A Study on the International Cooperationof Local Governments in Tourism
YOSHIDA Hitoshi
Abstract
This study aims to examine the relationship between the international cooperation conductedby Japan’s local governments and inbound tourism. In so ding, we firstly looked at the actual
situations of the cooperation and the previous related academic research. The findings haverevealed that the cooperation of local governments in tourism was not fully conducted until the
21st century and the previous academic research has been extremely scarce. However, it hasclarified that some projects received high social evaluation through wining awards and achieved
a level where global diffusion can be attained by the central government and internationalorganizations.
Key words: Tourism, Local government, International cooperation, Community development

1．Purpose of the study

sister city relationships. In this plan, the numerical

Since the latter half of the 1990s, local

goals for four years were set at 10 million inboundgovernments in Japan have rapidly lost interest in

tourists (36% increase) and 20 million outboundoutside world affairs due to the recession of the

tourists4） (14% increase), drawing much attention

Japanese economy and weakened these finances.

in Japan and abroad. As a result, as of 2008, there

As there has been decreasing support from local

were 8.3 million inbound tourists, and the number ofresidents toward international cooperation, theforeign tourists in local cities has rapidly increased.

numbers of international cooperation projects ofMany local governments now have an industrial

local governments have also declined significantly.

policy of inviting foreign tourists.

Under such circumstances, however, international
1）

Reflecting these changes, the Council of Local

cooperation related to Japan’s inbound tourism has

Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) plays

only been increasing. After former prime ministera major role in expanding international exchange

2）and cooperation in tourism through cooperationin 2003, inboundexchange projects for local government officials

tourism has been recognized as a new importantand investigation research at overseas offices. The

industry. The “Basic Act for Promoting a Tourism-

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is

Oriented Country” was enacted in 2006, and thealso expanding the international cooperation of local“Basic Plan for Promoting a Tourism-Oriented

governments in tourism.

Jun’ichiro Koizumi’s policy speech on making Japana “tourism-oriented country”

3）Country” was established in 2007; moreover, there

In this climate, some government-affiliatedhas been expanded exchange through tourism

foundations and local municipalities are seeking a

promotion that takes advantage of friendship andnew inbound tourism that utilizes past experience of

山梨県立大学 国際政策学部 国際コミュニケーション学科
Department of International Studies and Communications, Faculty of Glocal Policy Management and Communications,
Yamanashi Prefectural University− 34 −

A Study on the Cooperation of Local Governments in Tourism

friendship and sister city exchange and international

The previous studies in Japan conducted werecooperation. This is because international

under similar conditions, and there are very few

cooperation can be utilized as an effective means

by-field studies. In JICA’s Participation of Local

for projects based on a long-term viewpoint such

Municipalities in International Cooperation Phase 1

as human resource development, collaborativeand Phase 27）, an epoch-making study that involved

research, and policy development. However, since

many researchers and local government officials

the cooperation of local governments in tourism wasfrom all over Japan, the analysis was limited to the

not fully conducted until the 21st century, previous

system and method of implementation. The caseacademic research has been extremely scarce, andstudies were conducted for different municipalities.

the reality of the situation is almost unknown. This

This is due to the same reasons as above.

paper aims to clarify the actual situation in Japan

In recent years, however, there have beenand problems to be solved by grasping the trend andattempts to develop by-field studies that use acategorizing activities. I hope that this study will besmall-size database produced experimentally. Suchof some help in the study of the cooperation of local

databases include, for example, “International

governments in Japan in tourism.

Cooperation Activity Case Search” of the CLAIR
Citizens’ International Plaza (explained in further

2．Previous studies

detail in Section 4, below), and by-field studies

To date, the Japanese government has been

include the author’s International Cooperation of

involved in many 1) cooperation projects in tourism

Municipalities8）. In the limited previous studies, thebetween central governments and 2) cooperation

field is limited to major fields such as environment

in tourism with local municipalities of recipientconservation, industrial technology, and health andcountries. Therefore, a large number of previous

medicine, and there is no analysis of international

studies are related to the above. However,cooperation in the field of tourism. As discussed

there have been very few cases in which local

in the next section, this is because international

governments take the initiative in international

cooperation in tourism was mostly in the form ofcooperation in tourism, which is the theme of thishuman resource training as exchange programs, andpaper. For this reason, very few previous studies areprojects with specific purposes were not active until

related to the above.

the 21st century, making it difficult to collect caseWe first look at studies conducted overseas. Even

examples.

in representative studies that analyzed international

I f we l o o k a t re g i o n a l p o l ic y i n t o u ri s m,cooperation of local municipalities such as Michaelinternational cooperation projects can be found in

Shuman’s Towards a Global Village: International

reports, etc., concerning economic policies and5）Community Development Initiatives and Purnendra

regional development. Case examples include the

Jain’s Japan’s Subnational Governments in

Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry’s

6）International Affairs , there is no analysis by

Survey Report on the Potential Regional Economy

cooperation field such as tourism. This is because

Revitalization by Increase of Tourists from withinin those days, a) there was no crosscutting database

Japan and Overseas 9） and Kyushu Economic

based on a uniform standard, which is indispensable

Research Center’s New Tourism Strategies for Japan-

for analysis by field, and b) therefore, the only

Korea Strait Area10）. However, these are not studies

material used for research was the inconsistent datafrom the viewpoint of international cooperation andannounced by different municipalities.

only contain a few case examples in some places.

− 35 −

山梨国際研究山梨県立大学国際政策部紀要

No. 6（2011）

Therefore, a study on municipality cooperation fromutility foundations, especially international exchange

the viewpoint of tourism is a study from a totallysupport programs including inbound tourism, are

new point of view.

mainly implemented by the Japan National Tourism
Organization (JNTO)13）. However, since the main

3．Political support system

work of JNTO is to provide support in the businessFirst, we look at a relevant law. Article 18 offield, and its purpose is not to promote international

the Basic Act for Promoting a Tourism-Oriented

cooperation of local municipalities, an explanation isCountry contains an item that stipulates theomitted here.

promotion of international mutual exchange where

As for international cooperation projects inthere is a provision related to local municipalities.

tourism conducted by local municipalities, the“Article 18 The national government, aiming

Council of Local Authorities for International

to promote international mutual exchange in

Relations (CLAIR) 14） plays a major role . It

tourism, shall implement measures that aresupports exchange and cooperation in tourism

necessary for promotion of mutual cooperation

through municipal officials exchange projects,

with foreign governments, promotion of exchange

investigation, and research at overseas offices. The

between areas between Japan and foreign

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) 15）

countries, and promotion of international

expands international cooperation in tourism, which

11）

exchange by youth” .

has been conducted at a national level, to grassroots technological cooperation projects that local

The Basic Plan for Promoting a Tourism-

municipalities can apply for, and supports them.

Oriented Country, which was established on thebasis of the above basic act, refers to the exchange

4．Overview of cooperation in tourismof friendship and sister cities in “(2) Promotion of

Fi r s t , t h e t re n d o f p ro j e c t s t h a t re c e i v einternational mutual exchange” under “3. Promotion

cooperation from local municipalities in Japan isof international tourism,” as is shown below. As

analyzed. As far as the author knows, there is no

project activities of relevant items, district transport

tourism cooperation list compiled by the Japanesebureaus such as the Kanto District Transport Bureau

government so far. Among international cooperation

dispatch missions and implement media exchangeorganizations, CLAIR Citizens’ International Plaza

projects as exchange programs between friendshippublishes the most extensive and solid database.

cities.

Searching for the tourism field in this database“(Utilization of sister and friendship city

will give 36 hits on items concerning international

affiliations) There are many opportunities forcooperation16）. The results of the analysis of thecommunity residents to take part in international

general tendency of cooperation in tourism using theexchange based on sister and friendship city

list are as shown below.

affiliations, and such exchange is very important

What is remarkable about the target areas is theas a help to public diplomacy. ...Based on these,fact that 78% of the total is occupied by cooperationexchange shall be expanded through tourism

between multiple regions (see Table 1). This

promotion utilizing sister and friendship city

cooperation, however, is not between many regions

affiliations.”

12）

where multiple municipalities are linked on an equalbasis, but, in many cases, a particular municipality

Tourism projects by government-affiliated public

in Japan operates projects with the same name with− 36 −

A Study on the Cooperation of Local Governments in Tourism

multiple friendship and sister cities.

trainees. Projects that include the reception ofWhat is characteristic is that 83% of the total is

non-trainees such as participants in collaborative

occupied by projects that include municipalities

research and international conferences only accountof East Asian countries. This is because there

for 11% of the total. Only 6% of all the training

are a significant number of projects that include

projects are specialized in tourism and 58% aremunicipalities of China and/or Korea. Projects thatthose that cover five or more fields (see Table 3).

include China as the cooperation area occupy 69% of

For these reasons, it is considered that the majority

the total, and those including Korea occupy as highof the training projects introduce tourism as part ofas 67%. In contrast, projects that include non-Asian

many training fields. International cooperation inregions such as Europe and U.S.A. occupy a small

tourism by local municipalities is mainly limited topercentage of 36% of the total (see Table 2).

mere human resource development as described

Another characteristic fact is that 89% of the
project content consists only of the reception ofabove, and the rate of cooperation specialized in a
specific theme of tourism is very low.

Table 1: Target region
Target region

Number of cases

Percentage

1

Cooperation between two regions

8

22%

2

Cooperation between many regions

28

78%

Total

36

100%

Number of cases

Percentage

Projects including East Asian region

30

83%

1-A

Of 1, projects including China

25

69%

1-B

Of 1, projects including Korea

24

67%

2

Projects including Southeast Asia

17

47%

3

Projects including non-Asian regions

13

36%

Total

36

100%

Prepared by the author on the basis of note 16
Table 2: Target countries
Target region1

Prepared by the author on the basis of note 16
Table 3: Content of cooperation
Content of cooperation
1

Number of cases

Reception of trainees only

Percentage

32

89%

1-A

Of 1, training limited to tourism

2

6%

1-B

Of 1, training covering five or more fields

21

58%

Projects including reception of non-trainees

4

11%

Total

36

100%

2

Prepared by the author on the basis of note 16− 37 −

山梨国際研究山梨県立大学国際政策部紀要

No. 6（2011）

5. Case examples of international

the World Bank, the Japan Bank for International

cooperation with new potential

Cooperation (presently JICA), and the Ministry of

After entering into the 21st century, however,

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism jointly

new types of cooperation in tourism, which focus onheld the “Michinoeki” seminar in order to introduce

specific content of cooperation, are being developed

the know-how of “michi no eki” (roadside stations),

one after another. This section introduces symbolic

when three “michi no eki” from Ehime Prefecturecase examples of such cooperation.

extended cooperation. The World Bank prepared the

Early cases of cooperation in tourism that focus on“Guidelines for Roadside Stations Michinoeki” inthe target and theme between two regions include

order to make use of the “michinoeki” know-how for“Russian Coastal Area Tourism Development

regional development in developing countries.

Cooperation Project (1996)” of Toyama Prefecture.

Another theme-specific cooperation is theThis project receives support as a model project of“Recovery Project of Affected Area through

CLAIR, and focusing on the Russian coastal area,

Recovery of Tourism Using Hot Springs in Sichuan

it holds important tourism-related seminars andProvince” (2010–2012) conducted as a JICA grass-discussion sessions and receives trainees.

roots technological cooperation project by a council

As a support project of JICA, there is “Uzbekistan
Regional Tourism Promotion Trainee Reception

consisting of Yamanashi Prefecture, Kofu City,
Fuefuki City, Fujikawaguchikomachi, etc.

Project” (2001–ongoing) of Nara Prefecture. In thishuman resource development project, 10 trainees

Case example 1:“ Recovery Project offrom Uzbekistan have been received each year since

Affected Area through Recovery of

2001, and lectures and hands-on training related toTourism Using Hot Springs in Sichuan

tourism promotion measures that utilize historical

Province (2010–2012)”

heritages are conducted.

In 2010, Yamanashi Prefecture organized a

As cooperation in tourism between local

council together with Kofu City, Fuefuki City,

municipalities is based around a particular theme,

Fujikawaguchikomachi, etc., and is planning

there are multiple technology transfer projects

cooperation related to hot springs in Sichuan

17）

related to “roadside stations” . Gifu Prefecture has

Province of China. With support from a grass-been conducting the “Feasibility Survey on Building

roots technological cooperation project ofRoadside Stations in Thailand” (2001–ongoing)

JICA, the council is now preparing for a projectin Pisanulok Province in order to investigate thethat aims at recovery from the massive 2008

locating conditions of roadside stations and theearthquake that occurred in Sichuan Province

method of processing and selling local specialties

with the local government of Chengdu City.

in agricultural communities. Nara Prefecture

Aimed at promoting the employment ofreceived financial support from the yen loans

residents involved in tourism, 1) support forprovided by JICA and introduced the “michi no

the development of tourism policy that centerseki” (roadside station) system that produces andon hot springs, 2) technology transfer of thesells local produce in the “Tourism Development

method of utilization of hot springs as resources

Plan to Visit Uttar Pradesh for Places Sacred tofor tourism, and 3) technology transfer

Buddhism (2004–ongoing)” jointly with the state ofconcerning the know-how of management of

Uttar Pradesh in India. These projects were highly

hot springs have been planned. This project

evaluated for their cooperation effect, and in 2004,

is characterized by mutual benefits between− 38 −

A Study on the Cooperation of Local Governments in Tourism

Japan and China. The Chinese side promotes

Sea economic zone, Kitakyushu together

the invitation of tourists from within China andwith Shimonoseki City established “Eastfrom Japan, and the Japanese side benefits by

Asian (Pan-Yellow Sea) City Conference”

tourism promotion of Yamanashi Prefecture

and, in 2004, reorganized the conference into

in the western part of China and learning thethe “Organization for East Asian Economic

know-how of inviting Chinese tourists.

Development,” which serves as an organizationfor economic exchange. The membership of

The “2009 Pan-Yellow Sea Year” is a well-known

the organization consists of ten cities fromproject involving cooperation between many regions.

Japan, China, and Korea including Kitakyushu,

Ten cities from Japan, China, and Korea that belong

Shimonoseki, Fukuoka, Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin,

to the pan-Yellow Sea zone such as Kitakyushu City

Yantai, Incheon Metropolitan City, Busanset up the Organization for the East Asia Economic

Metropolitan City, and Ulsan Metropolitan City,

Development, which is implementing the project. In

with Kitakyushu working as the international

this project, all the participating cities obtain mutual

secretariat. At present, this organization has

benefits by conducting PR activities and tourism

several divisions such as “manufacturing,” “thepromotion using mass media in each city, and theyenvironment,” and “tourism,” and member

are examining new tours to create a pan-Yellow Sea

cities clean the coast and conduct tourism

tourism brand. In this project, Kitakyushu City was

campaigns in cooperation.

evaluated for cooperation with Dalian in China and

The tourism division plans the “Pan-Yellow

the Incheon Metropolitan City, both friendship and

Sea Year,” produces common PR programs

sister cities of Kitakyushu, and was presented theand TV programs using mass media in each

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications

city, and conducts common tourism promotion

Award in the 2010 “4th Award of Excellence in

activities using international film festivals

Independent Sister City Alliances.” Another caseand international tourism exhibitions. It also

18）

example is the Northeast Asian Region (NEAR) ,promotes mutual traffic of international ferries

which was founded in Gyeongju City, Korea, inand international sightseeing cruises19）.

1996, and organized the Tourism Subcommittee as
one of the International Subcommittees in 2008.

6．SummaryThis subcommittee plans to hold a joint tourism

As analyzed in Section 2, international cooperation

exhibition, PR activity, and tourism cooperation

in tourism by local municipalities in Japan does

forums for the development of participating

not include much specialized training in tourism.

municipalities.

Instead, many training programs just incorporate
tourism as a part of the introduction to Japan. Such

Case example 2:“ 2009 Pan-Yellow Sea

international cooperation is low in maturity level asYear (2009)”

a project, and the effect of support is low. The target

Kitakyushu City concluded affiliation withof most international cooperation is friendship andDalian (1979) and Incheon Metropolitan City

sister cities, and these cities are mostly located(1988) as friendship and sister cities and has

in China and Korea. As a whole, it has overtones

been conducting extensive exchange with themof goodwill exchange for mutual understanding

for many years.

and is generally not considered as international

In 1991, in order to realize a pan-Yellow

cooperation.

− 39 −

山梨国際研究山梨県立大学国際政策部紀要

No. 6（2011）

However, as mentioned in Section 3, in the 21st
century, highly specialized forms of cooperation
in tourism, which did not exist before, have beena full-fledged foreign tourist invitation project, wasstarted.
３）Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism,
2007, Basic Plan for Promoting a Tourism-Oriented

developed. There is also a rise of projects that aim
at equal mutual-beneficial relationship without theCountry, pp. 39-40.
４）Outbound tourism in the context of Japan is the tourism

division of the supporting and supported countries.
Some projects have received high social evaluationof the Japanese people who go on overseas tours.
５）Michael Shuman, 1994, Towards a Global Village:
International Community Development Initiatives, London

through winning awards and have achieved a level
where global diffusion can be attained by the central& Boulder; Pluto Press.
６）Purnendra Jain, 2005, Japan's Subnational Governments ingovernment and international organizations.

International Affairs, Routledge.

Inter national tourism is, in other words,

７）JICA Institute for International Cooperation, 1997,

international exchange using private funding, andParticipation of Local Municipalities in International
Cooperation Phase 1, JICA. JICA Institute for International

it significantly contributes to mutual understanding

Cooperation, 2000, Participation of Local Municipalities in

between citizens and regions. Therefore, it isInternational Cooperation Phase 2, JICA.

an important means to achieve global peace and８）Hitoshi Yoshida, 2005, International Cooperation ofstability. When we think of tourism from theMunicipalities, Kazumi Goto, Izumi Ono, Toshio

viewpoint of regional development, it is closely

Watanabe, Vol. 4 Japan’s International Development

linked with regional development strategies since
it offers a high level of employment and encourages

Cooperation, Nippon Hyoronsha, pp. 203-226.
９）Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry,
2009, Survey Report on the Potential Regional Economy

renewed recognition of regional cultures. Thus,

Revitalization by Increase of Tourists from within Japan andinternational tourism can become an important

Overseas, Planning Office, General Affairs and Planning

regional policy in a world that is rapidly being

Division, Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry.

globalized. Considering these points, tourism will10）Kyushu Economic Research Center, 2008, New Tourism
Strategies for Japan-Korea Strait Area, Kyushu Economic

be a very important field in cooperation. To thisResearch Center.

end, it is desired that tourism will be incorporated11）Basic Act for Promoting a Tourism-Oriented Country

into international cooperation strategies as a(enacted in 2006, enforced on January 1, 2007). The

diplomatic policy of Japan and that the project effectunderlines are the author’s own. The exchange between
the regions mentioned in this provision is adequately

will be enhanced. In the future, it is necessary toconsidered to include international exchange by local

improve the political complementarity between

municipalities when the content of the Basic Act forthe central government and local municipalities

Promoting a Tourism-Oriented Country is considered.

and to strengthen the cooperation between local

12）Basic Act for Promoting a Tourism-Oriented Country, pp.
39-40. The underline is the author’s own.

municipalities.

13）JNTO was established in 2003 in order to promote
inbound tourism by efficiently carrying out operations

Notes

that are necessary for the promotion of foreign tourists

１）Inbound tourism in the context of Japan is the tourism

visiting Japan such as tourism advertisements overseasof travelers from abroad who come on tours in order toand provision of tourist information to foreign sightseers.

explore Japan. Therefore, inbound tourists generally refer14）CLAIR was established in 1988 as a collaborative

to foreign tourists visiting Japan.

organization of local municipalities in order to support

２）In January 2003, former Prime Minister Koizumi, in ainternational exchange and international cooperation by

policy speech at the 156th Diet session, clarified the goal

local municipalities.

of doubling the number of visiting foreign tourists to 1015）JICA was established in 1974 in order to support themillion in 2010. Following this, the Visit Japan Campaign,social and economic development of developing countries− 40 −

A Study on the Cooperation of Local Governments in Tourism

and conduct various types of international cooperation
together with the national government, internationalorganizations, NGOs, and private businesses.
16）When searching for the tourism field using “Search caseexamples of international cooperation activities of local
municipalities” on the website of Citizens’ International
Plaza, 36 international cooperation projects will be listed.
The URL of this search system, as of September 2010, is
http://www.plaza-clair.jp/jichitai/act.php?act_field=&act_
field=12.
17）Rest facilities have been built alongside ordinary nationalroads. Michi no eki sells folk crafts and local specialty
products, offers meals and drinks, and provides tourist
information.
18）The Northeast Asian Region (NEAR) was foundedin Gyeongju City, Korea, in 1996, and has a standing
secretariat in Gyeongsangbuk-do. At present, the NEAR
membership consists of 69 local governments fromsix countries including Korea, Japan, China, Mongolia,
Russia, and North Korea.
19）Council of Local Authorities for International Relations,
the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,2010, “Recipient organizations of the 4th Award of
Excellence in Independent Sister City Alliances (internalaffairs minister’s award),” Council of Local Authorities
for International Relations. The Organization for the East
Asia Economic Development, 2010, “6th Tourism Group
Fukuoka Meeting.”− 41 −