The Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) was established in July 1988 in response to rising concerns about local-level internationalization in Japan. CLAIR was created to promote and provide support for local internationalization.

With its headquarters in Tokyo, CLAIR has a network of domestic branch offices in each prefecture and designated city in Japan. In addition, CLAIR has established a network of overseas offices in major cities around the world: New York and London (est. 1989), Paris and Singapore (1990), Seoul (1993), Sydney (1994), and Beijing (1997).

In cooperation with local authorities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), CLAIR manages the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. The JET Programme participants are assigned to be Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), who provide language instruction at elementary, junior and senior high schools; Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs), who engage in local international exchange activities; or Sports Exchange Advisors (SEAs), promoting international exchange through sport.

In addition, CLAIR promotes the international exchange activities of Japanese local governments, notably sister-city relations and international affiliation exchange, by gathering and providing information to interested parties or introducing prospective exchange partners.

Furthermore, CLAIR is supporting the international cooperation activities of local governments. For example, CLAIR implements a program that brings local government officials from abroad. The trainees are placed in Japanese local governments where they receive training in fields such as general administration, agriculture, and environmental protection. There is also a program through which Japanese local government officials with knowledge and skills in international cooperation are dispatched overseas as experts in various fields.

As there is a growing need for local public bodies to collect and analyze information on foreign systems and policies, CLAIR, in collaboration with its overseas offices, conducts research and surveys on themes of interest to Japanese local public bodies.

In addition, CLAIR promotes the development of the human resources able to meet the challenges of internationalization by giving Japanese local government employees the opportunity to experience life and work abroad. CLAIR finally supports the regional internationalization policies and strives to develop and reinforce networks, notably amongst the Recognized International Exchange Associations found throughout Japan.