Publications

Japan Study Tour Deadline 10/10/2022  

JLGC’s annual Japan Study Tour will next be hosted by Kagoshima Prefecture in 2023, after an orientation into local government at JLGC’s head office CLAIR Tokyo in the capital. There will also be site visits to a variety of facilities run by Tokyo Metropolitan Government (details TBC), the city government for one of the world’s largest metropolises.  

The Kagoshima Prefecture section of the tour will help participants learn how Japanese cities of varying scale improve local services through a devolved local government system. Participants will see a broad spectrum of best practice and local government strategies, including carbon neutrality through renewable energy and environmental protection.  

JLGC invites applicants from senior-level staff of UK and Northern European local government and public sector organisations to join this seven-day tour to see how Japan tackles challenges for the future.  

For full details please see HERE. 

Multicultural Communities Policy Exchange Programme  

The United Kingdom has historically accepted a large number of migrants and based on the idea of multiculturalism, government, local communities, NGOs, etc. are each developing various measures. We believe that these diverse examples of initiatives in the UK will serve as a great reference for local governments in Japan.  

Therefore, from 2023, CLAIR will hold a UK Multicultural Communities Policy Exchange Programme, in order to provide Japanese local government officials and staff of regional international associations with opportunities to learn about British multicultural community policies.  

In this programme, through visits and inspections of organisations where various measures are being promoted for coexistence and exchanges of opinions among participants, visitors will learn about multicultural community policies and specific initiatives in the UK and apply that knowledge to multicultural society in Japan. We aim to make use of it in the planning and development of coexistence measures.  

Implementation guidelines and application methods for 2023 will be announced on the CLAIR Tokyo Headquarters website when recruitment begins in April 2023.  

JET Departure Reception 2022  

JLGC attended the Outgoing JET Reception held by the Embassy of Japan at SOAS, where JLGC Director-General Suzuki gave a farewell speech to about 200 UK JETs who made their way to Japan in September. Also, brand new JETs all across the country have been welcomed to leavers events organised by the JET Alumni Association UK, to wish them well before they head off to Japan.  

The outgoing JETs had the chance to chat in person with seasoned alumni, a first after the pandemic, by necessity, forced the JET Programme orientations to be online. The excitement was palpable, and our newest JETs were forming friendships and promises to visit one another once they moved out to Japan. It was a nostalgic occasion for the alumni present, too.  They will join over 560 UK JETs currently working in Japan. 

Recent PR activity   

Recent requests for support in promoting Japan’s local authorities have included Tokyo Metropolitan Government’ of ‘WHAT’S UP’ now available online for reading, with details of the establishment of a program to make installation of solar power generation equipment mandatory for designated new construction, TOKYO City-Tech Event Information and other recent developments.    

Also being promoted by the office is The Tokushima International Consumer’s Forum 2022, organized by the Tokushima Prefectural Government, to bring together officials from the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan and experts in consumer issues from Europe, the U.S.A., Australia, and ASEAN countries to discuss consumer problems and solutions to facilitate the process of building a sustainable society to achieve the SDGs (2030) and carbon neutrality (2050) goals.  

The Forum will be live-streamed on the website below. We hope that this Forum will facilitate forward-looking discussions and contribute to international consumer policies, and help to improve people’s lives as consumers all around the world. You can watch the event live online on 25 October. 

For further details: https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/en/world.consumer.forum/2022/ 

Various updates from all over Japan can be seen on our regularly updated blog as well as on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, follow us now to get these updates as they come through.   

Supporting Japanese woodworking exhibition at Japan House London  

JLGC London supported the opening of a new exhibition at Japan House London, the cultural home of Japan in London. From the raw materials of the forests in Hida and the tools developed to work them, to the involvement of Hida craftsmanship in furniture design around the world today, visitors to the exhibition are immersed in an extraordinary craftworking legacy.    

The Carpenters’ Line: Woodworking Heritage in Hida Takayama explores Hida’s legacy of skill and innovation through a series of installations focusing on woodworking techniques and materials, technology and innovation, products (including Hida-shunkei lacquerware and intricate kumiko latticework) and the people whose livelihoods depend on working with the natural materials of their local environment.  

The exhibition runs until 29 January 2023 (details here). 

Nikkei Glocal article on Thames Estuary 

An article by JLGC’s Andrew Stevens has been published in the June edition of the Japanese public executive magazine Nikkei Glocal on the role of the Thames Estuary Growth Board in promoting a low-carbon ecosystem to benefit regeneration in East London and beyond. 

The article looks at the history of the Thames Estuary region, previously branded as the Thames Gateway regeneration zone, and various government-backed efforts to promote and coordinate local policies and initiatives to not only meet Net Zero but also generate sustainable employment opportunities and much-needed new housing in the capital’s East. 

Nikkei Glocal is published by the Nikkei Inc. Research Institute of Industry and Regional Economy, which aims to foster creative regions in Japan.  Its series reporting on local initiatives outside of Japan is compiled through the cooperation of Japanese overseas agencies such as embassies, trade missions and international representatives (e.g. CLAIR). 

Knowledge exchange  

The recent and longstanding experience of Japan’s regional policy continues to attract interest from research teams in the UK in their preparation of reports recommending solutions and case studies for policymakers, especially given the recent focus on ‘Levelling Up’, regional rebalancing and devolution.  Following our engagement with CIPFA/University of Birmingham earlier in the year, recently we were delighted to advise the Institute for Government on the effects of post-war regional policy in Japan and urban devolution, as well as for the Business of Cities working on understanding the global reach of mega-regions such as the Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka belt.