Economic Mission to Shiga and the Shiga Prefecture Tourism and Markets Fair held in Grand Rapids, the second largest city after Detroit, the following year. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation participated in the 2023 visit to Shiga Prefecture, which also included a visit to the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and Midwest US-Japan Association in Tokyo (a forum for state governments and business leaders), in order to secure investment in the automotive and manufacturing sectors – an example of how the global and local can intersect at the local government level. A Visiting Official from Shiga Prefecture is also seconded to the State of Michigan (and our sister state of Hunan Province in China) to support local businesses, promote tourism and foreign investment, as well as to contribute to the wider activities of the sister state relationship.
My day-to-day work involved translating official correspondence for the prefectural government to support Shiga’s work with international partners. I was honoured to have been involved in the launch of a new partnership with Burgenland in Austria upon the signing of a MoU in 2023. I also worked with a Brazilian CIR who led translations into Portuguese for Shiga’s Japanese Brazilian community and our sister state relationship with Rio Grande do Sul. My interpreting work was a way to support our activities on the ground, including the visit by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan with the prefecture’s work on refugee support. I was also delighted to serve as a Prefectural Advisor (PA), a voluntary role that is part of the support system for the JET Programme. PAs normally work under a Host Prefecture, with at least one ALT-PA and CIR-PA in each Host Prefecture led by a Japanese supervisor. This role enabled me to get involved with professional development conferences (namely the Skills Development Conference for ALTs) and personal support (for example, to mediate with Contracting Organisations and JET Programme Participants if an issue arises).
In my role at JLGC, I hope to take my work on JET to the next level in supporting the activities of CLAIR. I have already been involved in supporting the research of Japanese colleagues in northern England, and I have enjoyed learning about local government from my own country’s perspective after working in a Japanese local government office. I am looking forward to continuing to support research across the UK and I also hope to get involved in our work with local governments in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
