CLAIR Local Government Cooperation and Exchange Seminar 2014 Australia and New Zealand Aomori Prefecture June 2015 Primary author: Associate Professor, Roberta Ryan, Director UTS: Centre for Local Government and the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government Contributions from Exchange Delegates Name Position & Organization Roberta RYAN Associate Professor and Director, University of Technology, Sydney, Centre for Local Government （ロベルタ・ライアン） （シドニー工科大学 地方自治センター、センター長） 【Group Leader】 Annie RIORDAN Director Corporate & Community Services, Shire of Augusta Margaret River (アニー・リオルダン) （オーガスタ・マーガレットリバー市、組織・サービス部長） James WALKER Alderman, Clarence City Council （ジェームズ・ウォーカー） （クラレンス市、市議会議員） Neil SELMON Director Planning Coordination & Support, NSW Department of Planning & Infrastructure （ニール・セルモン） （ニューサウスウェルズ州政府 計画・インフラ省、企画調整・ 支援課長） Nicola BURGESS Promotions Officer, Whakatane District Council （二コラ・バージェス） （ワカタネ市、プロモーション担当） Sim HAYWARD Chair, Cairns Sister Cities Advisory Committee （シム・ヘイワード） （ケアンズ市姉妹都市諮問委員会、委員長） This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. TABLE OF CONTENTS Contributions from Exchange Delegates ............................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 1 1 Local government in Japan & Australia ......................................................................................... 2 1.1 A brief overview of the Japanese local government system ................................................... 2 1.2 Contemporary issues and challenges for local government in Japan ..................................... 4 1.3 Resident participation in local government.............................................................................. 5 1.4 Role of mayors and elected members in Japan ...................................................................... 6 1.5 Challenges facing local government in Australia .................................................................... 7 1.6 Australia – Japan relations today ............................................................................................ 8 2 Aomori prefecture at a glance ....................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Aomori prefectural government structure .............................................................................. 12 2.3 Main industries of Aomori prefecture ..................................................................................... 17 Key priorities for Aomori prefectural government ............................................................................. 21 2.4 Tourism in Aomori ................................................................................................................. 22 2.5 Main sights and attractions in Aomori ................................................................................... 22 3 Australian/New Zealand inbound travel to Japan ....................................................................... 25 3.1 Key statistics .......................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Future targets for inbound travel to Japan ............................................................................ 29 3.3 General facts about Australian/New Zealand outbound travel .............................................. 30 3.4 Successful Australian/New Zealand tourism strategies & campaigns .................................. 31 3.5 Case study Japan: Gifu prefecture tourism strategy – A success story ................................ 36 4 Recommendations for promoting Australian tourism to Aomori prefecture ........................... 38 Appendix 1 Local government in New Zealand ........................................................................... 44 Appendix 2 New Zealand outbound travel ................................................................................... 51 Appendix 3 Australian ski tourists to New Zealand .................................................................... 53 Appendix 4 Australian market activity – report by Tourism New Zealand ................................ 55 Executive Summary This report functions as both a background briefing document on local government in Japan and a recommendations paper for promoting greater Australian tourism to Aomori prefecture, Japan. It was prepared for, and in collaboration with Australian and New Zealand state and local government representatives who participated in the 2014 CLAIR Local Government Cooperation and Exchange Seminar in Aomori prefecture. The contemporary issues facing local governments in both Australia and Japan are not dissimilar. Financial sustainability is an ongoing concern as the functions and responsibilities of local councils continue to expand in scope in order to meet changing community needs and demands. As such, regional economic development has become a focus area for local government in Japan, with foreign tourism and the expansion of local industry into overseas markets at the forefront of this development. In 2012, the total number of visitors from Australia to Japan totalled 206,537, a significant increase of 27% from 2011. Much of this increase is due to skiing and the popularity of Japan’s ski fields and powder snow to Australian skiers and snowboarders. In January 2013, 31,700 Australians visited Japan (compared to 22,192 in January 2012), a record high. The strong Australian dollar and the corresponding weak yen made Japan an attractive and cost effective travel destination for Australians. While the number of Australians visiting Japan during the winter months continues to grow, the ski resorts of Hokkaido remain the most frequented by Australian travellers. Around 30,000 Australians visited the Hokkaido ski fields alone in the 2010-11 seasons compared to Aomori prefecture which attracted less than 1,000 Australians annually in 2012. A popular ski destination to the domestic market, Aomori prefecture remains unknown as a resort destination to the Australian skiing and snowboarding markets. As such, this paper provides a snapshot of the current position of local government in Japan, contemporary issues facing local government and the role of the prefecture in tourism promotion. In developing a set of recommendations for boosting the number of Australian visitors to Aomori prefecture, the report considers: the main seasonal attractions, historical and cultural assets and local industries - agriculture, forestry, and fisheries of Aomori prefecture a statistical overview of Australian inbound travel to Japan highlighting the average length of stay, average spend per person and annual average spend per nation (note: limited data was available for Aomori prefecture) successful Australian and New Zealand tourism strategies and campaigns. Identifying the main enablers to developing a successful strategy/campaign. The final section of the report brings together some of the statistical data and desktop research on inbound travel to Japan with general observations made by participants of the CLAIR Seminar, to develop a set of recommendations and/or considerations for promoting Australian tourism to Aomori prefecture. In particular, it considers: the appeal of Japan and Aomori prefecture to the Australian visitor market the planning and design requirements of a targeted tourism strategy appropriate marketing and communications techniques key challenges and limitations to advancing tourism promotion. Executive Summary Page 1 CLAIR Local Government Cooperation and Exchange Seminar 2014 1 Local government in Japan & Australia 1.1 A brief overview of the Japanese local government system Legal status Local government enjoys Constitutional recognition and specific legal status in Japan’s legal framework, specifically through the ‘Local Autonomy Law’, which was promulgated in 1946. The principles of this law involve a respect for local self-government, the separation of the executive and legislative branches and the definition of local councils and their status in relation to central government. Local government structure Local government in Japan is structured along two-tier lines – prefectures (comparable to state governments) and municipalities (comparable to cities and towns). There are 47 prefectural governments, each headed by a directly-elected Governor (elected on a four-year term) and 1,719 municipalities, each headed by a directly-elected Mayor (elected likewise). Prefectures serve a wider region, and the primary local governments are within the prefecture. A city is a form of the primary local government and has the Mayor-council government system. Within a city, it is usually said that a mayor has more power than a council, as a mayor is supported by bureaucrats and has more legal authority than a council. It is also said that the central government has a strong influence on local government. In the past, the central government checked the activities of local governments in detail. In addition, cities do not have full authority to decide their revenues and tax rates. It is said in this context that the level of autonomy of Japanese local governments should be higher. Size and number The populations and areas of prefectures