Kazuyuki Matsumoto

For animation aficionado, it is very popular to trek to the places where episodes of famous animations were created. Young, old, Japanese and foreigners, visit these holy grounds and immerse themselves in their favorite episodes. “Anime-One” of Biglobe conducted internet research of the “the most popular destination for ‘Anime’ pilgrimage” on July 7, 2011. (www.rbbtoday.com/article/2011/07/01.78526.htm/) According to its research, the most popular destination is Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, where Episodes of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are supposed to take place. (Second: Shirakawa, Gifu of “When you hear the sound of cicadas.” Third: Toyosato Elementary School, Shiga, of Keion: The Girls Band) Nagaru Kitagawa, the creator of Haruhi Suzumiya, has… Read More »What is the most popular destination for the “Anime” pilgrimage?

In Japan, we are concerned that the electricity supply may fall short of electricity demand this summer since many nuclear power plants cannot be restarted because of objections by concerned local governments. Shortfall in power may cause a massive black out, which will have a large effect on life and economic activities. New Yorkers will remember the blackout of 2004! The government, companies and people in Japan are considering various ways to reduce energy consumption to avoid such a severe situation. The issue for Japan is not “always” reducing usage but reducing usage “during peak hours”. For their part, local governments in Japan are also making efforts to save energy.… Read More »Avoiding a massive black out – Efforts to save energy by local governments in Japan

In April 2010, Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo, where the national government offices are concentrated, enacted legislation banning smoking on all streets except within the Imperial Palace. Chiyoda was the first municipality to restrict smoking on some roads, in 2002, imposing a fine of 2,000 yen ($24.90) on violators. Since the enactment of this ordinance was announced in Chiyoda, similar ordinances have been enacted in a lot of municipalities around Japan and now smoking in a lot of public places is prohibited. The fine is basically collected by the staff of Chiyoda Ward. Payment can be made either at the time, when the ticket is handed out, or later at a… Read More »Municipality in Tokyo bans smoking on the street

Immediately after the great East Japan earthquake caused havoc and tragedy, Japanese local governments responded urgently to calls for assistance from the affected areas. Immediate initiatives and manpower were dispatched to help ameliorate the damages caused by the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami. As a representative of Hiroshima city government, I would like to tell you about how Hiroshima city officials responded. First, staff from the Fire Services Bureau and Waterworks Bureau were dispatched to the damaged areas and on the following days supplies arrived to support the relief efforts. A command center, the East Japan Earthquake headquarters was established to provide all types of support; including medical staff consisting… Read More »Earthquake Support from Hiroshima City

Since March 11th, many local governments around Japan have supported the disaster victims with relief supplies and activities. In this effort, Sakai City has attracted much attention by its unique support utilizing its local industries. Sakai City is known as “Bicycle Town” because it has so many bicycle-related manufacturers such as SHIMANO INC. After the huge earthquake hammered Kobe in 1995, Sakai City brought a large number of bicycles to the affected area. Although they certainly helped people get around after the transportation infrastructure was destroyed and gasoline was scarce, they often suffered from blowouts due to the debris lying all over. Repair crews had to spend a lot of… Read More »Sending local products to where they are needed

The National Diet of Japan has passed a law calling for a policy deliberation forum to consist of several Cabinet members and local government leaders. The cabinet members participating in the forum are the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Minister in charge of strengthening local autonomy reform, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Minister of Finance and other ministers that may be appointed by the Prime Minister. Local government leaders are the chairpersons representing the following six organizations; The Japan National Governors Association The Japan Association of City Mayors The National Association of Towns and Villages Mayors The National Association of Chairpersons of Prefectural Assemblies The National Association of… Read More »Japan creates a statutory round table for national, prefecture and local leaders to discuss reforming government responsibilities

Japanese local governments have dispatched many firefighters to the affected area since March 11th. These response teams are registered as “Emergency Fire Response Teams” (EFRT) at the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. They are composed of firefighting teams and rescue teams as well as command response teams, special disaster teams, air squadrons etc. So far, approximately 7,500 teams of 28,500 firefighters (aggregation including replacements) have been dispatched to the affected area from all over Japan. As of May 27th, 70 firefighters of 20 teams, including 1 air squadron, are assisting the affected area fire departments. The expense of Emergency Fire Response Teams will be… Read More »Local governments are assisting emengency response of disaster affected area