Publications

Hyper Japan Christmas

JLGC took part in the Christmas crafts-focused Hyper Japan festival at the end of 2017.  The office promotes Japan’s regions and cities every year at this popular event in the heart of London, which now has a special Christmas programme. JLGC works with Japanese local authorities, collating and distributing PR material from our offices in Tokyo and throughout Japan’s 47 prefectures. At this event for Christmas, JLGC’s theme was ‘Akari and washi’ (light and traditional Japanese paper, often used for lanterns), with displays of beautiful handcrafted paper products, porcelain lamps and Japanese candles from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gifu, Tokushima prefectures and Tsu City in Mie Prefecture, very popular with visitors enquiring where such products could be purchased.

Tokyo Fire Department visits London

Representatives from Tokyo Fire Department visited London’s emergency services for a research visit on 9 January for four days. As Tokyo will be hosting both the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Fire Captain Ohtaki and Fire Sergeant Chida met with London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service and the police to look at advanced security measures in preparation for the upcoming events.

Since the London bombings of 2005, emergency services in London have developed a number of strategies to counter terrorist activities and abnormal public disruption. The delegates from Tokyo got a deep insight into the planning and operations to handle various situations ranging from CBRN attacks to marauding terrorist incidents. A key point that was constant throughout each of the visits was the importance of communication and coordination between all of the emergency services and parties involved.

Although Tokyo has been fortunate to not have experienced terrorism on the same level as London has in recent times, counter-terrorism strategy is a major focus for the city. The additional knowledge they learned from London will help the city to improve its services and be better prepared to protect its citizens.

JETAA UK Academic Special Interest Group, UEA Norwich

The JET Alumni Association of the UK held its second Academic Special Interest Group (SIG) at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures at the University of East Anglia in Norwich on Friday 8 December 2017.

This event was organised by Dr Simon Kaner, Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at UEA and Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute, in collaboration with the Japan Local Government Centre (CLAIR) London, JETAA UK’s main sponsor. Seven JETAA academics from all over the UK attended as well as Mr Kenji Saegusa from CLAIR HQ in Tokyo ( JLGC’s parent organisation) and representatives from the Japanese Embassy in London, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Japan Foundation.

There are tentative plans to hold another conference this year so there is a need for members to keep the conversation going, identify objectives and engage other members with relevant content. There is now a ‘JETAA UK Academic Special Interest Group’ Facebook group. Please find it here.

JETAA Europe meeting in Paris

JLGC’s sister office CLAIR Paris kindly hosted the JETAA European chapters meeting at their office in December.  Among the topics discussed were methods of holding events, recruiting volunteers and sourcing funding and membership fees. Also addressed was how to share cross-border information about Japan-related employment opportunities for European chapter members (particularly with Brexit on the horizon). Also considered were ideas concerning social media, websites and communicating with alumni and engaging with volunteers.

The event was the second Europe meeting since 2008. Thanks go to Karine Radtkowsky and Kanako Nishikawa of CLAIR Paris office, and JETAA France for making arrangements during the activities in Paris.

SOLACE Conference attendance

JLGC Director Yoshiyuki Kurono and Communications Manager Keith Kelly attended the annual Society of Local Authority Chief Executives in Manchester at Old Trafford in November last year, and had the chance to network with a wide variety of senior local government staff and take part in a range of workshops and plenaries.

Highlights of the three days included tours of Media City and presentations by Salford City Council on regeneration, as well as a tour round the City of Manchester Stadium with staff from Manchester City Council.  JLGC also met with many Japan Study Tour alumni from local authorities all over the country including SOLACE Managing Director Graeme MacDonald, who we would like to thank for the kind invitation to join the international dinner with local government colleagues from the USA, Australia and Canada.

Fukushima Saké event at the House of Lords

JLGC staff supported the Fukushima Prefecture and the British Japan Parliamentary Group co-sponsored event introducing local saké from Fukushima prefecture, now nearly seven years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, held at the UK Parliament 17th of December to give thanks to the UK for reconstruction support in the prefecture, and to help expand sales of produce in the UK such as Fukushima’s sake.

Mr Taisuke Sakurai, Director of Fukushima Prefectural Planning and Coordination Division greeted the assembled guests including MPs and Lords, saying “I will never forget the support from all over the world especially the UK”. As a “symbol of revival” was the fact that the prefecture was the largest winner in Japan for the fifth consecutive year, with the number of brands winning the gold medal at the nationwide saké commendation event.

Sharon Hodgson MP said to Japanese news media at the event, “It is very fresh and tasty, I hope people around the world can support Fukushima by drinking saké from there”. Shinjo Inokichi, President of Fukushima Prefecture Saké Brewery Association, said, “The number of Japanese restaurants in London has risen, and I hope this will also help promote Fukushima’s drinks as a result.”

JLGC Director’s Familiarisation Visit – Tees Valley

In late November, Director Kurono visited Stockton on Tees in the Tees Valley, where we met local authority staff and also Japanese firms in the area such as Nifco.  The purpose of the visit, kindly hosted by Stockton Borough Council and Tees Valley Combined Authority, was to give Mr Kurono an initial grounding into the realities of local government at service and economic level in the UK.

Having been posted to a number of Japanese local authorities during his career at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Mr Kurono felt a special affinity for the regional character and scale of Teesside as similar to other post-industrial cities in Japan’s regions.

At Nifco we saw first-hand the local success story company’s commitment to developing skills among local workers (for instance, developing senior managers from within), as well as the potential of automation to enable it to expand even further.

The council also kindly arranged a visit to the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough, where staff were on hand to guide us through their ‘Tokyo to the Tees’ exhibition concerning the area’s longstanding links to Japan (not least through its large resident Japanese community in the interwar years).  We would like to thank all involved for their kind assistance.

NALC Larger Councils’ Conference

In December JLGC staff, including Director Kurono, attended the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Larger Councils’ Conference.  This is the annual gathering for town councils in English County Associations of Parishes, organised by their parent organisation in London, to convene and discuss matters related to the ‘sub-principal’ (below county and district authority) level of local government.

As in previous years, the effects of reduction in central government grants to local authorities and new responsibilities cascaded downwards were at the fore of discussions, but equally town council members and clerks were also (partially) optimistic about the sector’s ability to resiliently rise to these challenges and also Brexit, in particular through strategies developing their local economies.  As in Japan, local areas outside of the capital and its surrounds are seeing the twin challenges of not only an ageing population but also the movement of younger people to larger cities.