The Tokyo Foundation Weekend School for Municipal Officers

This program provides training to mid-career municipal officers, based on our belief that revitalizing local communities is an important element in restoring Japan’s vitality. It is hoped that this ever-growing training network will sow the seeds of local revitalization that will blossom in communities all over Japan.

Sowing the Seeds of Community Revitalization

To revitalize Japan, we must give local communities control over their own destinies. This means reforming the current administrative system, which compels communities to submit to the will of the central government, and reforming attitudes so that communities are empowered to revitalize themselves. Human resources are the key, and above all local governments need talented, committed municipal officers. The Tokyo Foundation has operated a training program for municipal officers since 2004, and in 2009 we have renewed this initiative. The new training program will consist of 10 weekends to enable more officers to participate.
Led by the headmaster of the school, Hirohiko Fukushima, the roster of lecturers taps the Foundation’s diverse network to include mayors and governors and others experienced in community development. Through their insights and guidance, the lecturers will help participants to deepen their understanding of local governance and to find hints for revitalizing their communities. The Foundation provides participants with networking opportunities by facilitating discussion. We hope that these municipal officers will become seeds of local revitalization that, as they grow and blossom, will invigorate their communities and, ultimately, Japan.

Message from Hirohiko Fukushima, Headmaster

Former Mayor of Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture; Senior Fellow, The Tokyo Foundation

An empowered local community is, above all, a community that is able to decide its own direction based on the wishes of its residents. The key to revitalizing local communities is to foster sound local governance and thoroughly harness the resources and personnel that communities possess. This requires the broadness of outlook and the flexibility to be able to examine one’s own community from an outsider’s perspective, not to mention an unstinting commitment to the development of a proactive community.
It is important for municipal officers to discard the three attitudes of “following precedents,” “following other municipalities,” and “following orders from the national and prefectural government,” to jump wholeheartedly into the world of local citizens, ponder in their own minds what should be done for their communities, and share their ideas with citizens, municipal leaders, and local assembly members. The Tokyo Foundation Weekend School is a chance for individual officers to affirm their perspectives on self-governance. By showing participants real examples of outstanding community development, I want to provide them with hints for vitalizing their respective communities. Let us develop our spirit of autonomy together to take on the challenge of community development and forge an age of decentralization.