Japan Local Government Centre is now taking registrations of interest for this year’s Japan Study tour to Tokyo and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan’s north east Tōhoku region, hit by the March 11 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The group will visit JLGC’s parent office, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) headquarters in Tokyo to get a general outline of the role and structure of Japan’s local government. The main part of the tour will be hosted by Miyagi Prefectural Government, with its headquarters in the major regional city of Sendai, and look at the rebuilding and recovery process in the aftermath of the events in 2011.
Only two hours and thirty minutes by shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, and with the international airport recently rebuilt, Miyagi Prefecture is in the central part of Tōhoku, facing the Pacific Ocean, and contains Tōhoku’s largest city, Sendai. The 11 March 2011 earthquake caused coastal areas of the prefecture to suffer catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake which triggered a destructive tsunami, with further destruction of towns and villages along the coast. Also largely destroyed was the town of Ishinomaki, where the tsunami was reportedly three stories high.
The current population of the prefecture (as of December 1, 2012) totals 2,326,957, ranking 15th within Japan. Sendai has a population of 1,063,024 with 5 districts (wards) within the city, and a further 35 municipalities within Miyagi Prefecture. As of 1 April 2012, 23% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks.
Miyagi’s economy has been traditionally focused on fishing and agriculture, producing a great deal of rice and livestock, and is now dominated by the manufacturing industries around Sendai, particularly electronics, appliances, and food processing. Tourism is playing a major role in the recovery from the events of 2011 – within the prefecture, Matsushima is known as one of the historic three most scenic views of Japan, with a bay of 260 small islands covered in pine groves, famously painted by prolific ‘ukiyo-e’ woodblock artist Yōshū Chikanobu.
The tour will include (subject to final confirmation by Miyagi Prefectural Government) looking at the current situation in the affected areas and introduce the measures taken by Miyagi Prefecture for revitalising the local economy; pursuit of potential cooperation on economic links with Europe; planned site visits to the coastal areas damaged by the tsunami, look at advance technology companies that have been re-established after the damage, as well as companies actively promoting expansion overseas; organisations and bodies promoting the region and tourist destinations; strategies for attracting foreign investment and market development.
The tour will take place from November 17 to 23 2013, and seven places are available to senior UK/EU local government related professionals. Accommodation, travel and food expenses in Japan during the tour will be covered by CLAIR, but participants must bear the cost of the return flight between the UK and Japan. To register for the application pack when it is available please call 020 7839 8500 or email mailbox@jlgc.org.uk
