JLGC JETs for Business Event
Japan Local Government Centre (JLGC) held an ‘Employing JETs’ Seminar in London’s Swedenborg Hall, at the end of 2015 attended by over 100 people. It was an opportunity for Japanese employers in the UK to hear about the skills JETs learn, together with former JETs looking to work in Japan related employment in the UK.
The 30th year anniversary of the JET Programme will be celebrated in 2016, and with an increasing focus on post-JET links in business and citizens diplomacy this event explained how participants use their experience for work, with contributors from companies who employ people who have been on the JET Programme, as well as former JETs employed by them. It was also an great opportunity for alumni to network with representatives of Japanese businesses in the UK. Companies who attended included Marubeni, Mitsui, Shinsei International, Japan England Insurers, Chubu Electric Power, Nomura International and others. The JET Programme over the last 30 years has employed over 10,000 UK graduates, and has a global alumni community of over 60,000.
Thanks go to our speakers former JETs Phillippa Harvey (Sumitomo Mitsui Trust International Limited) and Matthew Brown (Brunswick Associates), as well as our Japanese speakers on employing ex JETs Mr Daisuke Tsuchiya (Brunswick Associates), Mr Masanobu Mikami (JNTO) and Ms Takako Yoshihara (Centre People).
Hyogo Prefectural University meet with Scottish tourism experts.
Academics from Hyogo Prefectural University travelled from Kobe to Scotland, to visit the offices of Visit Scotland in Edinburgh and meet with staff from the Scottish Tourism Alliance in Glasgow. Professor Masao Hata and colleagues met with Lee McRonald, International Partnerships and Business Affairs Manager, at Visit Scotland’s Edinburgh offices to discuss experiences in Scotland of destination management and promotion, and the partnerships between the Scottish Government and the private tourism industry for sustainable development.
Japan saw an increase in international tourist visits in 2015, 47.1% on the previous year, while Japan’s regions look to promote visits to their areas away from the traditional destinations of Tokyo and Kyoto. Prof. Hata also met with Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance in Glasgow to discuss the view from the private sector and initiatives for sustainability in the industry. Many thanks go to both Lee and Marc for their kind hosting and work on the visit.
NALC Conference attendance
On December 2 2015, JLGC staff attended the Larger Councils Conference held annually by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). Our Director Kazuya Shima also took the opportunity to meet with NALC CEO Jonathan Owens.
This year’s conference, entitled ‘Communities Can’ brought together representatives of parish and town councils from around the country to discuss town regeneration and the role that larger town councils can play in economic development.
Featuring plenary sessions delivered by Janet Askew, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute, as well as Brandon Lewis, MP and DCLG Minister, the conference also had a variety of subject-specific workshops and talks, where town council representatives were given the opportunity to share and discuss their experiences.
Included in the afternoon were sessions on Town Centre Improvement, Devolution and work between the tiers, Social Care and the Care Act, and Partnership Working, all of which gave a very detailed picture of the variety of duties carried out by parish and town councils.
The conference concluded with an inspiring talk on leadership by Martine Wright, Paralympic athlete and 7/7 survivor.
NALC continues to be an important partner for JLGC, and the past year has seen public sector research delegations from our member organisations travelling from Japan with the specific goal of learning more about parish councils.
Thanks to Justin and the team at NALC for their continued support for JLGC’s activities.
Tuned In Tokyo
Following its UK debut at last year’s World Travel Market, efforts to promote the new Tokyo city brand ‘& Tokyo’ continue into 2016, with a special launch event held last month at the Midori House London HQ of Nikkei-owned media brand Monocle.
Over contemporary izakaya food Monocle founder and Tokyo aficionado Tyler Brulé gave a suitably reverential run-down of the Japanese capital’s key attractions and lifestyle offer vis-à-vis that of other world capitals during a téte-a-téte from the stage with the magazine’s editor Andrew Tuck.
Officials from the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB) engaged the crowd of London creatives and magazine readers in Japanese dining etiquette, while the Tokyo Tourism Representative to London dutifully engaged in his city promotion routine. As the line-up all argued however, the only way to truly live or experience the Tokyo brand is to visit the city itself.
