News Cittaslow movement gaining ground in Japan

[thomas]

Two Japanese cities, Maebashi in Gunma and Kesenuma in Miyagi, joined Cittaslow, or "Slow City," a global movement that promotes regional individuality and traditions. They have announced that they will set up a national organization on 20 October to increase the number of member cities in Japan.

Cittaslow is an organisation founded in Italy inspired by the slow food movement. Cittaslow's goals include improving the quality of life in towns by slowing down its overall pace, especially in a city's use of spaces and the flow of life and traffic through them. Like Slow Food, Cittaslow is a membership organisation. Full membership of Cittaslow is only open to towns with a population under 50,000. To become eligible for membership, a town must normally score at least 50 per cent in a self-assessment process against the set of Cittaslow goals and then apply for admission to the appropriate Cittaslow national network. Towns contribute an annual membership fee.

Cittaslow - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Welcome to Cittaslow International | Cittaslow International

The Cittaslow Movement was born in 1999 from the intuition of Paolo Saturnini, then Mayor of Greve in Chianti, adopted by the Mayors of the cities of Bra Francesco Guida, Orvieto Stefano Cimicchi and Positano Domenico Marrone, and welcomed by Carlin Petrini, President of Slow Food.

www.cittaslow.org

The eastern Japan city of Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture and the city of Kesennuma in northeast Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, which jointly announced the move on 10 October, are currently the only cities in Japan that have been officially accredited by Cittaslow.

In South Korea, about 20 cities belong to Cittaslow, and they use their status in publicity campaigns. In Japan, however, only a few cities besides the two current members are considering joining. Officials from Maebashi and Kesennuma, which joined Cittaslow in 2017 and 2013, respectively, will form a nationwide organization together with experts and release information on a website and through social media to support other local bodies' bids for membership. If at least three local bodies within a single country belong to Cittaslow, they can receive organizational certification, which is said to increase their ability to disseminate information. Maebashi Mayor Ryu Yamamoto commented, "Rather than just attracting more tourists, I'd like to see more municipalities that allow people to appreciate their towns at a slow pace and lead happy lives." Kesennuma Mayor Shigeru Sugawara said, "This is such a valuable movement as it can lead to sustainable development goals. We would like to expand this to the whole of Japan."

Push to raise membership in Italian 'Slow City' movement gets boost in Japan - The Mainichi

MAEBASHI -- Two Japanese cities belonging to the Cittaslow, or

mainichi.jp