Japan Local Government Centre (CLAIR, Sydney) Correspondence

Transcription

1 Newsletter Issue No.68 Japan Local Government Centre (CLAIR, Sydney) October 2013 In This Issue: 1 Ibaraki Prefecture 6 Promoting the Nagoya City Marathon 2-3 Invitation to 2014 LGEC Seminar in Japan! 7 A delegation from Shiroishi visited Hurstville 3 Yokohama City Representatives at int l conference 8 Greeting from our new staff 4 Assisting a delegation from Kochi Prefecture 8 Introducing our new intern 4 Japan Endless Discovery Seminar 2013 in Sydney 9 From The Director 5 Assisting the APBEC from Japan Ibaraki Prefecture Correspondence Australia Japan Partner for Tourism Exchange 2013 Ibaraki Prefecture is located north-east of Tokyo, with the capital Mito city only an hour away by train. Fukuroda Falls offers a different breath-taking view for each season. The spring buds, summer foliage, and brilliant colors of autumn are all spectacular, but the most prized sight is when the waterfall freezes over in the winter. Not only can you glimpse the rare, frozen white falls, you can also enjoy ice climbing. The Ryujin Suspension Bridge is Honshu s longest pedestrian-only suspension bridge, and the spectacular scenery seen from the 446m long, 100m high structure provides a simultaneously stunning and thrillingly unforgettable view. Between the greatest collection of space development and research facilities in Asia, astronaut training and exhibits of actual rockets, Tsukuba City is a place where you can experience the cutting edge of science and technology firsthand. In addition, you can now try out robot suits at family shopping malls, making this also a city for having fun with science. There are 60 sake breweries in Ibaraki alone, putting it in the top five prefectures nationally and number one in the Kanto region! There are many unique offerings, such as the 400 year old Nemoto Brewery and Tsuki-no-I Brewery s organic sake. As well as sake, there is Kiuchi Breweries with some of the world s best-selling craft beers, and wineries like Chateau Kamiya. There is something for everyone in Ibaraki. As you can see, there is plenty of incentive to see, try, and taste Ibaraki. By all means, come visit us and experience it for yourself! Page 1

2 Local Government Exchange and Cooperation Seminar Would you like to discover more about Japanese local governments? Last year s participants We are offering eligible participants the opportunity to visit Japan in order to promote a better understanding of Japanese local governments and culture. The Local Government Exchange and Cooperation Seminar aims to bring together people from Japan, Australia and New Zealand who are working at local governments and related organisations by exchanging information regarding current issues of local governments. In addition, the seminar provides the participants the opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture by visiting several facilities and staying with Japanese families. Since its establishment in 1997, about 160 executives from Australia and New Zealand have participated in the program. Local Government Exchange and Cooperation Seminar 2014 includes: Seminars on Japanese Local Government in Tokyo and Aomori Prefecture (this year s host local government) Tour of national/local government facilities and cultural sites Home-stay with Japanese families Feedback/Discussion Aomori Prefecture Schedule The seminar will be held from Sunday 2 February to Wednesday 12 February Eligible Participants Tokyo Applicants must be local government executives or executives involved in the promotion of local area international exchange and cooperation. In addition, applicants from national organisations, research institutes, or other related organisations may be eligible to participate, providing their backgrounds are related to the theme of the Seminar. Up to 6 participants will be accepted from the following countries through CLAIR Sydney: Australia and New Zealand. Expenses 1. Expenses incurred for Seminar registration and materials will be borne by CLAIR. 2. Any expenses prior to arrival in Japan and after departing from Japan shall be borne by participants. 3. Expenses incurred during the Seminar period in Japan will be borne by CLAIR. Last year s participants Page 2

3 Aomori Prefecture The Prefecture of Aomori is located in the northeast region of Japan and is the northernmost prefecture of the main island, Honshu. It takes approximately 3 hours by bullet train to get to Aomori City the prefecture s capital from Tokyo. The prefecture is famous for being Japan s biggest producer of apples, the finest tuna and its snow, which is known to be the deepest in Japan. The Aomori prefectural government plans to provide the participants with a historical and cultural experience and also visits to the amazing slopes of Mt. Hakkoda, among other things. The Executives of Aomori prefectural government are looking forward to talking with you about how to promote tourism. Please visit the Aomori Prefectural Tourism Information Website for more information. Application To apply, please fill in the Form and send it to mailbox@jlgc.org.au by Friday 8 November For more details of the seminar, please refer to the Outline. Please note that there is a limit on the number of participants (6), the outcome of your application will be made available to you by the end of November If you have any questions about the seminar, please feel free to contact us at mailbox@jlgc.org.au or Yokohama City Representatives at International Conference Representatives from Yokohama city s Environmental Planning and Waterworks bureaux, the Japan Waterworks Association and Japan Institute of Wastewater Engineering and Technology, visited Australia to present at the fifth Leading Edge Strategic Asset Management (LESAM) conference, held by the International Water Association and Australian Water Association on 9-10 September in Sydney. Yokohama is due to host the 2015 LESAM conference, making their participation in LESAM 2013 a chance to see how the Australian hosts run a successful event. Arriving early on 9 September, the delegation headed straight to pre-conference workshops, exploring key issues for discussion at the next conference, as well as gathering information together with other conference participants. To help with making the next conference a smooth one, the Japanese visitors met with Paul Freeman, General Manager of Sydney Water s Liveable Cities Solutions Division, for a briefing on conference preparation and related topics. Page 3

4 Assisting a delegation from Kochi Prefecture On 9-13 September a delegation from Kochi Prefecture, headed by Deputy Governor Takaaki Iwaki visited Sydney and Melbourne to conduct market research and promote Kochi s local products. Firstly in Sydney, they attended Fine Food Australia which is the largest gathering of international food, drink and equipment for the retail, food service and hospitality industries. They then researched about local food retailers and those specializing in Asian foodstuff. Once in Melbourne they attended business meetings to promote Kochi s food and sake and they all went very well. Before leaving for Melbourne, they received an overview of Australia by CLAIR Sydney Director Promotional work at the Japan Endless Discovery Seminar 2013 in Sydney On 10 September the Japan National Tourism Organization held the Japan Tourism Seminar 2013 in Sydney. Assistant Director Hirasawa gave a presentation on tourism in Hiroshima, while Assistant Directors Okuno and Hakuta assisted the visiting staff from Toyama Prefecture, Nanto City and Takayama City in running their booth. Shimanami Kaido (Onomichi city) and sake tasting at sake breweries in Saijo (Higashihiroshima city) were the sightseeing activities that attracted the Australian attendees interest the most. In her presentation on Hiroshima, Hirasawa explained that there are not only two famous World Heritage sites but also an abundance of sightseeing spots all around the Hiroshima prefecture, aiming at increasing the length of tourists stay in Hiroshima. Cycling the Staff members from Toyama Prefecture, Nanto City and Takayama City promoted their regions through presentations, hoping to increase the number of visitors form Australia. They talked about many tourist attractions such as Toyama's seafood, a traditional tourism route called The Samurai Route and the English Page 4

5 tours available in their areas. They also promoted their preparedness in welcoming foreign tourists. The attendees were mainly from tourism companies or the media, however there were some exceptions one of whom a food writer who admired the Japanese regional cuisines. Once the presentations were over, the attendees walked over to the booths to gain more details about the presented activities or sightseeing sites. Assisting the Association of Prefectural Board of Education Chairpesons The Association of Prefectural Board of Education Chairpersons, maintaining routine links between Boards of Education throughout Japan, conducts various activities to aim for the implementation of education administration goals. As part of these activities, Chairpersons of Prefectural Boards of Education from all over Japan visit countries implementing advanced educational activities twice per year. During these visits, delegations conduct fact-finding visits on the host country s education platform through visits to educational administrative bodies and schools, exchanges of viewpoints and on-the-ground observance. This time, to learn about the education platform in Australia, a delegation lead by the Chairperson of the Association together with four Prefectural Board of Education Chairpersons conducted relevant research and visits in Sydney and Canberra. Places visited by the association were as follows:. NSW Department of Education and Communities Abbotsford Public School Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus Sir Eric Woodward Memorial School Board of Studies NSW NSW Institute of Teachers Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations We thank you for your cooperation and assistance. Page 5

6 Promoting the Nagoya City Marathon On 22 September, over 34,000 runners from 57 countries joined in the 2013 Sydney Running Festival, including the Sydney Marathon. From September, the Sydney Town Hall hosted the Festival s Event Expo, where competitors picked up their running bibs and visited exhibition stands, among which was the Nagoya City Marathon, sister marathon to Sydney s event since last year s partnership agreement signing. Nagoya City sent two people together with the Executive Committee of the Marathon Festival Nagoya Aichi, one from Nagoya City and one from the Chunichi Newspaper Company, to promote next year s Nagoya City Marathon, to be held on 9 March The thousand flyers the team printed to promote the Nagoya City Marathon quickly ran out, making them rush for reprints. One member of the Executive Committee took the challenge of the Full Marathon, while two entrants from Nagoya City invited by the Sydney Marathon Committee entered the 9km Bridge Run and Full Marathon respectively. As well, four Assistant Directors from CLAIR Sydney ran in the Bridge Run and Full Marathon, and as runners, gave a boost to the grass-roots exchange between Sydney and Nagoya. (CLAIR Sydney staff also ran the Sydney Marathon) Page 6

7 Sister City relationship deepens with visit from community delegation The Mayor of Shiroishi and the Wing of Shiroishi Friendship a community delegation from Shiroishi visited Hurstville for the forthcoming 20 th anniversary of their Sister City relationship. 19 years have passed since the Sister City agreement was signed on 23 October 1994, meaning that they will be celebrating their 20 th anniversary next year. At the dinner reception that was thrown to celebrate the milestone, the Mayor of Shiroishi gave a speech in English. He expressed gratitude, stating, we suffered from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, but because of the encouragements given from the people in our Sister City, we have been able to almost complete the recovery process. He said in conclusion, I wish our continuous exchange from the bottom of my heart, and I believe this will be the foundation of the world peace. Following the address, certificates of appreciation were given to the people who have been contributing to the Sister City exchanges. Some of these people worked hard on the establishment of the Sister City relationship while others have been involved in the exchange activities even before the relationship was established. The exchanges between both cities have been supported by these people. The Mayor of Hurstville together with all the attendees joined in the Shiroishi Ondo dance, led by the Shiroishi delegation who hoped to let their friends in Hurstville experience some of Shiroishi s culture. The Mayor of Shiroishi joyfully led the line dancing, which deepened their friendship. Page 7

8 Greeting from our new staff Hiroaki Seino Hello, my name is Hiroaki Seino and I m from Aomori Prefecture in Japan. I will be staying in Sydney for two and a half years from this October onward. This is my first time living overseas so I am excited to have the opportunity to experience life in a different country and learn about another culture. Aomori Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture on Japan s main island, Honshu (just south of Hokkaido) and it is at almost the same latitude as New York and Rome. It is said that, amongst cities around the world with a population of more than 300,000 Aomori City, the capital city of Aomori Prefecture has the greatest snowfall over 8 meters. I m into skiing so I often visit the nice ski resorts in Aomori and you should too! In addition to working hard at CLAIR, I would also like to enjoy my free time and life in Australia to the fullest. Introducing Samantha Encarnacion, an internship at CLAIR Hello, my name is Samantha Encarnacion and I have just begun my internship at CLAIR Sydney. While my parents are originally from the Philippines, I was born and raised in Sydney and study Tourism Management combined with Arts in International Studies, majoring in Japanese, at the University of Technology Sydney. As a part of my degree, I had the wonderful opportunity of spending most of last year studying at the Hokkaido University of Education, Hakodate campus in Japan. Having studied Japanese since the beginning of high school, I have grown to love Japanese language and culture more and more, and look forward to going back to Japan after I graduate. My favourite part of my Japanese experience so far would have to be dancing in the Yosakoi Sapporo Soran in 2012 with the Hakodate student team Ibuki. My experience with Ibuki made my whole exchange experience amazing. While I am also studying Korean and Mandarin, I want to pursue work relating to international business and am very interested in CLAIR s work as a Japanese foreign office. In particular, I am very interested in the organization and practicalities of the JET program. Although I have previously interned at the JNTO, I believe my language ability has gotten a lot better since then and I look forward to practicing and polishing my Japanese within the office, as well as learning practical Keigo. I believe this will be very beneficial should I work in Japan. In addition to this, I look forward to learning more about the roles and activities of the various Japanese municipalities and how these activities are done in my home town of Sydney. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with the various members of CLAIR and to have such a welcoming team in beginning of my career. I look forward to the rest of my time here and would like to thank the CLAIR team for their support so far. Page 8

9 From The Director Local governments and sports activities Last month, Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The Japanese people were very excited to hear the news, as were the local governments. Japanese local governments, in collaboration with schools have the primary responsibility of developing sports activities. Each local government has a section or a division within its organisational structure which is in charge of sporting activities. There is also a semi-government, pubic-private organisation called Sports Association in each local government. Every junior and high school (that is year 7 to 12) has its sports clubs such as baseball, tennis, Judo and so on. Local governments support their activities financially and build necessary athletic stadium and playing fields. There are nation-wide competitions between representative high schools of 47 prefectures. Among them, the national high school baseball tournament called Koshien, which is held in spring and summer every year, is one of the most popular sporting events in Japan. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Japanese local governments will allocate more resources to develop good athletes and build sports facilities. They will also promote tourism to foreign visitors and attract the pre-games training camps for the participating countries. I hope in 2020 our staff will play a great role supporting the Green and Gold. Japan Local Government Centre (CLAIR, Sydney) Address: Level 12 Challis House 4 Martin Place Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: (02) Fax: (02) Website: mailbox@jlgc.org.au Page 9