EU and Japanese cities attend 4th IUC Exchange Meeting


The 4th Exchange Meeting between EU and Japanese cities engaged in the IUC programme took place on 17 May in Tokyo (Japan).

The meeting was opened by Ms. Patricia Flor, Ambassador of the European Union to Japan, and Mr. Yoshihiro Seguchi, Deputy Director-General, City Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, both of whom praised the cooperation between the EU and Japan, both generally and in the context of the IUC programme.

Mr. Terry Ward, Director of Studies at Applica, held a presentation on “Demographic change, ageing and cities” where he outlined recent trends in population growth and development, particularly in Europe between 2011and 2017.

For the five pairings established in 2017, it was the fourth opportunity to meet and discuss their cooperation. The results of their previous study tours were presented by:

  1. The City of Donostia-San Sebastian and the City of Hirosaki
  2. The City of Essen and the City of Koriyama
  3. The City of Frankfurt and the City of Yokohama
  4. The City of Ioannina and the City of Ichinomiya
  5. The City of Ancona and the City of Ikoma

Ms Sandra Marin from the IUC Methodological Task Force commented on the achievements of the city pairings and provided recommendations for the elaboration of the pairings’ action plans, the strategic document that guides their concrete activities.

The two pairings that joined the IUC programme in 2018 - the City of Bratislava and the City of Tokorozawa, as well as Grenoble-Alpes Metropole and the City of Toyota - presented their progress, focusing on shared objectives and planned activities, including study tours already conducted or to be conducted. The new pairing that joined the IUC in 2019 - the City of Marseille and the City of Kobe - introduced their cities.

Prof. Hidefumi Imura, the Project Coordinator of IUC Japan, expressed his satisfaction with the achievements of the city pairings so far and praised the exchange of ideas and concepts.

The cities that started their cooperation in 2017 will soon conclude their cooperation activities, but this should only mean an end to cooperation through the IUC programme rather than overall cooperation.

On 21 November 2019, the next meeting will take place in Brussels (Belgium). This meeting represents the next milestone of the project, where the action plans currently under development will be presented.

To view the agenda, click here.