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JLGC News & Blog

COVID-19 Update as of March 23, 2020

As the Covid-19 response has ramped up, JLGC New York has moved to follow Governor Cuomo’s executive order and reduced our in-office staffing to zero. We will continue to work remotely until such a time as it is possible to have at least some personnel return to the office. Unfortunately, nobody knows when this might occur, so please check here for updates. During this period, you can still contact us through email using our general jlgc@jlgc.org address. You may also phone us at 646-856-3140. Again, this only applies to JLGC New York. For CLAIR Tokyo and other offices, please check with them directly. We want everyone to know we will… Read More »COVID-19 Update as of March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Update as of March 17, 2020

In response to the current situation, heeding recommendations by government officials to limit exposure through switching to telework as much as possible and cancelling or postponing any events, meetings, or other gatherings, JLGC has moved to have most staff work from home for the next few weeks. We will also postpone any planned events and business travel until it is safe to consider these activities again. There will be minimal staffing in our office, consisting of personnel who can most safely commute without using public transit, so please feel free to contact us through normal telephone and email channels (212-246-5542 for the office and any of our staff emails or… Read More »COVID-19 Update as of March 17, 2020

The BIG U(n-simple Problem of Water): An interim report on the evolution of the BIG U resilience proposal

Superstorm Sandy hit the New York region on October 29, 2012. Although it had been downgraded from a hurricane, in the Five Boroughs alone it damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings, paralyzed services, claimed 44 lives, and submerged large areas of coastline. The cost from damage and lost economic activity is estimated to be around $19 billion. In the years since, the MTA, ConEd, Verizon, and other service providers have worked diligently to restore and upgrade infrastructure and improve its resilience and survivability. This has taken place across the city, but the most ambitious elements of this effort cover the coastline of the lower quarter of Manhattan, the… Read More »The BIG U(n-simple Problem of Water): An interim report on the evolution of the BIG U resilience proposal

Modular Housing Construction: Everyday to Emergency

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) has issued a report on its Post-Disaster Housing Prototype Program, carried out with the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Titled “Close to Home: An Urban Model for Post-Disaster Housing”, the report outlines the roots of the project in the emptying out of many areas in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina when sufficient housing could not be provided in or near the city, through the “What If New York City…?” competition that brought together a number of ideas for mass-produced, readily-deployable urban housing options, to the design and execution of the urban… Read More »Modular Housing Construction: Everyday to Emergency

Improving Business Improvement Districts in Japan

Japan has been looking at the concept of business improvement districts (BIDs) for at least the last 20 years, and JLGC New York has been extensively involved in supporting that effort to provide better service to local business communities and promote their revitalization. That is one reason we were interested to see the revision of the national-level Local Revitalization Law passed in February 2018 and now being implemented. Most fundamentally, the revision provides for a system similar to the one used here whereby local governments are allowed to levy a surcharge on businesses in certain designated areas to support the activities of a nonprofit group working for the betterment of… Read More »Improving Business Improvement Districts in Japan

2018 JET Furusato Vision Project

We would like to announce the upcoming “JET Furusato Vision Project”. Through this project you can return to your former place of employment on JET, visit places you had strong connections with and reconnect with the community. More importantly, you can develop and implement your own ‘Vision Plan’ that utilizes the skills and connections you acquired after JET to make new contributions to your former community in areas such as Tourism Promotion, Economic Exchange, Educational Exchange, Culture & Arts Exchange, Grassroots Exchange, Current JET Participant Career Support, or some other project to deepen your ties with your furusato and their ties with the world. JET alumni whose former contracting organizations… Read More »2018 JET Furusato Vision Project

Research Visit to Gary, Indiana

We visited the City of Gary in Indiana as part of a research report being prepared by one of the Japanese staff. The report is on the efforts made by cities in the United States that have lost a considerable amount of population to re-vitalise their communities. Incidentally, Gary is the birthplace of Michael Jackson. We were able to see the city has the potential to be great again. It has a variety of neighbourhoods, from the lake front beauty of Lake Michigan that is a natural treasure to the University of Indiana complex. U.S. Steel is still operating in the city though at a much small scale than some… Read More »Research Visit to Gary, Indiana

★Information★The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Accelerator Program – Blockchain Business Camp Tokyo

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will hold for the first time, the Blockchain Business Camp Tokyo accelerator program for foreign companies that possess blockchain technology that is considered one of the fields of the growth strategy of Japan, in such areas as transactions, securities, supply chains, the sharing economy and IoT. Please refer to the following link. http://www.seisakukikaku.metro.tokyo.jp/bdc_tokyo/japanese/bizcamptky/blockchain/

★Information★Guidance to the Asset Management Industry in Japan

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government compiled the English guidebook titled ‘Guidance to the Asset Management Industry in Japan’ (‘the guidebook’) with the cooperation of the Financial Services Agency in order to provide useful information for foreign asset managers to enter the Japan’s Market smoothly. This guidebook gives easy-to -understand explanations of Japanese financial laws and regulations, how to apply for registration as a financial instruments business operator. For details, click below Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s website Guidance to the Asset Management Industry in Japan Guidance to the Asset Management Industry in Japan（Summary Version ）

★Information★New Tech Business Camp Tokyo

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has been actively working to attract foreign companies to raise international competitiveness and bring about further growth for the city by promoting the creation of a more business-friendly environment for overseas businesses and startups. The TMG will hold for the first time, the New Tech Business Camp Tokyo accelerator program for foreign companies that possess advanced technologies related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including IoT, big data, and artificial intelligence. For details, please refer to the following URL. http://www.seisakukikaku.metro.tokyo.jp/bdc_tokyo/english/bizcamptky/newtech/

Urban Agriculture in New York City – Part II: Shoots

Background As discussed in Part I, “Roots”, amid the upheavals facing New York City from the 1960s onward, many New Yorkers took matters literally into their own hands, transforming vacant lots into community gardens where neighborhood residents could grow trees, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and find an oasis away from their often bleak surroundings. Some of these gardens simply tended by and for residents began to also sell produce directly or, later, through the City’s Greenmarket network. In recent years, more ambitious operations have grown out of these examples, aiming to establish commercial urban farming while maintaining a sustainable business model that would produce both profit and benefits for residents.… Read More »Urban Agriculture in New York City – Part II: Shoots

We are now accepting submissions for the JET Program Video Contest 2017!

Held as part of the JET Program 30th anniversary commemorations from October 2015 to August 2016, the ‘JET Program Video Contest’ was first held to showcase the hidden charms of Japan’s local communities as seen through the eyes of current and former JET participants. Once again, CLAIR will be holding the JET Program Video Contest in order to have current and former JET participants share the charm of their ‘home-away-from-home’ with a global audience, thus helping to revitalize communities that utilize the JET Program. Please follow the procedures below when submitting your video. We will upload submitted videos to our YouTube channel in the order that we receive them. Contest… Read More »We are now accepting submissions for the JET Program Video Contest 2017!