Public Diplomacy

On December 3, 2024, Local Partnership Cooperation Forum was held online to support international activities of local governments. In the first part of the forum, Director, Regional Policy Division, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, gave a lecture on “Japan-ASEAN Relations”. The second part, under the theme of “SAKE Tourism Saves Japan”, featured a panel discussion with the sake experts after the lecture.

On November 7 and 8, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan organized Diplomats' Study Tour in collaboration with Yamaguchi Prefecture with the participation of 18 ambassadors and spouses/partners from 13 countries and a regional organization. Participants visited facilities related to Yamaguchi Prefecture’s history, culture, and industry, and exchanged views with people　concerned under the theme of “Yamaguchi’s Efforts Towards Passing Down Nature, Culture and Technology to the Next Generation”.

The exchange between Gifu Prefecture and the Alsace region began with the exchange of sake and wine between the two regions, and has been active in many areas including tourism, culture, and sports. 2023 saw the signing of a new cooperation agreement between Gifu Prefecture and European Collectivity of Alsace. In October 2024, a delegation led by Vice-Chairman Eric Straumann visited Gifu Prefecture.

The relationship between Akaiwa City in Okayama Prefecture and the Canadian Field Hockey Federation began when the city hosted the pre-camp for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The exchange continues to this day, and in October 2024, a Canadian U23 women's team visited Akaiwa City for a training camp. This article will provide an update on the citizen exchange between Akaiwa and Canada as well as a friendly match played with the New Zealand U21 women's team during their visit to Japan.

Uda City, Nara Prefecture is promoting the Uda x Estonia Project, which focuses on entrepreneurship education in Estonia. This project is being implemented in collaboration with Estonia, a leading country in IT and education, with the aim of fostering future leaders and revitalizing the region. This article will introduce the initiatives in Uda.