3 Cooperation with Local Government

Cooperation with local governments is one of the priority issues of the Cabinet. MOFA actively works on regional revitalization and strives to deploy measures that strengthen comprehensive diplomatic capabilities through collaboration with regions.

In Japan, as part of regional revitalization support efforts, the Foreign Minister and respective prefectural governors invited members of diplomatic corps in Japan and members of foreign business communities to the Iikura Guest House, co-hosting seminars and receptions and setting up booths as means of broadly disseminating the various attractive qualities of regions to audiences both in Japan and abroad. In 2018, they co-hosted receptions with Kochi (February), Hokkaido (March), and Fukushima (December). Every reception was successful with close to 300 attendees. Along with PR for tourism, food, and traditional arts and crafts from each prefecture, Kochi Prefecture held a Yosakoi Naruto dance performance and Hokkaido held a traditional Ainu dance performance. Fukushima Prefecture engaged in PR for its renewable energy initiatives, J-Village national soccer training facility, and sake produced in the prefecture, among other things. It also talked about the current situation concerning reconstruction efforts and its vision for the future. These events provided opportunities to broadly disseminate the various attractive qualities of each region and promote further exchange and collaboration between the attendees and co-hosting local governments.

Stage performance at a reception co-hosted with the Governor of Kochi Prefecture (February 19, Tokyo, Iikura Guest House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Presentation of foods at a reception co-hosted with the Governor of Hokkaido (March 23, Tokyo, Iikura Guest House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Booth at a reception co-hosted with the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture (December 7, Tokyo, Iikura Guest House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

In addition, MOFA cooperated with multiple local governments to host Regional Promotion Seminars in Tokyo. Conducted for members of diplomatic corps in Japan, chambers of commerce and industry, airlines, and other organizations, these seminars highlight the characteristics, advantages, and attraction of regions in Japan for industry, tourism, investment, and business promotion. Hagi (Yamaguchi Prefecture), Niigata Prefecture, the Goto Islands (Nagasaki Prefecture), and Yabu City (Hyogo Prefecture) participated in seminars in June, while Ibaraki, Tochigi, and Kanagawa prefectures, along with the Shizuoka Tourism Bureau, participated in December. Through presentations, representatives talked about the attractiveness of their regions, promoted local specialties and tourism at receptions with attendees, and showcased traditional performing arts through actual performances. The events were well received by the diplomatic corps and other organizations in attendance for being valuable opportunities to directly experience the attractiveness of regional Japan while being in Tokyo. The seminars also promoted networking among local governments and diplomatic corps and other foreign organization members.

Regional Promotion Seminar: Hagi ceramics from Yamaguchi Prefecture painting event at a networking session (June 21, Tokyo)

Regional Promotion Seminar: Booth at a networking session (December 5, Tokyo)

“Diplomats' Study Tours,” co-organized by MOFA and local governments and other organizations for the diplomatic corps in Japan, were conducted in Takaoka City (Toyama Prefecture) and Kanazawa City (Ishikawa Prefecture) in January, Taito Ward (Tokyo) in February, Tsubame City and Sanjo City (Niigata Prefecture) in May, Shizuoka Prefecture and Hokkaido Prefecture respectively in November, with visits made by a total of about 70 members of more than 50 diplomatic corps. The diplomatic corps, including ambassadors, visited places of scenic beauty in each region as well as cultural and industrial facilities in the community, which enabled them to experience the many community attractions of each region. As for the tour to Hokkaido, it was an opportunity to show within Japan and overseas the reconstruction efforts being made in response to the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. After the tours, some local governments started exchanges and collaboration with participating countries while others aiming to increase the number of visitors to such communities by utilizing connections with participating diplomatic corps.

Diplomats' Study Tour: Cast making event and wearing of Kaga-yuzen (January 17-18, Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures)

Diplomats' Study Tour: In front of Hozomon at the Sensoji Temple (February 21, Taito Ward, Tokyo)

Diplomats' Study Tour: Rice planting event in terraced paddy fields in Kitaimogawa (May 15-16, Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture)

Diplomats' Study Tour: Tour of the Izu Velodrome, a venue for the track cycle event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics (November 12-13, Shizuoka Prefecture)

Diplomats' Study Tour: Yosakoi Soran Bushi performance for diplomatic corps and other members participating in the tour (November 19-20, Hokkaido)

Furthermore, MOFA actively provides local governments with opportunities to learn Japan's current diplomatic policies and exchange views. As a part of such activities, MOFA held the “Local Partnership Cooperation Forum” in January. Part One of the forum was the foreign policy briefing session, which consisted of a presentation the recent state of affairs in Vietnam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Part Two of the forum, which featured sectional meetings, participants exchanged views on themes entitled “Protocol,” “Golgo 13' Security Guidelines for Japanese SMEs abroad” “Expanding Imports of Japanese Agricultural, Forestry, Fishery, and Food Products,” and “Recent Tourism Trends and Developments in Japanese DMO².” At a discussion session held afterwards, diplomatic corps members had a lively discussion with members of local governments.

Overseas, MOFA continued to conduct the comprehensive PR program called “Project to Support Overseas Presentations to Promote the Attractiveness of Regions” for sharing the attractiveness of regions, promoting exports of prefectural products and supporting tourism for regional revitalization together with efforts to eliminate and ease import and travel restrictions as a way to dispel reputational damage stemming from the Great East Japan Earthquake. This project was held in Beijing and Shanghai from January through February and in Moscow in March. 23 local governments from Japan participated in the Beijing and Shanghai event, which served as a platform for promoting the attractiveness of made in Japan products such as Japanese rice through various events and food sampling sessions, as well as for conducting a project to promote sales through collaboration with a major Chinese e-commerce site. At the Moscow event, as a part of the “Japan Year in Russia” initiative, local governments promoted the attractiveness of Japan through their local products and culture, and PR events were held to promote greater consumption of local Japanese handicrafts and foods and to lay the ground for relaxing regulations on agricultural and fishery products of which Russia currently prohibits the import. Six Japanese local governments joined the two-day event and roughly 14,000 people participated.

In addition, “Regional Promotion Projects” were conducted 18 times in Asia, North America, and Europe as measures to support local governments in promoting the development of local industries and regional economies through the attractiveness of each region by making use of Japan's diplomatic facilities overseas.

Project to Support Overseas Presentations to Promote Attractiveness of Regions: Opening Ceremony (January 24, Beijing, China)

Project to Support Overseas Presentations to Promote Attractiveness of Regions: Special Ceremony (March 24, Moscow, Russia)

Furthermore, MOFA fully supports sister-city exchanges between Japanese local bodies and their counterparts abroad through various initiatives. Specifically, in order to support international activities of local governments and communities, Japanese diplomats visit sister cities of Japanese municipalities and share opinions with officials responsible for international/economic exchanges. Also, heads of the diplomatic missions overseas visit local municipalities in Japan to have dialogues on sister city exchanges or deliver lectures prior to leaving for new posts or when they temporarily return to Japan. In addition, if a foreign local governmental body wants to establish a sister-city relationship with a Japanese one, MOFA indirectly supports such a move by providing prefectures and 20 government-designated cities with relevant information and posting it on the “‘Glocal' (global and local) Diplomatic Network” on the website of MOFA³.

As part of the overseas promotion of alcoholic beverages (Japanese sake, wine, shochu, awamori, etc.) produced in various parts of Japan, diplomatic missions overseas actively promote them, by carrying out proactive PR activities to showcase Japanese alcoholic beverages, by way of offering them at lunch/dinner with government leaders of the assigned countries or diplomatic corps of other countries and making a toast with Japanese sake at grand events such as the receptions for celebrating the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor.

MOFA is also working to respond to quickly growing demand for water treatment, waste disposal, urban transportation, and anti-pollution measures as a result of rapid economic development in developing countries. These measures involve making use of ODA and leveraging Japanese local governments' experience and expertise, as well as conducting development cooperation using outstanding technologies and products from the local SMEs that support these regions. Through these efforts, MOFA provides support for matching these countries' development needs with companies' products and technologies. These efforts not only contribute to the global outreach of local companies, the development of globally competent human resources, and Japanese style of infrastructure exports, but also to vitalizing the entire Japanese economy and the economies of some local areas.

• 2 Abbreviation of Destination Management Organization. Refers to corporations that play a guiding role in establishing sightseeing areas
• 3 Currently (as of February 2018), the countries with a largest number of Japan's sister and partnership cities (including prefectures and municipalities) are, in descending order, the U.S. (454), China (364), the ROK (162), Australia (108), and Canada (71) and so on. (Calculated by the Council of Local Authorities for Internal Relations; see its website: http://www.clair.or.jp/j/exchange/shimai/countries/)