6th Exchange Meeting of EU and Japanese Cities

24 November 2020 | Web conferencing

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Moderated by: Prof. Hidefumi Imura, Project Coordinator of the IUC-Japan

Following the welcome remarks provided by the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Japan and the Ambassador of Japan to the EU, there will be speeches by representatives from the European Commission and the Government of Japan. Subsequently, several Lord Mayors of both EU and Japanese cities will deliver their experiences of how to foster city-to-city cooperation between the EU and Japan.

• Welcome by: His Excellency Mr. Haitze Siemers, Minister, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan
• Welcome by: His Excellency Mr. Yasushi Masaki, Head of the Delegation of Japan to the European Union, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
• Opening Address by: Mr. Shinichi Sakaki, Director-General for City Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan
• Opening Address by: Mr. Normunds  Popens, Deputy Director General, DG-REGIO, European Commission
  
  

Address by Lord Mayors

• Mr. Masayasu Nakano, Lord Mayor of Ichinomiya, Japan
• Mr. Thomas Kufen, Lord Mayor of Essen, Germany
• Mr. Masato Shinagawa, Lord Mayor of Koriyama, Japan
• Mr. Matúš Vallo, Lord Mayor of Bratislava, Slovakia
• Mr. Masato Fujimoto, Lord Mayor of Tokorozawa, Japan
• Ms. Minna Arve, Lord Mayor of Turku, Finland
  (According to the order of the date when the city joined IUC-Japan activities)
  
  

Moderated by: Yatsuka Kataoka, Paring Coordinator, IUC-Japan

The session will start with the reports by two pairings joined in 2019. They will report the cooperation activities towards the development and implementation of UCAPs: theme of cooperation, key challenges, main activities, and planned outputs. Then feedback on the project activities of IUC Japan since its launch in 2017 focusing on its achievements and next steps, with information on the new format of IUC activities which will start from 2021 within a larger framework of International Urban and Regional Cooperation for Asia and Australasia embracing Japan.

• Report by City of Marseille and City of Kobe, Koichi Okada, Kobe City; and Pascal Srulovici, City of Marseille, “Port regeneration and sustainable economic development” | presentation (pdf)

• Report by City of Turku and City of Nagano and Obuse Town, Suveri Lotte, City of Turku; and Yutaro Arai, City of Nagano; and Toru Omiya, Obuse Town: “Integration of urban-rural circular economy in food-water-energy nexus” | presentation (pdf)

• Report: Hidefumi Imura, Team Leader, IUC-Japan, “Review of the IUC-Japan 2017-2020 and the shift to the new phase starting from 2021.”| presentation (pdf)
  
  

Moderated by: Hidefumi Imura, Team Leader, IUC-Japan
Comments by: Giorgia Rambelli, Team Leader of IUC Coordination Unit

Closing Remark by:

• Mr. Toshihiko Ota, Lord Mayor of Toyota, Japan
• Mr. Takashi Matsuo, Lord Mayor of Kamakura, Japan
• Mr. Ryozo Ichimura, Mayor of Obuse Town, Japan