INTERNATIONAL JAPAN MIE countries have participated. We are also working to place Mie specialties on the menu when foreign leaders and their spouses visit Japan.
In April, we’ ll be holding a junior summit in Kuwana to maximize the current and future benefits of the G7 summit for young people in Mie Prefecture. We are also taking this opportunity to offer programs in international understanding and relations to deepen the ties between local residents and the participating nations. Ninety presentations will be offered for a wide range of entities and organizations, including nursery schools and kindergartens, primary and secondary educational institutions, special needs schools, government and other organizations, and enterprises. We wanted to draw on local residents for our language volunteers. A call for two hundred volunteers drew over a thousand applications, and we are considering how we can make best use of so many volunteers.
Infrastructure is another focus. We estimate that a half a million of hotel rooms will be needed during the summit. To meet this demand, we’ re looking at creating a centralized hotel reservation center. An inflow of forty to fifty thousand people is expected in the area during summit week. A center for international media representatives will be made available at a prefectural facility.
One hundred and forty economic, administrative, cultural, and other organizations are participating in the Ise-Shima Summit Mie Residents Council. In November, the MOFA section responsible for summit preparations began presentations to foreign diplomatic missions. MOFA is acting as principal diplomatic liaison, while the prefecture is coordinating with the Ministry to orient diplomatic personnel when they visit Mie for research and inspections.
Ise Jingu – a Shinto Shrine – in Ise, Mie prefecture has been preserved exactly like it was around 2,000 years ago.
Is there a message you are hoping to send through Mie’ s hosting of the summit? Is there something specific you want to publicize, or a Mie specialty you plan to promote?
Ise-Shima will be two days and a night event. We therefore hope that members of the international delegations will at least make time to visit Ise Shrine.
Ise Shrine represents a kind of spirituality that transcends race, gender, religion, and age. It is a spirituality of mutual acceptance. I think the path to peace is for non-extremists to practice mutual acceptance of religious and ethnic differences.
The shrine has existed for two millennia. By custom, it is partially rebuilt every 20 years. This process of continuing change reflects the eternal meaning of the shrine. To ensure eternal peace and economic growth throughout changing eras, certain things must always be protected, while others must change to reflect changing circumstances. This is an important message and one we hope to convey effectively.
Mie Prefecture is also home to Suzuka Circuit and F1 racing, and is a major center for the electronics industry. Tradition and innovation exist side by side in Mie Prefecture. This is another message we are eager to get across.
Of course, Matsusaka beef and Ise shrimp are well-known elements of Japanese cuisine that come from Mie. Pearl culture originated in Mie, and we want to communicate its quality as well. I understand that the price of Mie pearls has risen since the decision to host the summit was announced.
Credits: yasa _
Mie’ s Amas ― predominantly female divers who dive for shellfish, seaweed and other marine products ― have long been a symbol of women’ s independence.
Tourism to Toyako( Hokkaido) increased after hosting the summit in 2008, but subsequently fell. How does Mie plan to maintain the summit’ s impact on tourism?
A domestic research organization calculated that over the five-year period following the summit, inbound and so-called MICE( meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) tourism in Mie Prefecture will increase by 110 billion yen. Last year, after the summit was announced, Mie’ s year-on-year growth in inbound tourism for the months of July, August, and September was number one, number one, and number two, respectively, among Japan’ s prefectures. To maintain this growth, we’ re working to enhance Wi- Fi access, increase multilanguage signage, and offer more duty-free outlets. Personnel equipped to service inbound tourists in hotels and inns are being trained, and lodging facilities that are not currently serving inbound tourists are actively preparing to accept foreign guests.
MICE tourism also doubled in the Toyako area before and after the summit there. In April, we will inaugurate a section in the prefectural office to promote MICE tourism.
I see Davos as a good example of what Mie can achieve. Davos is a small town, yet it regularly hosts international conferences, though of a different type from the G7 summit. International meetings don’ t have to be held
JAPAN AND THE WORLD MAGAZINE JANUARY 2016 // 44