Tokyo Gov. Tours Europe: Promoting Multicity Action at OECD in Paris, Friendship with Rome

 
Touring Europe in an elevated international role, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has pushed forward her initiative in Paris to ensure multicity cooperation in tackling common challenges, and promoted the friendship with Rome.

In her first overseas engagement this year, the governor visited the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) headquarters in the French capital of Paris on February 4. She attended the first OECD Champion Mayors Leadership Strategy Meeting since becoming the Chair of the OECD city leaders’ coalition in January. 

Governor Koike traveled on to Rome and met with its mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, on February 5 as their cities are commemorating the milestone 30th anniversary of their friendship pact this year. They signed a joint communiqué, reaffirming to enhance cooperation in solving common challenges in such areas as tourism, culture and sports.

“Although quite compact, it turned out to be a fulfilling trip,” the Tokyo governor told reporters on her return home after two days in Europe.

Calling for Unity in an ‘Age of Profound Uncertainty’

“We’re living in an age of profound uncertainty,” Governor Koike　said in an inaugural message to the city leaders’ coalition known as the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative.

“The global economy is being reshaped by persistent geopolitical tensions, relentless climate change and rapid technological advancement,” she explained. “I hope to turn the Champion Mayors into a platform that ensures cities are key partners in international efforts to address global challenges.”

Of the five official overseas trips she made last year, intercity cooperation in tackling urban challenges was a consistent overarching theme throughout. Among the pressing concerns are increasingly severe and frequent climate-linked natural disasters, and aging and shrinking populations due to lowering birthrates.

When she visited Washington D.C. and New York City for lectures and other engagements last July, Governor Koike advocated what she termed “multicity lateral cooperation” in solving shared challenges. The phrase was inspired by the concept of “multilateralism,” or coordination among nations to achieve common goals.

Governor Koike, a former member of national parliament, was elected Tokyo’s first female governor in 2016. She is the first Asian city leader to head the Champion Mayors initiative. She has played an active role in the OECD city leaders’ coalition since joining it in 2017. She was appointed the coalition’s vice chair (responsible for women and children) last September after serving on its Steering Group.

Time to Harness the ‘Power of Cities’

“Cities are at the center of people’s lives, and protecting those lives is our mission as city leaders,” she told the Champion Mayors. “Now is precisely the time to bring together the power of our cities.”

The city leaders’ coalition was launched in 2016 to tackle inequalities and promote more inclusive economic growth in cities. Currently, it involves 64 city leaders around the world. 

An OECD statement credits the Koike administration with promoting “bold policies” including expanding childcare access, enhancing female entrepreneurship and advancing workplace equality, which have resulted in a record number of women in work in Tokyo. It also points to her effort to lead the world in “climate resilience and disaster preparedness.”

“I hope to further raise Tokyo’s profile by leading cooperation among member cities,” Governor Koike told media in December when her two-year chairpersonship was announced. “As we exchange opinions and share information with each other, we can utilize our best practices. And I hope to bring us together to find various solutions.”

Tokyo, Rome Committed to ‘Stronger Intercity Cooperation’

In the meeting with the Rome mayor, Governor Koike emphasized the importance of multicity resilience efforts.

According to the joint communiqué, Governor Koike commented that “it is vital to enhance urban resilience against common challenges such as the climate crisis and natural disasters, and for that reason, stronger intercity cooperation is indispensable.”

With Mayor Gualtieri, Governor Koike shared Tokyo’s measures against increasingly severe and frequent disasters. Rome is known to have reinforced its resilience since ancient times with advanced sewage and other technologies. 

The Japanese capital of 14 million residents has been connecting “underground regulating reservoirs” and developing underground rivers that will divert floodwater to the Bay of Tokyo. Other examples include the utilization of AI in supporting floodgate operations and that of drones in gathering information on storm surge damage. 

In the communiqué, she pledges to enhance cooperation between Tokyo—which touts itself as where tradition meets innovation—and the Eternal City in tourism, culture, sports and other areas.

For his part, Mayor Gualtieri—a former European Parliament member who served as Italy’s Minister of Economy and Finances before becoming the chief executive of Rome in 2021—vows to further strengthen bilateral cooperation with the shared priorities of ”inclusive societies, safe and healthy cities, environmental sustainability, and innovation, including collaboration within international city networks.”

Both emphasize in the communiqué the importance of support for startup companies to spur innovation and solve urban challenges.

It was Governor Koike’s first official visit to Rome. Last September Mayor Gualtieri came to Tokyo and held talks with her to prepare for the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo-Rome friendship city agreement this year.

‘Sushi Tech,’ ‘VivaTech’ to Go Hand-in-Hand for Innovation

During her fourth official visit to Paris, the Tokyo governor also visited “Bassin d'Austerlitz”, a massive underground rainwater storage basin that improves the quality of Seine River water.

She then took part in an event promoting the SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 global innovation conference. The promotion was held at Station F, a world-leading hub for tech startups, which opened in 2017 on the left bank of the Seine. She previously visited the center for startup incubation last April when she attended OECD meetings.

SusHi Tech（short for Sustainable High City Tech) Tokyo 2026 will be staged at Tokyo Big Sight on Tokyo’s ever-developing waterfront April 27-29 with the aim of creating “sustainable cities” through cutting-edge technology.

In conjunction with SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, city leaders from around the world will attend a meeting of Global City Network for Sustainability (G-NETS), which has been organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) since 2022 as a forum for discussions on how to create a sustainable society.

Last year’s SusHi Tech Tokyo, the third edition, drew a record 57,000 participants from 100 countries and regions and resulted in more than 6,136 business matching meetings, according to the TMG.

In June, Paris for its part will host the 10th edition of Viva Technology, or VivaTech, which has been acclaimed as one of Europe’s premier startup and innovation conferences.

“I hope that you are able to get a full sense of the appeal of SusHi Tech,” Governor Koike told the promotion event. “Together, let’s promote initiatives that spread innovation around the world, such as SusHi Tech and VivaTech.”

After the SusHi Tech promotion, she visited ESAT Camille Hermange, an institution outside Paris, which provides medical and social support to people with disabilities in their professional activities.

At the center, she observed the Atelier de Création A92 where visual artists with disabilities develop ideas and create artworks. Tokyo is also committed to promoting artistic and cultural activities by people with disabilities.

On the sidelines of her stay in Rome, Governor Koike was briefed on the Italian capital’s “Smart City” initiatives including the use of innovative AI virtual assistant “Julia” in providing useful information to tourists and citizens.

“These efforts to enhance the convenience of tourism and citizens’ daily life offer many insights for Tokyo as well,” Governor Koike recalled back home. Citing the Japanese capital’s brand slogan of “Old meets New,” which promotes synergy between tradition and innovation,” she suggested: “I guess this could be said about both Tokyo and Rome.”

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