By Lee Kap-soo

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, who is visiting Japan, participated in the 7th Korea-Japan Governors' Meeting, adding his voice to the call for better relations between the two countries through exchanges and cooperation between local governments.
 

Incheon Metropolitan City announced that Mayor Yoo participated in the "7th Korea-Japan Governors' Meeting" between the Korea Council of Metropolitan Governors and the Japan National Governors' Association on November 1 in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Mayor Yoo attended the meeting as the vice chairman of the Korea Council of Metropolitan Governors.

Held at the Museum of Music and Forestry in Yamanashi Prefecture, the meeting was attended by five Korean city governors, including Mayor Yoo, and 11 Japanese governors, who held heated discussions on the development of local governments and revitalization of exchanges between the two countries.

The meeting, which was held for the first time in six years, was an opportunity to reaffirm the will for exchange and cooperation between local governments in both countries.

Participants agreed that the theme of the conference, "Declining Birthrate, Aging Population, Regional Creation, and Balanced Development," is not only an urgent and important issue for local governments in Japan and Korea, but also a national issue that determines the future of the country and an issue that needs to be addressed with persistence, and shared experiences and wisdom on joint issues between local governments in the two countries, and held lively discussions on solutions.

They also agreed that exchanges and cooperation between local governments in Korea and Japan play an important role in the development and deepening of bilateral relations, and discussed specific cooperation measures for future-oriented 'exchanges and cooperation between local governments in Korea and Japan' and decided to make joint efforts to realize them.

Incheon Mayor Yoo introduced Incheon's policies related to regional creation and balanced development, which is the theme of the meeting, including the reorganization of the administrative system, the Jemulpo Renaissance Project, the fostering of the fourth industry based on free economic zones, and various examples of international exchanges.

"Regional creation and balanced development are an inevitable task and trend across all fields, including politics, administration, culture, society, and diplomacy, under the premise that urban competitiveness is the engine of national development," said Mayor Yoo, adding, "By regularly holding mayors, governors, and growth meetings among local governments in Korea, Japan, and China, we can contribute to development beyond Asia and globally."

Meanwhile, the Korea-Japan Governors' Conference is a governor-level meeting that has been held biennially in Korea and Japan since the first Tokyo Conference in 1999, and aims to revitalize exchanges between local governments in the two countries and promote mutual understanding and goodwill in local government development. 

The most recent meeting was held in Yamanashi Prefecture, six years after the 6th Busan Governors' Conference in 2017, due to COVID-19 and the downturn in relations between Japan and Korea.