JLGC’s annual Japan Study Tour recently took place, this year in January, with the eight participants working in local government and public policy hosted by the CLAIR Tokyo office for a few days at JLGC’s HQ in the capital, followed by a stay in Miyagi Prefecture’s capital Sendai which included visits to various local authorities in the region.
John Rooney, Assistant Director (Information, Customers & Communities) at Rochdale Borough Council is one one of the participants recently returned from the study tour of Japan.
John, as was the case with all eight UK participants on the tour, funded himself as well as having the costs of staying in Japan covered by CLAIR.
The programme was aimed at providing local government managers with an opportunity to understand the Japanese system of local government and in particular how central, regional and municipal government plan for emergencies and lead on long-term recovery.
The Tokyo part of the study tour included an introduction to the Japanese local government system, an overview from the national reconstruction agency and a visit to a Government Disaster Prevention Base in Tokyo Bay.
The second part was the visit to Miyagi Prefecture in the North East of the country. Miyagi was the worst affected by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011 which resulted in over 22,000 people dead or missing and over 470,000 people left without a home. A great deal of public investment has been made to restore infrastructure, build new homes, support new businesses and promote tourism.
The group visited Onagawa town which was destroyed and lost 8% of its population following the tsunami. With the help of public and private funding the town has been remodelled, with new shops and homes built and a range of other projects aimed at supporting tourism and encouraging local businesses.
John said “There is a strong culture of collaboration and cooperation in Japan across the public and private sectors and a focus on supporting communities. It was a brilliant learning experience and I’ll be feeding back in detail to colleagues.”
Rochdale AFC kindly donated four shirts from last season which John presented to local government officials in Tokyo and Miyagi Prefecture, including the Vice Governor of Miyagi and the Mayor of Onagawa, so there’s a few more Dale fans in Japan now.
The Japan Study Tour is an annual programme which aims to promote mutual understanding between Japan and European local authorities. JLGC invites applicants from senior level staff of UK/Northern European local government to join this seven-day tour to look at the current situation and issues related to Japan’s cities and regions.
For more information about the next tour, please call 020 7839 8500 and ask for Keith Kelly, or to request the application form and guidance document send an email, marked “JST 2020” to mailbox@jlgc.org.uk.
