Publications

COVID 19 Update

In response to UK Government Coronavirus outbreak restrictions, the JLGC office in London is currently closed and staff are now working remotely.  This will continue until it is possible to reopen the office, please check the office website for updates.

During this period, you can still contact JLGC by email using our general mailbox@jlgc.org.uk address or individual staff email accounts.

For information concerning the situation in Japan, including foreign language resources, please consult the following websites of CLAIR Tokyo Headquarters:

http://www.clair.or.jp/tabunka/portal/info/contents/114517.php

http://jetprogramme.org/en/clairnewsspecial/

Change of London Office staff

JLGC said goodbye to four staff at the end of March 2020.  Assistant Directors Mr Noriyasu Motoya returns to Ishikawa Prefecture, Ms Sachiko Taijima to Gifu Prefecture and Ms Mayumi Uno to Hyogo Prefecture.  Our Accounts Assistant Ms Akane Shibata also returns to Japan after over a year supporting all staff in the London office.

Due to arrive in April were Ms Azusa Shinno from Fukushima Prefecture, Ms Marina Kaneko from Okayama City, Ms Ayako Haginowaki from Gifu Prefecture and Mr Kyohei Hamamoto from Tokushima Prefecture. All new staff are currently working remotely in Japan until further notice and able to travel to the UK.  From April 2020 JLGC also has seconded staff from the Japanese local authorities of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Aichi Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture and Sendai City.   As ever, JLGC is very grateful to our partners in the UK and elsewhere who continue to support our activities and we look forward to working with local gov colleagues this coming financial year.

Gifu Prefecture research visit to Paris

JLGC staff received a research request from the Gifu Prefecture Aerospace Industry Division and made a fact-finding visit to Paris in February. The ‘Gifu Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum’, which is jointly operated by Gifu Prefecture and Kakamigahara City, exhibits domestic and overseas aircraft, experimental aircraft, aerospace-related materials, and provides hands-on simulations. The facility was reopened in March 2018 and is aiming to further increase the number of visitors.

JLGC interviewed the CEO of a French manufacturer developing and managing tablet guides that use augmented reality, and also visited places using the device to see the usability of the tablet. Looking at the introduction and the usability of the tablet, the cost of introduction, reactions by visitors, and where it can be used were all discussed so the prefecture can consider whether it can be introduced in the Aerospace Museum and other prefectural facilities.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems workshops

JLGC staff participated in a series of workshops throughout 2019 under the UK-Japan collaborative project  ‘Entrepreneurial and Innovation Ecosystems in the UK and Japan – Place-based policy scenarios and options’. The project team aimed to build research collaboration between partners in the UK and Japan, and engage with policy and business communities cross-nationally, especially through partners CLAIR and the OECD.

The project team in the UK has now published their summary findings drawing on the two international workshops in Glasgow and Tokyo: ‘A Manifesto for Researching Entrepreneurial Ecosystems’. The document is available in both English and Japanese, which can be downloaded here [English PDF] and here [Japanese PDF].

The consortium has been led by University of Edinburgh Business School, thanks to funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council, supported through the Fund for International Collaboration delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

For more details, please see the project’s dedicated website.

London Borough of Culture 2019 at Japan Local Government Centre

JLGC held in-house training for staff seconded from Japan on regional branding strategies.  John Rogers, an active psychogeographer in Waltham Forest, introduced the “London Borough of Culture as area branding strategy”.

The workshop was held on how to convey the appeal of the region through different themes. North-east London’s Waltham Forest was named the first London Borough of Culture in 2019. The London Borough of Culture is a project funded by the Mayor of London and the selected borough holds various cultural activities throughout the year to promote the artistic and cultural diversity of the area. Using psychogeography, which studies the effects of the geographical environment on people’s behaviour and emotions, Rogers organises walking tours in the borough as part of the project.  On the tour, participants are encouraged to observe the area from a different perspective, through awareness of its development and history as well as the attractiveness of local cultural assets.

The session included an outline of London Borough of Culture initiatives, how to effectively use YouTube for PR of local government events and what is needed to raise the profile of hidden charms in an area.

RWC reception, Japan House London

The Rugby World Cup 2019 Japan Organising Committee held a celebratory event at the Japan House in London on January 20, inviting the relevant British organisations who have contributed to the promotion and publicity of the tournament.

Rugby World Cup 2019 Japan was the first time the games were held in Asia and it was Japan’s first-ever advance to the final eight, with stadiums full of fans and ending with great success. As an event, great excitement was felt in Japan and throughout the world, and it was highlighted at the reception that it greatly contributed to improving the image of Japan.

The participants were reminded of the great success again by a specially commissioned video. Since the number of tourists visiting Japan from the UK has greatly increased as a result of this tournament, local government will continue to promote the rugby legacy so that more British travellers visit Japan.

Sendai marketing reception participation

On January 29, Miyagi Prefecture and In-Outbound Sendai-Matsushima Co., Ltd. held a reception at the Japanese Embassy in the UK to promote inbound tourism with sake, to which a number of  UK travel-related professionals attended.

Five sake distilleries in Miyagi, including the Sendai Izawa Katsuyama Sake Brewery (in the prefecture capital Sendai City), winner of the best prize in the International Wine Challenge 2019 SAKE category, served sake, as well as special products of Miyagi prefecture such as green tea and oysters.

It is expected that sake will continue to rise in popularity in the UK, which is being seen as an increasingly important drinks market for Japanese drinks companies, and that such events will increase the number of foreign tourists visiting Miyagi in the north of Japan.