Japan, U.S. Governors Begin 1st Forum in 23 Years

August 27, 2018

Tokyo- Heads of Japanese prefectures and U.S. states kicked off their first forum in 23 years on Monday in Tokyo.

In the two-day event, held to strengthen inter-regional exchanges between the Japanese and U.S. governors associations, the two sides will discuss new industry creation and human resource development.

"There is something called glocal, in which (people) take local-oriented actions with a global vision, and the governors' associations are performing tasks in a glocal way," Kiyoshi Ueda, governor of Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, said at the opening ceremony.

Ueda, who is also president of Japan's National Governors' Association, added that frank discussions at a local government level will further deepen mutual understanding and cooperative ties between Japan and the United States.

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, former head of the U.S. National Governors Association, said that the dialogue between governors will be a foundation for building the Japan-U.S. relationship. He expressed hope for future relations between the two sides.

Japan's internal affairs minister Seiko Noda and Foreign Minister Taro Kono were present at the ceremony as guests.

Participants of the meeting from the Japanese side will include Ueda and the governors of Ibaraki, Aichi, Nara, Tottori, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures.

Sandoval will be joined by the governors of the states of Kentucky and New Mexico, as well as the lieutenant governor of Nebraska and the head of the Guam Economic Development Authority. Jiji Press