A magnitude-6.5 foreshock struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Southern Japan on 14 April 2016. This was followed by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on 16 April. Aftershoc…

April is the season of local government elections. Last April, 10 governor and 41 prefectural assembly elections were held within 47 prefectures. Within 1,741 …

March is the last month of the financial year in Japan. Every officer in Japanese local government is now struggling to complete his or her tasks within the month b…

February is the peak of Japanese winter resulting in high accumulation of snow. Many Australians, New Zealanders and of course, Japanese, enjoy skiing in Japan …

AKEMASHITE OMEDETO! (Happy New Year!)

The financial year in Japan starts in April, so right now every Japanese local government is compiling next year’s budget…

In Japan, there are 15 public holidays as provided for by national government law. Next year will see the introduction of a new public holiday, Yama no hi (Mountai…

In Japan, most local governments hold a regular assembly session from late November to early December. Regular sessions must be held four times a year and local g…

In Japan, the hot and humid summer has gone, and now October is the best month to participate in many different kinds of sports. Health Sports Day is a national holi…

As you may already know, I have worked for four local governments in Japan during my career (Niigata Prefecture, Yokohama City, Wakayama Prefecture and Sakai Ci…

My term of office as the Director of the Japan Local Government Centre (CLAIR, Sydney) will sadly come to an end soon and I will go back to Japan on 24 July for my new as…