‘use’ (urban sustainability exchange) article and case studies.
JLGC London Director General Mr Yoshiyuki Kurono, seconded from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (the ministry responsible for local government in Japan) discussed the the role of Japan’s Council of Local Authorities on International Relations (CLAIR) in supporting international city networking, collaboration and the global exchange of ideas of Japan’s local authorities. use (urban sustainability exchange) is a knowledge exchange platform dedicated to sustainable city making. use connects city-makers and encourages the exchange of ideas and experiences to effect positive sustainable change.
use (formerly Policy Transfer Platform) was launched in 2014 as a Metropolis Initiative led and co-founded by the City of Berlin, and is supported by the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University and a global network of institutional partners and award organisations.
The full article can be seen here.
JLGC has also contributed a number of case studies to the use platform which can be seen here, using the search function entering ‘Japan’.
CLAIR Tokyo HQ Staff Research: London’s Culture and Heritage
JLGC London once again hosted two staff members from our Tokyo Headquarters this autumn for the purposes of short-term research training on behalf of CLAIR. Nana Arakawa (Tokyo Metropolitan Government) and Daisuke Matsunaga (Nagoya City) were both based in our office during September and October and engaged with a range of partners in order to research best practice from UK public policy around specific local challenges in Japan.
Ms Arakawa was primarily concerned with how cultural legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has embedded itself seven years after the event, meeting with representatives of both the Greater London Authority and London Legacy Development Corporation to hear first-hand on the development of a masterplan for the Culture and Education District at Stratford and the transition of the Olympic Park as part of this legacy, as well as visiting cultural facilities in adjacent Hackney Wick and Shoreditch areas.
Mr Matsunaga’s research was aimed at understanding how the UK both preserves and promotes heritage in the built environment in order to enrich its visitor offer and met with representatives of both Historic England and London and Partners to better understand how both organisations align their strategies to balance the interests of venues, visitors and locals alike.
Ishikawa Prefecture in Hamburg
Japanese local gov staff based in JLGC London and seconded from Ishikawa Prefecture supported a delegation from their local authority at the Seatrade Europe event in Hamburg, from September 11 to 13. The event in Germany is the biggest exhibition and conference event for the cruise industry in Europe. The prefecture was exhibiting and promoting business support for the industry to Kanazawa Port which is managed by the prefectural government, and is on the Sea of Japan coast of the country, providing easy access to South Korea, Russia and China. This makes it a great destination for cruises along the Sea of Japan.
Compared with previous exhibitions in Hamburg, of which Ishikawa Prefecture has attended over recent years, this year’s event saw a big jump in the number of local authorities from Japan exhibiting as the country looks to capitalise on and increase tourism with RWC Japan 2019 and next year’s Tokyo 2020 games being held.
Speciality and Fine Food Fair
JLGC staff attended the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in London’s Olympia, September 9 to 11 with a view to supporting producers in Japan’s regions expand their market overseas. Over 700 suppliers were in attendance and discussions were had with a range of buyers from restaurants and upmarket supermarkets, to gauge interest and get a grasp of current trends and possible opportunities in the market for Japanese products and companies supported by CLAIR member local authorities.
Japanese tofu, miso, soy sauce and sesame oil, as well as a wide range of other organic products, were being sold by companies, and the market now presents opportunities from more Japanese producers with the EU-Japan trade agreement entering into force on 1 February 2019.
Japan Matsuri 2019
JLGC put out a regular pitch again at this year’s Japan Matsuri in Trafalgar Square handing out brochures and displaying posters on Japan’s regions and their attractions. As well as providing tourist information, the office carried out surveys on expectations about travelling to Japan to help Japanese local gov with their tourism strategy.
The regions of Japan were especially well represented this year with food stalls from all over, including a strong offer from Hyogo Prefecture, who collaborated with a local restaurant to promote the prefecture’s ‘soul food’ bokkake which is a Bokkake is the comfort food of Nagata-ku, Kobe. Bokkake is a salty-sweet dish with thin strips of beef cooked together with konnyaku (devil’s-tongue jelly) often eaten with udon noodles or on a bed of rice. Fukushima ramen was also served by London’s own Fukushima Kenjinkai (expat association) as well as sesame dressing and sweet poached peaches for which the prefecture is famous.
This year also saw the first performance and a rare opportunity in London to see Iwami Kagura on the Matsuri stage, a form of dance-theatre literally meaning ‘entertaining the gods’ mostly based on tales from the ‘Kojiki’, an ancient Japanese collection of myths, legends and semi-historical accounts often involving battles between gods and demons.
Nara Prefecture Daibutsu exhibition at the British Museum
JLGC staff supported a local government delegation from Nara Prefecture for the start of a new exhibition at the British Museum of art from the prefecture. From October to November, the British Museum will display around 20 works from some of Nara’s most prominent temples and shrines, many of which are designated as National Treasures and Important Cultural Assets.
The British Museum is holding a special free display across two locations within the Museum of 15 major Buddhist and Shinto sacred images, to be loaned this autumn from Nara Prefecture. Nara is the eastern terminus of the silks roads that brought trade and continental Asian culture, including Buddhism, to Japan in the period from the AD 500s to the AD 700s, transforming indigenous society. Buddhism was championed by Prince Shōtoku (Shōtoku Taishi, AD 574-622) at what became the religious complex of Hōryūji temple, near Nara. In 752 Emperor Shōmu (AD 701-756) dedicated the great bronze Vairocana Buddha at Tōdaiji temple, destroyed and reconstructed twice during its long history and still the symbol of Nara today.
