Chapter 4
Japan's Diplomacy Open to the Public
3 Cooperation with Local Governments
Regional revitalization is one of the priority issues of the Cabinet. MOFA also actively works on the issue and strives to deploy measures that strengthen comprehensive diplomatic capabilities through collaboration with regions.
In Japan, as part of efforts to support regional revitalization, the Foreign Minister and respective prefectural governor invite members of diplomatic corps to Japan, foreign chambers of commerce and industry, and tourism-related parties in Japan to the Iikura House, co-hosting receptions and setting up booths as means of broadly promoting the various charms of regions to audiences both in Japan and abroad.
In 2022, MOFA and Fukushima Prefecture co-hosted the “Fukushima Revitalization Reception - Continuing to Take on New Challenges,” on July 25 in Happo-en2 in Tokyo, which was attended by approximately 140 guests. At the event, Foreign Minister Hayashi asked for guests' understanding and support for widely disseminating and promoting accurate information about Fukushima's food, tourism, and other diverse attractiveness to their respective countries and regions. During a presentation entitled “Future of Fukushima,” the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture UCHIBORI Masao spoke about the Prefecture's latest status of reconstruction and challenges toward its revitalization. Along with providing information about its tourism, food, traditional arts and crafts, and other areas, Fukushima Prefecture broadly promoted the region's diverse attractiveness and efforts through activities such as samurai and fula dance performances by local artists. This reception served as an opportunity to promote further exchanges between participants, including the co-hosting prefecture, diplomatic corps, foreign chambers of commerce and industry, and company representatives.
Foreign Minister Hayashi listening to Fukushima governor Uchibori at the Fukushima Revitalization Reception (July 25, Tokyo)
2 Event held at Happo-en in Tokyo as the Iikura House was undergoing construction at the time
Furthermore, Foreign Minister Hayashi and State Minister for Foreign Affairs TAKEI Shunsuke conducted the “Local to Global” project to promote the attractiveness of regional areas of Japan worldwide. Through the project, the Foreign Minister and State Minister for Foreign Affairs visit Japan's regions together with members of diplomatic corps in Japan. The project provides opportunities for diplomatic corps to experience the attractiveness and gain a better understanding of a region through communication with local people, with the goal of encouraging those participating diplomatic corps to disseminate their experience with the people of their own countries, promoting inbound demand. The project also aims at further stimulating local economies through dialogues between the Foreign Minister and local residents (see Chapter 4, Section 3,1-(4) ). Foreign Minister Hayashi and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Takei also visited Nagasaki Prefecture in November with diplomatic corps members, followed by visits to Miyagi and Yamagata Prefectures in December.
“Local to Global” project: Foreign Minister Hayashi inspecting the exterior of Oura Cathedral (November 12, Nagasaki Prefecture)
Moreover, MOFA, together with local governments and others, co-organize Regional Promotion Seminars to disseminate local policies and attractive points, such as local products, tourism, industry, and investment, for members of diplomatic corps to Japan, foreign chambers of commerce and industry, related companies, and other organizations. At the event held on October 14, representatives from Yamagata Prefecture, Takayama City in Gifu Prefecture, Sapporo City in Hokkaido, and Kuroishi City in Aomori Prefecture promoted the attractiveness of their regions through presentations, introduced local specialties and tourist attractions through exchanges with participants, performed traditional performing arts, and ran booths. These events have been received by attendees as valuable opportunities to directly experience the attractiveness of regional Japan while being in Tokyo. They also contribute to promoting exchanges among local governments and participants of diplomatic corps and others.
Presentation by a participating local government organization at a Regional Promotion Seminar (October 14, Tokyo)
Furthermore, MOFA and Japanese local governments co-organize “Diplomats' Study Tours” for the diplomatic corps in Japan, with the goal of enabling them to directly experience the attractions of each region by actually visiting them. For the tour to Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on April 19, participating diplomatic corps members toured the facilities of business enterprises and organizations working with Yokohama City to carry out SDG-related initiatives, gaining a better understanding of these initiatives. The tour to Kumamoto City in Kumamoto Prefecture conducted on September 12 and 13 gave diplomatic corps members a better understanding of the attractiveness of Kumamoto and efforts to recover from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake by touring facilities involved in the reconstruction. The tour to Niigata Prefecture on November 5 and 6 saw diplomatic corps members enjoy Niigata's many charms, including its colored carp (nishikigoi), firework shows, and food culture through activities such as visiting nishikigoi-related facilities in Nagaoka City and Ojiya City, the “birthplace of nishikigoi,” and attending the World Nishikigoi Summit. Diplomatic corps members toured Shiga Prefecture on November 10 and 11, visiting places including Mt. Hiei Enryaku-ji Temple, Lake Biwa, and a prefectural high school, while also learning about the Prefecture's history, nature, food, Shigaraki ware, and other such attractiveness. In the tour to Fukushima Prefecture held on November 29 and 30, diplomatic corps members visited facilities such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum and deepened their understanding of the prefecture's path to recovery and current situation, as well as the region's many charms, including the tradition of Aizu clan samurai and food culture. As a result of the tours, some local governments have started exchanges and collaborations with participating countries, while others have aimed to increase the number of visitors to such communities by utilizing connections with participating diplomatic corps.
Photo at the World Nishikigoi Summit (November 6, Niigata Prefecture;　Photo: World Nishikigoi Summit Executive Committee
Reception organized by Fukushima Prefecture during a Diplomats' Study Tour (November 29, Fukushima Prefecture)
Moreover, MOFA provides local governments with explanations of Japan's current diplomatic policies, etc., that relate closely to international exchange activities at the regional level, and opportunities to exchange views. MOFA holds the “Local Partnership Cooperation Forum” as a part of such activities, but the forum was postponed in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With regard to projects overseas, as a way to counter international reputational damage stemming from the Great East Japan Earthquake, MOFA conducts a comprehensive PR program called “Project to Support Overseas Presentations to Promote the Attractiveness of Regions,” together with efforts to lift and ease import restrictions. Conducted from July 2022 through March 2023, the project included online public messaging in China and Hong Kong. During this period, short movies filmed in various locations in Japan by the 58 participating local governments were posted on the Weibo (Chinese social media)　account of the Embassy of Japan in China. These video clips are intended to give a large audience the opportunity to experience, through social media, the attractiveness of each region, including tourism, culture, and food in Japan. Additionally, MOFA dispatched influencers to showcase Japan's regional attractiveness at events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China relations, which were organized and supported by diplomatic missions in China. MOFA also held a promotion event　for the Tohoku region at a book fair in Hong Kong in July.
PR video from Shizuoka Prefecture streamed from the social media account of the Embassy of Japan in China as part of the Project to Support Overseas Presentations to Promote the Attractiveness of Regions
Furthermore, MOFA undertakes “Regional Promotion Projects” that aim at supporting local governments in expanding sales channels for local products and promoting inbound tourism by making use of Japan's diplomatic facilities overseas to promote the attractiveness of each region. In February and June, PR events to promote the traditional arts and crafts, foods, tourism destinations, and other attractive aspects of Toyama Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Kitakyushu City, Miyagi prefecture (in February), and Kanagawa Prefecture (in June) were conducted online at the official residence of the Consul-General of Japan in Shenyang.
In addition, on the occasion of the receptions for celebrating the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor, which are held at diplomatic missions overseas every year, Japanese attractions such as local products and events are presented. In 2022, while many diplomatic missions overseas either canceled these receptions or switched to holding them online, a total of 42 local governments attended these occasions at 39 diplomatic facilities to offer information on their attractiveness.
Furthermore, MOFA has been supporting international exchanges between both Japanese and foreign local governments through various initiatives such as sister-city exchanges between Japanese local governments and their counterparts overseas and the Host Town Initiative for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Specifically, in order to support the international activities of local governments and municipal communities, Japanese diplomats visit sister cities of Japanese municipalities in their assigned countries or regions and share opinions with officials responsible for international and economic affairs. The heads of Japanese diplomatic missions also visit local municipalities in Japan to have dialogues on the activities related to the sister city or the Host Town Initiative or deliver lectures prior to their departure for new posts or when they temporarily return to Japan. In cases where any foreign local governmental bodies wish to newly establish sister-city relationships with any Japanese municipal communities, MOFA supports them by providing the related information to the respective prefectures and ordinance-designated cities, and conducting indirect support by promoting these regional cooperation initiatives on the website of “Local Partnership Cooperation” (named “Glocal (global and local) Diplomatic Network”)3 on MOFA's website.
In addition to the “Glocal Diplomatic Network,” as public relations media for showcasing regional cooperation initiatives, MOFA also distributes Monthly Glocal News, a monthly e-mail newsletter,4 and posts information via Twitter.5
Via these PR media, MOFA not only presents information on its regional cooperation projects, but also introduces sister-city exchanges and Host Town exchanges conducted by various local governments, regional revitalization from the perspective of foreigners, and information about various other international exchanges.
Additionally, as part of the overseas promotion activities for Japanese alcoholic beverages (Japanese sake, wine, shochu, awamori, etc.) produced in various parts of Japan, the diplomatic missions overseas are actively promoting Japanese alcoholic beverages by offering tasting occasions at dinners and lunches with government leaders of the assigned countries or foreign diplomatic corps, and by using Japanese sake on the occasion of making toasts at grand events such as the receptions for celebrating the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor. On these occasions, diplomatic missions overseas call attention to the fact that Japan has proposed “Traditional knowledge and skills of sake-making with koji mold in Japan” for inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024.
MOFA is also working to respond to the growing demands for issues such as water treatment, waste disposal, urban transportation and anti-pollution measures caused as a result of rapid economic development in developing countries. These efforts 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 local SMEs. 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 Japanese local companies and the development of globally competent human resources, but also to vitalizing regional economies and the Japanese economy as a whole.
3 “Glocal Diplomatic Network,” MOFA website:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ms/lpc/page25e_000167.html
4 Local Partnership Cooperation Division's e-mail newsletter “Monthly Glocal News”:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ms/lpc/page25e_000219.html
5 Local Partnership Cooperation Division
Twitter: https://twitter.com/localmofa
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