Vol. 34 Nos. 3-4 (July-December 2013)
EROPA Bulletin
47
EROPA holds 2nd Stories to Share
Session
Turning crisis into opportunity
Left-right: Secretary-General Orlando S. Mercado, Chair of
the Stories to Share session; Mr. Kamon Iizumi, Governor of
Tokushima prefecture; Ms. Agnes P. Dycoco, former Mayor of
Libon, Albay, Philippines; and Dr. Le Dang Doanh, former senior
adviser to the Vietnamese government and NAPA visiting fellow.
Three renowned public administration practitioners
shared their experiences and expertise during the 2nd
EROPA Stories to Share: Views from the Frontlines
session. The event was held on 18 October 2013 as
part of the 2013 EROPA Conference in Tachikawa City,
Tokyo, Japan. The speakers were: Honorable Kamon
Iizumi, Governor of Tokushima prefecture; Ms. Agnes
P. Dycoco, former Municipal Mayor of Libon, Albay,
Philippines; and Dr. Le Dang Doanh, Visiting Fellow
at the National Academy of Public Administration,
Vietnam, who is also former senior adviser to the
Vietnamese government. The session was chaired by
Dr. Orlando Mercado, EROPA Secretary-General.
In his presentation, Mr. Kamon Iizumi, Governor of the
Tokushima prefecture, cited two main examples of how
the prefectural government of Tokushima was able to
transform recent crises into opportunities. One of these
is the Hikari broadband project, Okoku-Tokushima. The
prefectural government promoted this project in response
to the digitization of terrestrial television programming
and eventual reduction of accessible channels from
other regions. Using the best fiber-optic network in
Japan, the project has attracted investment and is aiming
to
reinvigorate
remote
villages. ...Tokushima
Accordingly,
a transformed from
dozen ICT-related a leading problem
companies
set
prefecture to a
up offices in the
prefecture and has leading-edge
generated thousands problem-solving
of jobs.
one, mainly because
the government
Mr. Iizumi also believed that “wisdom
presented
the
lies in the local
preparation activities
of Tokushima for a communities”.
major earthquake in
the Nankai Trough, which is expected to hit the area within
the next 30 years. He remarked that he aimed for zero
casualty through disaster prevention and mitigation. By
learning from the recent Tohoku earthquake experience,
the prefectural government has been upgrading the road
networks, building land breakwater and emergency
escape routes. Home quake-proofing is also being
promoted through the utilization of a municipal subsidy.
The speakers altogether tackled themes on disaster Promotion of a national tax system for this cause is also
management, crisis management and problem solving being undertaken. Another prescription is the promotion
in local governments, and public administration in line of self- and mutual-help through business continuity
planning (BCP), where a prefectural-led planning is
with economic reform.
being pioneered by Tokushima. Other than encouraging
BCP development in companies, he is also promoting
the creation of a volunteer(Continued on the next page)