Our Municipal Group
President’ s Message
Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka City leungchopan / bigstockphoto. com
also included a visit to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications where we had an open and frank discussion with Japanese officials. This information exchange was quite informative, for me personally, and for the remainder of the international delegates. I can only hope that the
Our Municipal Group
L to R: David Germain, Denitza Koev, Roger Beaman, Jeff Wilker, Stephen D’ Agostino & Al Burton
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Next we were off to Shizuoka City where we spent the majority of the study tour. Shizuoka City is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. Our visit included a homestay with a Japanese family and an evening at a traditional inn where we experienced the amazing Japanese culture. We also spent a great deal of time learning about local government operations in Shizuoka City. This included a meeting with the chairman of Shizuoka City’ s council and viewing a portion of their council meeting.
The focus of the study tour was Japan’ s aging population and how the local governments are responding to and managing it within their health-care system. This, coincidentally, is one of the major differences between the local government system here and in Japan. The local governments in Japan are primarily responsible for providing health care to their residents. We were shown how the local government of Shizuoka City cares for and manages its residents’ health, starting with the care of children from infancy, right through the educational system and up to the care of their senior citizens.
The Shizuoka City portion of the tour included many meetings with local government officials, exchanging ideas and discussing the various options available in tackling the health issues of their aging population. We also looked at some day-to-day operations in various facilities such as an elementary school, child-rearing generation-inclusive centre, a local health centre, regional rehabilitation promotion centre and presentations at the University of Shizuoka.
The whole experience was truly amazing and I would like to thank everyone involved with this exchange program. The partnership created between AMCTO, the Japan Local Government Centre and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations provides an opportunity for us to continue to benefit and learn from each other.
4 Q1 2017 www. amcto. com