Japan Local Government Center

The 2025 JETAA USA National Conference (NatCon) was held from Friday, October 3rd, to Sunday, October 5th, in Washington, DC. JETAA delegates from the 19 U.S. chapters were joined by their three Country Representatives, and by the Country Reps for Canada, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago, and representatives from JETAA International. A number of other partner organizations in the US-Japan field also participated. This year’s NatCon was hosted by the JET Alumni Association of Washington, DC and the Embassy of Japan in the USA. The conference theme was “Empowering Your Network: Planting the Seeds for the Next Generation of U.S.-Japan Voices.” The Japanese Ambassador to the United States, the Honorable… Read More »NatCon 2025

Overview New York City is preparing to release the updated 2024 version of its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). This is the City’s guide to preparing for potential emergencies and working to reduce their impact on the people, built environment, and economy of New York. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires a Hazard Mitigation Plan in order to be eligible to receive Hazard Mitigation Assistance funding, and there are localized versions created by states, regions, and municipalities across the country. Among these, New York City announced their first HMP in 2009. The NYC HMP is not a policy document or enforceable requirement; it’s merely a guide to help the City… Read More »NYC Hazard Mitigation Plan: 2024

Lower Manhattan seen from The Hills on Governors Island Over the past few years, New York City has been rocked by challenges that have demanded major policy initiatives to address them if the city is to remain a viable and vibrant urban center. Severe weather events, health emergencies, a pandemic-induced restructuring of the city’s economy, and growing social and economic disparity are merely some of the developments that have come to preoccupy politicians, planners, and administrators here. Climate change is perhaps the primary challenge facing the city, with its effects contributing to stronger and more intense storms dropping greater amounts of rain in short periods, along with increasing heat and… Read More »The Center for Climate Solutions on Governors Island

The Japan Parade and Japan Street Fair were held on May 13, 2023, on the streets west of Central Park in New York City. The events were organized by Japan Day Inc., a non-profit corporation comprised of the Consulate General of Japan in New York, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japan Club, and many Japanese corporations. In New York, “Japan Day” had been held every year from 2007 to 2019 in order to promote understanding of Japanese culture as well as to show appreciation to the City of New York and its peaple. After the Covid pandemic, the event was revived in 2022, and this second year’s… Read More »Japan Parade / Japan Street Fair was held

A lot has happened since my update on the various coastal resilience projects in December 2019. Work has been moving forward, even through the pandemic, and substantial results are taking shape around Manhattan and the region. From the original “BIG U” concept, work has been divided out into several separate projects. Overall, there is now the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR), Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Harbors and Tributaries Study (USACE HATS), which somewhat overlaps the first two. The LMCR comprises the individual subsections detailed below for the Two Bridges area, etc. Below is a brief summary of where things are now for… Read More »A BIG U(pdate)

Kyoto is rich in nature and has many shrines, temples, and cultural assets. Many exquisite cultures and industries still exist in the city that have been developed over more than a thousand years, and you can see historical landscapes and Kyoto’s unique lifestyle rooted there. However, it is getting difficult for us to carry on passing down our traditions due to changing global circumstances and lifestyles. Preserving what Kyoto has maintained is no longer possible by ourselves alone. The City of Kyoto hopes that the city’s historic treasures, which have supported the development of cultures and industries in Japan, will continue to attract and inspire people around the world. We… Read More »THE CITY OF KYOTO HOPES FOR YOUR HELP

Green Infrastructure: The City perspective Part I of this report focused on the basic concepts of green infrastructure (GI) and New York City’s progressive adoption of these concepts to address a growing range of challenges. It also highlighted the work of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC) as an example of nonprofit and community involvement in this effort. Part II will focus on efforts by the City (i.e. NYC government) itself, especially through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the accelerating battle to address climate change, which is further stressing an already-overburdened stormwater and wastewater system. Water The story of New York City is very much a story of water.… Read More »Green Infrastructure in the Wake of Hurricane Ida: Part II

We all love Kyoto for its many world heritage sites, cultural assets, and traditional industries, and tourism has played a crucial role in supporting these. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has suspended cross-border travel, and Kyoto, usually thronging with people from all around Japan and the world, is now devoid of visitors. Tourism in Kyoto is heavily damaged and the city is facing serious financial difficulties. Kyoto is a unique place, a unique experience, with its traditional neighborhoods and historic sites, culture, and heritage. These have come to us across centuries, and have faced peril before. Now the city is striving to preserve these assets for future generations and they need… Read More »The City of Kyoto Needs Your Help

Tokushima prefecture, which is located on the island of Shikoku in Japan, has announced the following two initiatives. 1.Tokushima Pref. Produces English Booklet on Initiatives for Consumer Administration and Consumer Education The Tokushima Prefectural Government released an English booklet on March 5, 2021, to seek and promote two-way international exchanges. This is part of efforts to widely disseminate to the world the achievements of the initiatives taken by the Consumer Affairs Agency’s Strategic Headquarters for Frontiers of Consumer Policy and Tokushima Prefecture, and promote international information exchanges and coordination on consumer policies in the digital age. The Tokushima Prefectural Government has been carrying out innovative projects together with the Consumer… Read More »Please have a look! “Two initiatives of Tokushima prefecture”

The world has watched as Japan first took a very low-key approach to the coronavirus pandemic and then, more recently, has stepped up its efforts to aggressively confront the threat. Japan was one of the first countries to be faced with large numbers of infected patients, both from the cruise ship the Diamond Princess and then as more Japanese citizens fell sick through exposure to tourists from China and other vectors. Overall it seemed to face down these threats through a strategy that was not entirely clear to outside observers but involved face masks, requests for people to limit exposure to others, and an emphasis on contact tracing. Beyond these… Read More »Japan’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Overview New York City The City will provide relief for small businesses across the City seeing a reduction in revenue because of COVID-19. Businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25% or more and that meet certain other criteria will be eligible for zero interest loans of up to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in profit. The City is also offering similarly eligible small businesses in the five boroughs with fewer than 5 employees a grant to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees. NYC small business relief: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/sbs/businesses/covid19-business-outreach.page The City is providing information for parents on city schools, for… Read More »New York City and State Responses to Covid-19 As of March 26, 2020