ISSUE NO.

63 • W

INTER 2008

Letter from 2006 CLAIR Fellow ............................................................................ 1-2[JETAA ACTIVITIES] JETAA International Meeting.............................................................................. 3[IN MEMORIAM] Remembrance for Dr. Wynne ................................................................................. 4[JLGC RESEARCHER’S EYE] Japan’s New Referendum Law .............................................................. 5[SPECIAL FEATURE] Marion City -Kanie Town................................................................................... 6[DESIGNATED CITY] City of Hiroshima ............................................................................................... 7[JLGC UPDATE] Welcome to Japan Night ......................................................................................... 8[GUEST COLUMN]

JAPAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CENTER (CLAIR, NEW YORK)The Culture of Governance in Japan:
Diaries from a 2006 CLAIR Fellow
John LiveyG U E S T

C O L U M N

can be put to practical purpose by theparticipants.
In 1988, when Japanese businesssuccess symbolized globalization, CLAIR
was formed to lend international
experience to their local governments.
Funded by local government and theJapanese national lottery, CLAIR
conducts research, collects anddisseminates information, organizes
exchanges and study tours and sponsors
foreign English language teachers forjunior and senior high schools. In 1955,
Nagasaki and St. Paul, Minn. became thefirst sister cities; now there are 1,560.

I

F CULTURE CAN BE SEEN in thedaily life of a nation, it is vividly
displayed in Japan. Perhaps a firsttime visitor sees this most acutely. There
are myriad examples of the Japanese wayof living. It is even evident in theworkings of local government. Japanese
history, culture and values shape the way
its cities, towns and prefectures (theequivalent of our counties or regions)function.
In November of 2006, I took partin a Local Government study tour hosted
by the Japanese Council of Local
Authorities for International Relations(CLAIR) along with eight American
officials. The Canadian Urban Institute(CUI) made my participation possible
through their ongoing relationship with
CLAIR’s New York office - one of sevenglobally. CUI works to promote linkages
between cities in Canada and abroad.
Both organizations know that theselinkages promote understanding between
nations and that the knowledge gained
JLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Center

Local government distinctly different
Seeing what is happening
elsewhere lets you consider new ideas,
unconstrained by the culture and normsof our society. Reflected by a vastlydifferent cultural context, you can see
how strong British and U.S. influences
have shaped Canadian local government.
While the form and structure of Japanese
local government are similar to Canada’s,
the way it works is distinctly different.
No doubt, this is due largely to the way
the Japanese approach life.
Japan is a nation that has
integrated much from other nations, first
Buddhism and writing from China in its
early development and for the last 150
years many of the best ideas from theWest. Throughout its history, Japan has
swung between total isolation and an
enthusiastic embrace of western
technology. In 1639, all foreign trade wasbarred until 1853, when Commodore
Perry sailed into Tokyo harbour anddestabilized the last feudal shogun.
Shortly thereafter, Japan catapulted into

an industrial powerhouse by retaining
over 10,000 Westerners to modernize theeconomy. By the end of the century,
Japan had the military and industrial
clout to defeat China in 1895, colonize
parts of Korea and sink the Russian navy
in 1905. Rapid economic growthcontinued until the devastation of Japanin WWII. Although Japan was neverinvaded, the Allied bombings left few
buildings standing in the cities. Millions
were displaced and the economy wasshattered.
The war also brought a new
Constitution; a unitary government
designed for control from Tokyo. No
states or provinces were created, only thecentral government for a population of
127 million with 47 prefectures and1,800 local municipalities. After anumber of rounds of municipal
consolidations,
there
are
fewer
municipalities in Japan than in Canada.
The Japanese focus on efficiency does notallow uneconomic municipal entities tosurvive too long, especially when roughly
40 per cent of the municipalities’
revenues come from national tax
transfers, including income taxes. Since
1995, the national government has been
pursuing a decentralization program todevolve power and costs to local
governments. There are even proposals
for a federal system with states to pare
down the national government andfurther decentralize decision-making andaccountability.
A very uniform set of rules
The Constitution provides
statutory authority for local government.
The Local Autonomy Act (LAA) defines
PAGE 1their roles and responsibilities andensures that for any laws to apply only to
one local entity, they can only be enacted
by the Diet (the national assembly) withthe consent of the majority of local
voters. The LAA allows local
governments to raise revenues from taxes
on property, consumption, tobacco, auto
purchases, light oil delivery, and realestate purchases. There is a stringent
formula for the levels of taxes that can be
imposed and much discussion on thesufficiency of that formula. According to
officials, there is a very uniform set ofrules for local government, a highly
regimented remuneration system, no
strike provisions, no dismissal withoutcause safeguards and only limited private
sector “out-sourcing”. Two years ago, theproposal to privatize the Post Office wasrejected by the House of Representatives
and the Prime Minister responded bydismissing the House and firing severalof his ministers. The Japanese respect for
authority has no equivalent in Canada.
Without provinces or states
between the national government andthe municipalities, local governments inJapan play important roles inadministrative
matterssuchasregistrations (births, deaths, residents’cards for access to social programs,
welfare, medical insurance) and services
for the elderly, children and persons withdisabilities. Local governments also
administer five forms of insurance:
medical, pension, unemployment,
employee accidents and nursing.
As well, education, local courts,
emergency services (including disaster
relief), fishing, forestry and agriculture,
housing and welfare are largely local
matters. There is also a local allocation
tax, which redistributes revenues tosmaller, less prosperous prefectures. The
number of civil servants is low: 33 per
1,000 in Japan versus 78 in the U.K. andthe United States. Local municipalities
have a strong mayoral system and thegovernor of the prefecture is elected atlarge. In both Shimane prefecture on the
PAGE 2west coast of Honshu and its main city,
Matsue, the staff complement in theirmodest offices seemed to confirm this.
Focused on economic development
During our tour, we visited
Shimane prefecture and Matsue. Here, inthe second smallest prefecture in Japan(pop. 752,534), we observed a focusedmunicipal
effortineconomicdevelopment. At the Shimane Institutefor Industrial Technology, research
focused on material science for computer
applications, plasma technology, virtual
reality systems and new films for solar
energy applications. All of thesetechnologies had a precursor in previous
technologies in the prefecture, somegoing back centuries, such as metallurgy
for swords and material science that has
its origins in the technology of
manufacturing roof tiles and ceramics.
The Japanese obsession withtechnology stems in no small part fromthe challenge the nation faces. With nooil, few remaining mines and a relatively
small land mass, Japan has to rely on
exporting high value products andservices. It also is skilled in importsubstitution, avoiding the high cost of
external goods by replacing them withlocal products. With 70 per cent of its
land forested and a significant part of theremainder urbanized, agricultural land isintensively cultivated. Japan imports
more food than it exports and has theworld’s largest fishing fleet, its people
being the world’s largest consumers ofseafood. Anyone visiting Tokyo has to do
two things: visit the Tsukiji fish market,
the largest in the world with over 1,800
vendors, and travel on the subway, withits 282 stops and trains just minutes
apart. The cities’ cleanliness far surpasses
our standards, the trains are precisely on
time, no tipping is permitted since
providing good service is expected ofeveryone and everyone has a job to be
useful in society. Conformity is the norm
and those who don’t conform areoutcasts.

Declining population creates challenges
One of the biggest challenges
Japan faces is its aging population,
exacerbatedbyextremely
lowimmigration. The national population is
declining and the fertility rate is 1.3
children per family, well below the
replacement rate of 2.1. By 2020, 25 percent of the population will be over 65,
raising significant concerns about thecapacity of the workers to support theelderly. Currently, 60 per cent of men 6069 years old still work, as do a quarter ofmen over 75. The Japanese work ethic isrenowned, with routine 10-14 hour days,
forcing most women with children tostay at home. One wonders whether the
next generation will be similarly inclined
to work such long hours or whether they
will have to accept a decline in theirstandard of living. Working smarter, notharder, may be their only choice.
The trip left me marveling at thefocus Japanese apply to their work,schooling and pastimes. It is a highly
structured society, although there aresigns of trouble, including alienation,
depression and high suicide rates.
Japanese local government seems to bevery efficient and able to build
infrastructure, industries and buildings
quickly. What is it about our society that
holds us back? Is it our multicultural
makeup and our penchant for tolerance
and compromise? Or is it the wealthfrom Canada’s natural resources thatkeeps our standards of living high andbuffers us from economic pressures that
other countries face? Will it continue tobenefit all Canadians without making us
really sharpen our focus and learn fromothers? If everything global is also local,
what can we do to enhance ourcompetitiveness as local governments?
There are lessons for us in Japan.
* * *John Livey is a Fellow of the Canadian
Institute of Planners and the Chief
Administrative Officer for the Town ofMarkham, Ont.
JLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government CenterCo-operation, collaboration and camaraderie the 2007 JETAA International Meeting proves to be a resounding success
Amy Schindler/ JETAA Toronto President
J E T A A

A C T I V I T I E SOrganizing an International
Meeting was not somethingthat JETAA Toronto had everplanned to do. In fact, before 2005, when
we submitted our first bid, most of thepeople on the JETAA Toronto executive
didn’t even know there was aninternational executive representing JET
Programme alumni around the world.
Coincidentally, in 2005, one of
the goals of JETAA Toronto was toincrease the profile of the organization
withintheJapanese-Canadian
community in Toronto and also amongst
our members. Hosting an International
Meeting fit perfectly into that mandate.
That is how we began the long journey oforganizing
the
2007
JETAA
International Meeting.
An emergency executive meeting
was called to discuss the pros and cons ofhosting such a large-scale event in ourspare time. We wondered about what
would make Toronto the perfect venue:
Perhaps the multiculturalism and variety
the city had to offer, and what mightundermine our bid, the weather.
Traditionally,
International
Meetings have been held in November.
We would have to hold it in a warmer
month. We also had to get the agreementof the Japanese governmental bodies thatwould be funding the conference; MOFA
representatives at the Consulate Generalof Japan in Toronto and CLAIR
representatives in New York andToronto.
It took a bit of persuasion andnegotiation, but finally all parties agreed
that this was a great opportunity for
JETAA Toronto to showcase its amazing
members and the incredible city that welive in.
We e-mailed our bid to theinternational executive and waited tohear the outcome of the voting. Finally,
the reply came with disappointing news.
We were unsuccessful. Sydney, Australia
would be hosting the 2006 JETAAJLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Center

International Conference.
In 2006, the international
executive asked if we would submit
another bid to host the 2007 meeting.
Again, we went through the process of
discussing our plans with all the rightpeople. We improved our bid from 2005
and sent it off to be rated by the world.
At least this time we knew what toexpect.
Our competition was Germany, agreat option, but in the end, the world
decided JETAA Toronto was the place to
be in September 2007.
Immediately, the planning began.
The conference was seven months away
but if we were going to successfully fly 30
people to Toronto from around theworld and organize the amazing
conference we had described in our bid,
we needed to get organized fast.
We contacted MOFA and CLAIR
to secure funding for the conference,
recruited two JET alumni members to
act as conference coordinators and beganplanning.
From February to September, emails flew around the world as receptions
were planned, meeting rooms werebooked, conference agendas wereconfirmed and hotels were inspected. In
February, the actual conference dateseemed so far away, but soon enough, wewere only two weeks away from theconference we had been thinking about
for two years.
On September 12,
2007, the first delegate flew
into Toronto and arrived safely
at the hotel. Soon, 21
international representatives
had arrived, two members of
CLAIR New York, four
members of MOFA and four
members of CLAIR Tokyo. We
were so excited to welcome
them to our city and our home!
During the conference,delegates discussed how tostrengthen JETAA chapters around theworld, learned about different member
services and events offered by different
chapters and brainstormed about how to
improve communications both within
individual chapters and around theworld.
Delegates attended a reception
hosted by the Consul General of Japan,
admired the Toronto skyline at nightfrom the restaurant atop the CN Tower,rode on a streetcar and watched a Major
League Baseball game with the New YorkYankees star Japanese player, Hideki
Matsui.
The conference went by soquickly. One minute we were saying ourhellos and three days later we were
hugging everyone good-bye. It was an
exciting experience that JETAA Toronto
wouldn’t trade for the world.
Organizing this conference truly
gave us a sense of how large the JET
Programme community is and how far
the bonds forged between alumni extend.
From Russia to Jamaica to South Africa
to Canada to every country in between,
thousands of young adults havecompleted the JET Programme andcome home with a greater appreciation
for Japan and for the world.
The 2008 International Meeting
will be held in Paris, France. We wish
them all the luck in the world. Bon
chance!

PAGE 3Remembrance for Dr. Wynne
Seth Benjamin/ JLGC Senior Researcher
I N

M E M O R I A M

Dr. Wynne presenting certificates of achievement to Three Month Training Program participants in 2005

D

r. Wynne had been associatedwith the Japan Local
Government Center in New
York (JLGC) since its founding. First,
with Mr. Minami, then Mr. Otaki, Mr.
Ishida and Mr. Hida, all directors of theCenter, he established a warm andfriendly relationship between theCouncil of State Governments (CSG)
and the Council of Local Authorities forInternational Relations (CLAIR); a
relationship that gave rise to one of
JLGC’s most successful programmes, theThree-Month Training Programme for
local government officials. Many cities
and states across the United States havecome to know Japanese government
officials through this programme,
enthusiastically welcoming them year
after year. Dr. Wynne’s energy andebullience encouraged successive trainees
to embrace and experience ‘America’. His

sense of internationalism was reflected in
the International Center, which heheaded for many years in the CSG offices
in Washington, D.C.
As somebody closely associatedwith CSG, Dr. Wynne encouraged also
an institutional relationship with
CLAIR. His vast experience, during his
State
Department
career,ofcommunicating to foreign governments
and professionals was brought to bear on
thinking of ways to increase the exchange
of information between government
officials in Japan and the United States.
Such ‘cross-fertilisation’ of ideas is so
important for innovative ways ofadministering services to our respective
citizens.
Dr. Wynne had had a varied andexciting career. When JLGC got to know
him, he had already retired from theState Department’s United States

Information Agency (USIA) as a press
official, and having retired from the
Army reserve at the rank of colonel. He
worked for many years with the Councilof State Governments (CSG) and theAmerican Public Transit Association. He
was an indefatigable man.
So, it is with great sadness toreport that Dr. Wynne passed away lastNovember. Recently, The Japan Local
Government Center paid its respects to
him and his family at his funeral, which
was held at the Arlington National
Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on 18th
January 2008. JLGC was represented by
Mr. Hiroshi Sasaki, executive director,
and Dr. Seth B. Benjamin, seniorresearcher. We attended the interment of
Dr. Wynne, together with Chris Whatley,
director of international programmes,
representing CSG, and Amy Robertson,
programme officer at the International
Center, with whom Dr. Wynne had
worked very closely for many years.
Dr. Wynne was given a fullmilitary funeral, including a horse-drawn
carriage, presentation of arms, militaryband and three-gun salute, before beinglaid to rest in Arlington National
Cemetery’s Columbarium. At the funeral
was Dr. Wynne’s close friend andhelpmate in the last few months of his
life, Dr. Kishi, who had been introduced
to Dr. Wynne by his late wife Harue
Ishii.

JET Program Certificate of Participation
JLGC can provide a basic proof of participation in the JET
Program for U.S. and Canadian citizens. If you would like toobtain this certificate, please fill out and submit theapplication form. You can find this form on the JLGC Web
site. Please return this form to JLGC by email or by fax. You
should also obtain proof of employment from your former
contracting organization.

PAGE 4JLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Center

Japan’s New Referendum Law
Matthew Gillam / JLGC Senior Researcher
J L G CR E S E A R C H E R ’ S

The Japanese Diet passed a law on
May 14, 2007, governing the
conduct of referenda on
constitutional amendments. The current
Japanese constitution was written during
the post-war occupation and was adopted
in 1946. It then came into effect on May
3, 1947. Chapter IX outlines the process
for amending the constitution, including
a requirement that any amendment
adopted by the Diet be submitted to thepeople for ratification. However, it leftthe Diet with responsibility for creating
the laws governing the specific details of
the amendment process, and no such laws
were ever passed. This has left thecountry effectively unable to amend its
constitution for the last 60 years. This
has not necessarily been a problem, since
the political climate in Japan in the postwar era made any discussion of
constitutional change an extremely
contentious topic and not politically
viable. This only began to change after
the collapse of the “1955 System”,
eliminating the Socialist Party’s ability toblock talk of change, and thedeterioration in the security situation
regarding North Korea.
The new law provides for conducting thenational referenda required for any
proposed constitutional amendments,
and includes several provisions pertaining
to this. In brief:
EThe legal age for voting will be loweredfrom 20 to 18, on the condition thatthe Diet can make the necessarychanges to laws currently setting theage of eligibility for voting and the ageof legal majority at 20.
EThe referendum process created by thislaw can only be used for constitutional
amendments.
EAny such referendum will be held
within a period no less than 60 days
and no more than 180 days after the
adoption of an amendment proposal
JLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Center

E Y E

by both houses of the Diet.
EPublic notification and information
will be handled by a National
Referendum Public Information
Committee, established by the Dietand made up of 10 Diet members.
ECivil servants and educators will be
prohibited from using their positions
to speak about any proposed
amendments. This provision, however,requires that further changes toexisting laws regarding freedom of
expression and canvassing becompleted within three years.
ETelevision and radio advertisements orother messages concerning proposed
amendments will not be allowed
during the 14 days immediately
preceding voting day for thereferendum.
EThis referendum law will take effectthree years after its adoption, and no
amendments may be proposed nor
investigations or research undertaken
concerning possible amendments
within those three years.
EAn
Amendment
Investigation
Committee will be established in eachhouse of the Diet.
EVoting will be conducted by having
voters circle either “Yes” or “No” foreach item on the ballot, with a simple
majority of those voting required for
passage.
In 2005, as this law was being
formulated, Japan Local Government
Center, New York, was asked to conduct
research on referendum processes in the
United States and provide information onfederal and state referenda. The CLAIR
office in Paris was also asked tocontribute research on France, Germany
and Italy.
This referendum law was one of thesignal accomplishments of the short-lived
Abe government. However, with Prime
Minister Abe’s sudden resignation on

September 12th, 2007, all substantial
movement stopped on debate overamending the constitution and theprocess for doing so, and the future isquite unclear. It certainly seems that forthe short term the process has come to astop, although long-term prospects are
lesscertain.
The
Amendment
Investigation Committees in each house
have been formed, but selection ofmembers has not occurred. And nochanges to laws concerning freedom of
expression or canvassing have been
passed.
The reason the topic of amending theconstitution is so controversial is, ofcourse, because it is most commonly
considered to refer to changing Article 9,which renounces war as a sovereign rightof the nation. Given the changing
environment Japan finds itself in, there isincreasing, although still strongly
contested, support for clearly recognizing
a right to maintain military capability forcollective self defense. The government
has deemed this unconstitutional under
the current wording.
Beyond this, however, political parties
across the spectrum have proposed otherchanges to the constitution they would
like to see. These mainly include newrights to be enumerated, including theright to privacy, to a clean environment,
to life, to life-long learning, and rights forvictims of crimes. There is also a call for
including duties and obligations ofcitizens.
Constitutional amendment is never aneasy or uncontroversial process, and it
remains to be seen whether Japan remains
wary of it or embraces the chance toupdate its constitution, after having madeno changes to it in the last 60 years.
However, until the remaining legal pieces
are put in place, we will not have an
opportunity to find out.
PAGE 5

A Special Summer Holiday for Kanie Kids A Homestay in Marion
Shinya Bando / Assistant Director
S P E C I A L

F E A T U R E

Ironically when Kanie Town, located in
Aichi Prefecture was searching for an
American city that would accept eightjunior high school students and twoteachers to experience life in the UnitedStates for four days in August, the city of
Marion, Illinois was actively looking to starta relationship with a city in Japan,
preferably in Aichi Prefecture.
The story begins when the
Honorable Robert L. Butler, Mayor of
Marion wrote a letter to the Japan Local
Government Center seeking its assistance infinding such a city. Knowing of Kanie
Town’s interest, JLGC introduced Mayor
Butler to the Honorable Junichi Yokoe,
Mayor of Kanie Town. Mayor Yokoe wasenthusiastic about the possibility, but asthey say, seeing is believing and so themayor, the superintendent of education andthe director of planning and information
decided to visit the city of Marion. Staff at
the Japan Local Government Center would
support their mission during their stay in
Illinois.
Marion City is growing rapidly. It
is the home for several famous brand namecompanies and boasts the largest Wal-Martin the world which opened in 2006. Thereis also a Pepsi-Cola distribution center and
Aisin, MFG, LLC, a Japanese auto parts
company.

visited the local board of education, library,and city hall.
At Marion Community Unit
School District No. 2, we were met by the
School Improvement Facilitator.
She
offered to facilitate the visit to the school
district and plan sightseeing tours for the
students and teachers from Kanie Town aswell as try to find home stays for them.

Visiting with school officials at Marion Community Unit School District No.2

Next we visited Southern Illinois
University at Carbondale to talk about the
English education program for the teachers
accompanying the students from Kanie
Town. We met the Associate Dean of
Academic Programs, Teacher Education,
Student Services and Retention who
introduced us to the ESL director at SIUC.
The ESL Director accepted our offer to have
two Japanese teachers register for courses at
SIUC. She also agreed to arrange a campus
tour for them.

The Student Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Downtown Marion

Mayor Yokoe and the small entourage
visited the City of Marion on January 8th,
2008. The first stop was Aisin MFG, LLC,
where the President and Department
Manager of General Administration greeted
them. After explaining why Aisin, MFG
chose Marion for its business location,
Kanie Town officials inquired into whether
Aisin could help locate host families for its
visiting students and teachers. Aisin’s
president gladly offered his assistance. Aisin
officials then accompanied our group as we
PAGE 6We also visited Marion Carnegie
Library, and met the Director and staff.
They held a reception for us in Japanese andEnglish arranged by a library staff person
fluent in Japanese. Mayor Yokoe then gavea presentation about Kanie Town.
The Japanese program in Marion
Carnegie Library started in 2005 funded by
the Aisin Company as part of a cultural
exchange between Japan and Marion.
Currently, the library has a collection of
about 800 Japanese books and 400 digital
video disks. Mayor Yokoe was impressedand promised to add to the collection
Japanese books from Kanie Town when
they visit Marion in August.

Marion Carnegie Library

Our last stop was City Hall to meet
Mayor Butler and two of his
Commissioners. The mayor told us that he
was willing to assist the home stay programand make it successful. The mayor invitedus to dinner where we continued ourconversations and exchanged stories about
Kanie and Marion. Our time in Marion
came to an end but Mayors Yokoe andButler promised to meet again in August.

Marion City Hall

My impressions of Marion were that itwas not a big city but a developing city withhuge potential and possibilities. The peopleof Marion are gracious and extremely
hospitable and everyone was supportive of
the future visit of students and teachers
from Kanie Town. Mayor Butler and all theofficials we were introduced to were helpful,kind and understanding allowing for a
comfortable experience. There are somechallenges that remain such as finding hostfamilies for the ten visitors but I left Marion
feeling that it was a wonderful place to visit
and experience American culture and I was
confident that the enthusiasm exhibited by
Marion officials would translate into a
successful endeavor.
Kanie Town
1. Population: 36,914(2007)
2. Land Area: 11.10km2
3. Major Industry: Pot chrysanthemum,
Fig, Aoki Supermarket
City of Marion
1. Population: 17,011(2006)
2. Land Area: 35km2
3. Major Industry: Aisin Mfg, LLC, Blue
Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois, Marion
Pepsi ColaJLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Center

International City of Peace and Culture:
HIROSHIMA
By Toru Mukaikubo / Director of Japan Local Government Center (Representative of the City of Hiroshima)
D E S I G N A T E D

C I T YT

he history of Hiroshima begins
in 1589. This was the year that
Terumoto Mori, grandson ofMotonari Mori and lord of most of the
Chugoku Region, began building a new
castle and castle town on the Ota Riverdelta. He named the area Hiroshima (lit.
“wide island”), and two years later, whenthenewcastle wascompleted,he moved in.
During the
To k u g a w aEra,theMori family
Hiroshima Castle
was forced toretreat to Suo and Nagato. Hiroshima
Castle was taken over briefly by Masanori
Fukushima, then by Nagaakira Asano.
The Asano clan ruled for 12 generations(250 years) until the Meiji Restoration of1868. Throughout, they lived in thebeautiful “Carp Castle.” Hiroshima
Castle, Shukkeien Garden, Fudoin and
Mitaki temples speak eloquently of thepast and are much loved by residents andvisitors alike.
On August 6, 1945, the world’s
first atomic bomb exploded over the cityof Hiroshima. That single bomb
instantaneously crushed and burned
most of the city’s buildings, taking
hundreds ofthousands of
lives. The
reality of theHiroshima
tragedy mustbe passed on
forever in an
Shukkeien Garden
efforttoprevent the repetition of such sufferingand achieve lasting world peace. The
place to go for all visitors to Hiroshima isthe Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Built in 1955 to preserve and convey tofuture generations the facts about theunprecedented tragedy, it collects, stores,
JLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Centerand displays
artifactsfromthea t o m i cbombingandothermaterials
that speak of
Mitaki Temple
thetragicevents of that day. Millions of people
come from around the world to see it.
Children on school field trips listen in
the museum and in the park to the vivid
personal stories of the atomic bomb
survivors. Peace Memorial Park, with theHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum andHiroshima National Peace Memorial
Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, wasconstructed by the City of Hiroshima as
an appeal for lasting world peace and theabolition of nuclear weapons. The
extensive park grounds are filled withmonuments, including the Cenotaph for
the A-bomb Victims, the Flame of Peace,
the Children’s Peace Monument, and theFountain of Prayer.
One of Hiroshima’s great
attractions is
its
large
number ofart museums
and publicgalleries,
plus the zoo,
botanical
Atomic Bomb Domegarden, andmany other facilities for public
education. The Hiroshima Museum ofArt, with works by Cezanne, van Gogh,and Renoir, has one of the largest andfinest collections of French impressionist
paintings in the world. The Hiroshima
City Museum of Contemporary Art isamong the very few public museums ofcontemporary art anywhere in the world.
Its wide-ranging collection includes
works by the most talented Japanese andforeign contemporary artists from Henry
Moore and Andy Warhol to Masuo

Ikeda. The Hiroshima Prefectural Art
Museum is among the largest art
museums in Western Japan. It boasts acollection of works by Ikuo Hirayama,
Genso Okuda, Kunzo Minami and otherrenowned artists of this area. The
Hiroshima Botanical Garden has thelargest greenhouse in Japan, and theHiroshima Asa Zoological Park
effectively uses its enormous property toallow the animals to live and play in
comfort.
The
Hiroshima
City
Transportation Museum offers a uniquelook at vehicles that tell the history oftransportation.

A bird’s-eye view of the city

In 1945, Hiroshima was reduced
to rubble by the atomic bomb, but after
the war its citizens achieved an amazing
recovery. Today, it is the largest, mostvital city in the Chugoku-Shikoku
Region. With modern buildings lining
Aioi Avenue, elegant shops andrestaurants in the Motomachi CRED,
and the outdoor café on the Motoyasu
River, downtown Hiroshima is a popular
destination for both residents andtourists.
EFor more
information:
http://www.
hiroshimanavi.or.jp

PAGE 7

Welcome to “Japan Night”!
Kaz Tanaka / JLGC Assistant Director, Satoru Kimura / JLGC Assistant Director, Takashi Daito / JLGC Assistant Director
JLGC

UPDATEver the past
18 years,
the Japan
Local Government
Center (JLGC) has
participatedinvarious conferences
relating to public
administration and American state andlocal government. JLGC’s mission,indeed its purpose is to promote mutual
understanding and where it already exists
strengthen the partnerships between
AmericanandJapanese
local
governments and their respective leaders.
Since 2006, the JLGC has hosted “Japan
Night” receptions as a vehicle for
American government officials to learn
more about Japanese policies andpractices as well as providing an
opportunity to make new friends andbuild upon established relationships. An
added bonus is the event allows forJapanese staff to acquaint themselveswith former CLAIR Fellows. Last year in2007, we held three Japan Nights at theannual conferences of the Council ofState
Governments
(CSG)
the
International City/County Management
Association (ICMA) and the National
Association of Counties (NACo). Just incase your curiosity has been piqued, thefollowing paragraphs describe in a little
more detail what went on at these unique
receptions.

O

NACo: Sultry Richmond, Virginia was
the setting for the 2007 NACo Annual
Conference and the Japan Night event
was well attended by people interested inlearning about Japan and the Japan Local
Government Center. Joining the party

were NACo Vice President Valerie
Brown, NACo Executive Director Larry
Naake and Deputy Executive Director
Edward Ferguson as well as many elected
county leaders and NACo staff.
The NACo Annual Conference isalways enjoyable and staffs at the Japan
Local Government Center learn about
the role and importance of counties in
the American local government system.
The conference affords us theopportunity to network with government
professionals and share with them bestpractices and experiences. The Japan
Night event naturally fit into theprogram and was well received. Maybe
the sushi, finger foods, wine and beerhelped a little.
ICMA: It was a very successful night atthe Westin Convention Center, in theCity of Pittsburgh where the 2007 ICMA
Annual Conference was held. Althoughinitially concerned about how many
people would attend, our fears wereabated as over one hundred people joined
the festivities. Former CLAIR fellowshipparticipants shared their remembrances
and wonderful experience of Japan with
us and we felt strongly that they would
always remain a part of JLGC’s legacy.
The new people we met were interested
in the traditional blue jackets that wewere wearing known as “happi”. This
interest spurred lively conversations
amongst the guests about the differences
between cultures and local government
systems. Everyone appeared satisfied andenjoyed the sushi and finger foods andsome even left with Japanese souvenirs
they drew from the grab bag.
Japan does not presently have a
council manager form of government yet
the ICMA conference provides valuable
information about the city/county
manager profession. We have been
fortunate over the years to have been
introduced to city and county managers
and they have shared some very
interesting stories about their jobs andabout the American local government
experience.

CSG: JLGC has worked closely with
CSG for 18 years and to celebrate thisrelationship, we hosted a reception formembers of the CSG family called“Japan Night”.
This special reception took place at the
CSG Annual State Trends andLeadership Forum in Oklahoma City on
November 12, 2007. International
committee members and staff of CSG’sorganization gathered in one of theconvention center’s party rooms. At thefront counter, every attendee won aJapanese gift such as furoshiki(traditional Japanese wrapping cloth) or
sensu (Japanese folding fan) in a lottery.
During the reception, Mr. Sasaki,
Executive Director and Dr. Benjamin,
Senior Researcher, acted as hosts.
Throughout the evening we exchanged
views on trends in local governments inboth countries with our guests. Of
course, we also engaged in various
andstimulating
pleasantries
conversation! We also had the great
pleasure of receiving walk-in guests fromSouth Korean local governments which
enhanced the international atmosphere.
We intend to expand our Japan
Night receptions adding a fourth event at
next years National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL) event. We shallcontinue with Japan Night events at theNACo, ICMA, and CSG annual
conferences. We hope that you can join
us! If you would like to obtain theschedule of 2008 Japan Nights, pleasecontact us.

Published by JAPAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CENTER
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without permission. Printed in USA
666 Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10103-0072 • Tel: 212-246-5542 • Fax: 212-246-5617 • E-mail: jlgc@jlgc.org • http://www.jlgc.org

PAGE 8JLGC NewsLetter No. 63 • © 2008 Japan Local Government Center