Yamanashi Prefecture is supporting local businesses and producers suffering from sluggish sales due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and while not able to promote agricultural products abroad in person, is creating new PR channels for overseas viewers. The prefecture has been implementing various initiatives to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, including this new PR strategy. Click on the play icon to watch the following videos.
As part of this, to encourage the consumption of fresh and healthy agricultural products such as grapes and peaches, as well as the “Four Per Mille Initiative”*, and promoting the prefecture’s rich nature and special products, the prefecture created an English version of the video to introduce Yamanashi Prefecture’s project overseas.
In the video, the director of the prefecture’s agricultural administration department, who is also creator of the videos, appears donning headgear in the shape of the ‘Shine Muscat’ variety of grape the prefecture is famous for, talking with a JET Programme participant from the United States working as a Coordinator for International Relations.
In addition to inserting English subtitles and illustrations to make it easier to understand, the ‘humorous’ dialogue uses famous lines reminiscent of scenes from famous films, with the aim of being amusing and informative. The videos offer a chance to take a look at some uniquely Japanese local government PR methods.
*The ‘Four Per Mille Initiative’: An international initiative based on the idea that the carbon content of the world’s soil can be increased by 0.4% (4 per mille) every year, offsetting increases in atmospheric CO2, suppressing global warming.
