Japan Local Government Centre sent seven local government staff from senior positions to Japan on the Japan Study tour to Tokyo and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan’s north east Tōhoku region, hit by the March 11 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The group also visited JLGC’s parent office, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) headquarters in Tokyo to get a general outline of the role and structure of Japan’s local government. The main part of the tour was hosted by Miyagi Prefectural Government, with its headquarters in the major regional city of Sendai, and looked at the rebuilding and recovery process in the aftermath of the events in 2011.
Only one hour and thirty minutes by shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, Miyagi was hit by the 11 March 2011 earthquake causing coastal areas of the prefecture to suffer catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake in turn triggering a massive tsunami, and further destruction of towns and villages along the coast. Also largely destroyed was the town of Ishinomaki, where the tsunami was reportedly three stories high.
Miyagi’s economy has been traditionally focused on fishing and agriculture, producing a great deal of rice and livestock, and is now dominated by the manufacturing industries around Sendai, particularly electronics, appliances, and food processing. Tourism is now playing a major role in the recovery from the events of 2011 – within the prefecture, Matsushima is known as one of the historic three most scenic views of Japan, with a bay of 260 small islands covered in pine groves, famously painted by prolific ‘ukiyo-e’ woodblock artist Yōshū Chikanobu.
The tour included looking at the current situation in the affected areas and introduce the measures taken by Miyagi Prefecture for revitalising the local economy; pursuit of potential cooperation on economic links with Europe and site visits to the coastal areas damaged by the tsunami looked at advance technology companies that have been re-established after the damage,. There were also visits to companies actively promoting expansion overseas and organisations and bodies promoting the region and tourist destinations, with further discussion if strategies for attracting foreign investment and market development.
Andrew Tubb, Chief Executive Officer of Cirencester Town Council commented: ‘The study tour provided the opportunity to experience an international culture within the context of local government and to be able to share best practice – it was truly humbling seeing how human needs were being met following the tsunami of 2011 and a privilege to meet so many amazing people committed to serving their local communities’. Other members of the 2013 group will be at JLGC’s Japan Day Seminar (JDS) in London on March 11 2014, to discuss what they saw in Miyagi as well as discus wider issues of regeneration, under the theme of “Local Growth, Global Links”. To book a place at JDS follow this link
The tour takes place every year and will be to Kumamoto Prefecture later this year (subject to final confirmation), and places are available to senior UK/EU public sector professionals. Accommodation, travel and food expenses in Japan during the tour will be covered by CLAIR, but participants must bear the cost of the return flight between the UK and Japan. To register for the application pack when it is available please call 020 7839 8500 or email mailbox@jlgc.org.uk
