Research and activity support
JLGC continues to support international activities and research requests from various local governments in Japan. In recent months, several commissions have included:
- The role and competences of Combined Authorities in England
- The activities of the intra-city metropolitan alliances and an overview of metropolitan systems in the UK and Europe
- International forums and meetings for local government initiatives on SDGs
- Smart metering policies for water supply in London
Recent PR support
Recent requests for support in promoting Japan’s local authorities have included promoting the Toyama international poetry award. In 2017, commemorating the 1,300th anniversary of the birth of Otomo no Yakamochi, Toyama Prefecture created the Yakamochi Medal, to honour the achievements of outstanding poets around the world. Also promoted was the line-up of Japanese regions at World Travel Market London. Following the lifting of restrictions on travel to Japan, at World Travel Market London saw representatives from Tokyo, Fukui, Gifu, Hokkaido, Northern Kyushu (Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Oita, Saga), Osaka-Kobe-Sakai, Shizuoka and other destination marketing organisations on the Japan stand, joined by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), along with hoteliers and ground handlers from Japan.
The office also publishes articles by Tokyo Metropolitan Government about pioneering policies and initiatives, as well as the attractions of Tokyo including its nature and culture, regularly issuing and sending an English newsletter to some 70 leading cities overseas and all of the embassies and representative offices in Tokyo. Recent editions of Tokyo’s ‘WHAT’S UP’ are now available online for reading on the following topics: Disaster Preparedness, Release of the Hyper Edohaku Smartphone Game Ap, Tokyo 2020 One Year Anniversary, Policy for Promotion of the Global City Strategy, Power conservation.
All promotion by the office can be seen on our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, as well as on our website blog.
JLGC Online Seminars
In addition to its annual JLGC Seminar which, once again, took place online on 9 November 2022 on the topic of Applying Behavioural Science in Japan and the UK: Supporting Public Health Outcomes, JLGC also continues holding its Online Seminar Series. These online talks held in Japanese are designed to give local government colleagues in Japan an insight into public policy and good practices in the countries within JLGC London’s purview (which includes the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia).
The topics for JLGC’s recent seminars included the current status and prospects for inbound travel from Germany and neighbouring countries into Japan, Norway’s approach to decarbonisation – Hydrogen and ammonia strategy, and a seminar for local government officers on organising sustainable events, based on a case study of the world’s first circular festival in the Netherlands. All of these can be seen on our website here: https://www.jlgc.org.uk/jp/research/onlineseminar/ (Japanese only).
Japan Study Tour pre-departure orientation
Our JST 2023 to Kagoshima tour members drawn from UK local authorities and associations met online at the beginning of December to discuss the tour and what to expect from this year’s theme of ‘Japanese Municipalities: carbon neutral in local government projects’ which will give a general overview of local government in Japan, as well as an opportunity to look at the division of roles between different levels of local authorities and the services they deliver.
The group of 10 will spend two days in Tokyo followed by three nights in Kagoshima visiting a range of facilities and delivering lectures on Japan’s local government system. Follow us on Twitter and search for tweets using the hashtag #jlgc2023 to see comments and updates for group members on what promises to be an informative tour and a unique opportunity for UK local government professionals to see a side of Japan few get to experience.
JLGC Annual Seminar
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of public health has never been more apparent. In order to support public health outcomes, local governments around the world have been exploring the opportunities created by behavioural science approaches applied to public policy. Behavioural scientists have worked with local government colleagues to apply a number of key frameworks, including nudge theory and the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al, 2011) to achieve public health outcomes from increasing uptake of health screening to encouraging health protective behaviours (e.g. hand hygiene and social distancing during the pandemic).
This year JLGC hosted its annual seminar in collaboration with the UK Behavioural Science and Public Health Network (BSPHN). Experts from Japan and the UK discussed their leading work on various programmes, such as the creation of nudge units in various Japanese local governments and BSPHN’s collaborations across the health system to establish regional communities of practice across England.
The full event video can now be seen here (LINK).
