Publications

Arrivals and departures for 2017

It’s that time of year again, our annual staff rotation where we say goodbye to staff returning to their local authority in Japan and welcome new members from our member municipalities to the London office after their initial year at Tokyo HQ.

Deputy Director Mr Tsutomu Asada, Senior Advisor Mr Masahiro Ishida, Assistant Directors Ms Kuniko Hamada and Ms Mariko Kosaka will return to Aichi Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Sendai City.

Arriving in April are Deputy Director Hideaki Shibata coming directly from Aichi Prefecture, and Assistant Directors Ms Noriko Makita from Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Mr Noriyasu Motoya, Ms Misato Watanabe, Mr Kyosuke Tomita, Ms Naomi Yamaguchi and Ms Kaori Maruyama from Ishikawa, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tsu City (in Mie) and Tokushima Prefectures respectively.

Thanks to our four staff leaving this month for their hard work and cooperation on all our projects and activities over the last two years, as well as our UK supporters for helping them during their stay here. We welcome our new staff who are looking forward to working with our UK and European partners and colleagues over the next couple of years.

Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward visit London

A delegation of nine visited London from Chiyoda Ward within the Tokyo Metropolitan Government area, to research legacy issues of the London 2012 Games such as the facilities built, transportation infrastructure, volunteering and to renew links with Westminster City Council with whom the ward in Tokyo have an active education link. As well as seeing various facilities and site visits in relation to the theme of the visit, a meeting was arranged at the Arts Council England London Region office to discuss governance between the body, London 2012 and local authorities, programme delivery mechanisms, as well as collaboration between educational institutes and efforts to engage with young people and the community during the London games.

The group also met with The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Westminster Cllr Steve Summers for a courtesy visit to thank the London borough for continued support of educational links between the two authorities, as well as discuss the impact of programmes within Westminster for young people in 2012. A number of municipalities within Tokyo are looking to London 2012 to see how best to benefit from the staging of the games in 2020.

Music Tourism Convention – Liverpool, 16-17 February

JLGC staff attended the Liverpool tourism convention, the first music tourism convention there, organised in the city to acknowledge the Beatles’ legacy in driving themed tourism to the area. The event was held in the Titanic Hotel development, overlooking the significant regeneration site of Liverpool’s Stanley Docks (a World Heritage Site).

The organisers of the event were Sound Diplomacy, a specialist consultancy working with city governments/regions and private companies to promote music in economic development strategies (tourism, retail and property development), while it was sponsored by Marketing Liverpool, the city’s promotional agency.

The event attracted 250 delegates from around the world, with Liverpool’s Assistant Mayor paying tribute to Japan’s presence in her speech. Delegates mainly represented city and regional tourism agencies and music industry bodies.

Japanese local authorities are also interested in such initiatives and have been watching London in particular, looking at the night-time economy with the introduction of the Night Tube which has featured extensively in the Japanese media, and how issues over regulations and business practices relates to Japan, with potential benefits considered to be very high. ‘Night centres’ are also being created to cope with security problems and night-time issues. How to support tourists particularly at night is considered to be a priority.

Governor of Yamanashi visit

Yamanashi Governor Mr Hitoshi Goto visited London at the end of January 2017 to continue with the promotion of Koshu Wine, which has become an annual activity and a prominent feature of economic development and destination branding for the prefecture. Governor Goto visited the Japanese Embassy, the Japan Local Government Centre London office, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the UK, and the JETRO London office to discuss trends in the UK wine market, and further cooperation on PR. JLGC has worked with Yamanashi Prefecture for a number of years since the beginning of marketing Koshu wine in the UK.

London and the UK are widely recognised in Japan as a major international wine market and PR hub, as well as a major wine importer and a prime target for sales promotion by the Governor himself. At a luncheon held in a Japanese restaurant in the centre of London the Governor was joined by a British wine journalist, one of the world’s highest qualified sommeliers, a buyer of the major UK supermarket chain Mark & Spencer, and wine industry professionals including a former Association Director of Master of Wine, where the governor himself promoted the appeal of Yamanashi wine.

Urban Diversity Conference in Rotterdam

JLGC staff attended the DIVERCITIES: Governing Urban Diversity conference in Rotterdam in February 2017. The conference brought together academic researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to discuss research findings and concepts for diversity in contemporary European cities. Discussions looked at how urban diversity can positively affect social cohesion, social mobility and economic performance in cities and how the right balance of governance arrangements can be used to tap the full potential of diversity’s substantial assets for specific urban groups, for areas within cities, and for cities and metropolitan areas as a whole.

A running theme throughout the presentations was the definition of diversity, and how it is perceived differently from person to person. It is common for the focus to be on culture and ethnicity, however this can be broadened out to every aspect of society including age and income.

Although Japan has a considerably lower immigrant population percentage in comparison to countries in Europe, there are many lessons that can be learnt from diverse European cities in how to achieve an integrated society that avoids community segregation and provides for the needs of all of its citizens. As Japanese local authorities bolster their efforts in global engagement, diversity will remain an area that will require great attention to both present and for the future.

JETAA AGM 2017

The JETAA UK Annual General Meeting was held at JLGC’s London office in Whitehall at the end of February, with representatives from the UK’s four current active chapters, all discussing events and activities over the last year and strategies to improve engagement and member attendance at events in 2017. JETAA UK is a grassroots voluntary not-for-profit organisation working with JLGC and the Embassy of Japan in the UK, supporting links between the two countries through activities and events. These are all organised by volunteers from some 10,000 former participants in the JET Programme, many of whom work in Japanese companies as well as UK businesses working with Japan.

Discussions over the weekend included better use of social media and putting together content for members to engage with on line, the JETAA mentoring project linking newly returned ex JETs with experienced professionals in a variety of roles, Japan related and others, developing links with Japanese organisations and UK businesses with Japan links, as well as organising events with other Japan-interest groups.

JETAA also liaises with the Embassy of Japan in the UK, organising ‘unofficial’ pre-departure orientations and social events every year for new participants in the programme, where those soon off to Japan can discuss the reality of life in Japan with alumni in a relaxed environment; an annual barbecue in Edinburgh organised by the Scotland chapter, Japanese cocktail night in Manchester and a very popular Q&A day and reception for participants and their parents organised in London by the chapter in the capital, one of the largest regional chapters in the world, to name but a few of the regular events over the last couple of years. 2017 is the 30th Anniversary of the JET Programme, with over 60,000 young graduates being recruited through embassies and placed in local authorities throughout all of Japan’s 47 prefectures and municipalities, as Assistant Language Teachers, and Coordinators for International Relations, in Boards of Education, state schools and city halls/prefecture head offices. The JETAA UK committee is currently discussing potential anniversary activities, including possible collaboration with European chapters in Ireland, Germany and France.

Anyone interested in potential collaborations, including individual funding applications for events and activities, are welcome to discuss ideas for working together by contacting the UK committee via treasurer@jetaa.org.uk