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International Cooperation and Economic Relations Division |
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| Activities of the International Cooperation and Economic Relations Division |
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Sister-City exchange activities have been a central aspect of local-government-level exchange. However, in recent years the focus of these relationships has shifted from ‘exchange’ to ‘cooperation’, with a particular emphasis on economic interaction, such as attracting foreign visitors and promoting the export of local products. As the central coordinating body of their communities, local governments have a wealth of experience they can use to coordinate activities to achieve these goals.
The International Cooperation and Economic Relations Division assists local governments in these very activities by implementing the following programs.
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| The Local Government Officials Training Program in Japan |
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 CLAIR implements the Local Government Officials Training Program (LGOTP) in Japan in an effort to promote the direct international cooperation activities of local governments. Through this program, Japanese local authorities receive financial and administrative support when they host local government employees from overseas.
The foreign local government officials come to Japan as trainees and are placed, through the LGOTP, in prefectures, designated cities or municipalities to receive training in a wide variety of fields, including general administration, environmental preservation, economics, education, and agriculture. |
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| Local Authorities International Cooperation Promotion Project ("Model Projects") |
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As leaders on the local level of international cooperation, local governments are expected to propose a broad range of projects taking advantage of the peculiarities of their area; projects designed to meet the demands of the cooperation partners; and finally projects equally involving citizens as well as NGOs and other private organizations
In order to promote the involvement of local governments in international cooperation, CLAIR recognizes precedent-setting projects that can be used as reference by other local governments in their cooperation efforts as “Model Projects”. Selected projects receive financial support for their implementation and are widely publicized among other local governments. |
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| Citizens' International Plaza |
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 The Citizens' International Plaza was established to promote international cooperation that takes advantage of the Japanese regional characteristics and to encourage collaboration between NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and local authorities. The Plaza is jointly managed and operated by CLAIR and the "Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation" (JANIC). |
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| Local Authorities International Cooperation Network |
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| By expanding upon the foundations of friendly relations created through sister city and other local government affiliations, Japanese local authorities have moved on to implement international cooperation activities with various partners around the world. Here you can find descriptions of such international cooperation projects. |
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International Cooperation and Economic Relations Division
E-mail: kokukyou@clair.or.jp
Tel: 03-5213-1726
Fax: 03-5213-1742
*Outside Japan: omit the itial "0" and
begin with country code 81 |
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