ICMA introduced the concept of professional city management to Japan through an invitation from the Public Private Partnership (PPP) School of Toyo University in Tokyo. The four-day ICMA workshop, which took place in 2011, opened a U.S.-Japan dialogue to share knowledge on how local governments can cope with difficult financial challenges by applying principles embedded in the council-manager form of government.

Professor “Sam” Tabuchi of Toyo University invited ICMA to conduct a workshop on professional city management for city officials and students of the PPP School. Ron Carlee, ICMA chief operating officer and adjunct professor at George Washington University, team-taught the workshop with Professor Tabuchi and Marsha Allgeier, deputy county manager of Arlington, Virginia, who is of Japanese descent.

In advance of the workshop, ICMA met with local officials from the Tokyo area:

• Taichiro Nishikawa, mayor of Arakawa Ward of Tokyo
• Yukinobu Shimada, vice mayor of Narashino City
• Toji Yamada , vice mayor of Kita Ward of Tokyo
• Yasuhiro Taki, vice mayor of Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo
• Satoshi Maruyama, the representative of the city of Kitakyushu to the national government.

The ICMA workshop provided an overview of U.S. local government, covering the creation of the council-manager form of government, codes of ethics, financial management, civic engagement, sustainability, and leadership. Carlee outlined the structure of the mayor-council forms of government in U.S. and the council-manager form, which was a new concept in which there was much interest.

Thirty-four students, including officials from nine cities, attended the workshop. They wrote essays on what they had learned and how it applies to their cities. Regarding performance budgeting, one student wrote:

“By law, local government in Japan is required to produce financial reports; therefore a majority of the local governments only produce financial reports. In the private sector, many enterprises also produce management accounts. I think that the introduction of  management reporting is necessary for the policy decision-making process in  local governments…the reports should be prepared not only for  internal purposes but also for the citizens in [an easily understandable] form. This will be an important step forward for the participation of the citizens.”

Echoing many of the financial challenges facing all level of governments in the U.S. and elsewhere, another student wrote about the value that a city manager could bring to the budget discussions in Japanese cities:

“The situation surrounding the local government of late is very severe. Some of the local governments could go under in the future financially, and become defunct in providing services. Given such a situation, the duty of the mayor and the council members should be to set a limit on public services (including infrastructure construction and maintenance), and prioritize services. However, the reality is that they make rosy campaign pledges to avoid leaving a negative impression on the voters, and then create an excessive budget. The introduction of the [nonpolitical] city manager system would benefit the citizens, because the city manger would be able to provide accurate and comprehensive information, and…increase the possibility of breaking the limitations on dealing with financial realities through the political processes.”

In their evaluations, students were especially interested in ICMA’s Code of Ethics, performance budgeting, the political neutrality of the city manager, and the role and professional responsibility of a city manager to provide objective and complete information about a city’s financial condition. Students expressed an interest in more advanced courses, especially with case studies on how the principles of professional management are implemented in U.S. local governments.

Carlee urged the students to be aggressive in what they already know are the right things to do. He told them how U.S. local governments have learned much about efficiency and quality from lessons transferred from Japanese manufacturing and he urged the students to look to Japan itself for answers to their challenges.

ICMA plans to continue to work through Toyo University to reach out to city leaders, provide alternative models of collaboration that may be adapted to the Japanese system, and provide technical assistance as requested.