I am Masahide Adachi and I have been appointed as the Director of CLAIR Singapore with effect from 3rd July 2011.

　CLAIR is a joint organization founded by Japanese local authorities to promote and support their activities overseas. Besides its headquarters in Tokyo, CLAIR has branch offices in seven other major cities in the world (New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney and Beijing).

　Among these offices, CLAIR Singapore was established in 1990 to promote international exchanges between Japanese local authorities and ASEAN countries. I am the seventh Director of this office.

　Currently, CLAIR Singapore carries out various activities in 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) as well as India. Specifically, our activities are:

1) To promote local level exchanges between Japan and ASEAN countries as well as India
2) To support the activities of Japanese local authorities in ASEAN countries and India
3) To research the local administration and finance systems of ASEAN countries as well as India, and disseminate the relevant information.
4) To introduce the local administration and finance systems of Japan to ASEAN countries and India


　In particular, we have supported the Japanese local authorities by arranging appointments, accompanying them on their trips, providing information and conducting briefings for them in these regions (ASEAN and India). Moreover, we have supported the trade fairs held in these regions by the Japanese local authorities, and actively provided and gathered information through the distribution of Japanese local authorities’ tourism pamphlets at travel fairs organized in these regions.

　In recent years, with the purpose of promoting ties between Japanese local authorities and their counterparts in ASEAN countries as well as India, we have implemented a ‘Regional Alliances Promotion Program’. This program, conducted in a host country (ASEAN or India), aims to introduce the participants to both the national and local administration structures of that country, so as to enhance their understanding on the present situation of industries and the possibilities of future exchanges, as well as to introduce them to the key persons from various fields. The program has seen participation from many Japanese local authorities.

　In addition, we conduct projects such as the ‘Local Government Exchange and Cooperation Seminar’ which invites local government executives in these regions to Japan to discuss and exchange information regarding the current situation and issues of local administration. The ‘Local Government Officials Training Program’ is also held on an annual basis, whereby local government officials in these regions are accepted by Japanese local authorities as trainees in various fields (general administration, environment, healthcare, tourism, economic exchange, etc.) so as to acquire the know-how and skills of Japanese local authorities. Besides the above, in order to support international cooperation activities by sharing skills (law, firefighting, water supply and sewerage systems, education, welfare, environment, etc.) possessed by specialists from Japanese local authorities, we implement the ‘Local Authorities International Cooperation Specialist Dispatch Project’ which dispatches Japanese personnel to foreign governments in response to their requests.

　CLAIR Singapore covers the largest number of countries among all the CLAIR branch offices. Furthermore, various ethnic groups, cultures and religions coexist intricately in these regions, and as a result the government systems of each country, including the local systems, differ from one another. Moreover, given the huge future economic potential in these regions, along with the East Asian region including countries such as China, it is undeniable that ASEAN countries as well as India are attracting a high level of interest from Japanese local authorities. Therefore, we will continue our efforts to better understand the needs of Japanese local authorities, and based on that, we will actively implement projects which are suitable for each country and region.

　Lastly, on behalf of CLAIR Singapore, I welcome any ideas or suggestions with regards to our activities and I look forward to your continuous support and cooperation.


Masahide ADACHI
Director, CLAIR Singapore