Global Communication Activities of PMO since 3/11 Noriyuki Shikata Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs

1. Global Communication Activities of PMO since 3/11
July 10, 2012 Noriyuki Shikata (twitter @norishikata)
Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs
Office of Global Communications
Prime Minister's Office

2. The Great East Japan Earthquake:
Chain of events
Structure of the chain of
compound damage Damage
2:46 pm, Mar 11
Earthquake
(1) • Magnitude 9.0 earthquake at Sanriku coast
Primary
damage 3:51 pm, Mar 11
Tsunami • 9.3m tsunami strikes Soma city, Fukushima
prefecture
3:36 pm, Mar 12
Nuclear power plant • Fukushima Dai-ichi Reactor 1 structure collapses
(2) • Atomic fuel meltdown occurs
Immediate
impact Mar 14 ~
Power shortage • Rolling blackouts in Kanto prefectures in March
Mar 14 ~
Concerns regarding • At least 50 countries/regions, starting with H.K. &
(3) radiation China, impose import restrictions apart from
Long-term products restricted by the Japanese government.
impact Mar ~
Decline in tourist • Visitors decrease 50% compared to 2010
numbers
Source: literature research, The Boston Consulting Group
Office of Global Communications Prime Minister's Office 1

3. Global Communications Activities by PMO of Japan
Major Media Coverage
3/11 The Great East Japan Earthquake
Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs Shikata
3/13 starts interviews with foreign media
• Over 60 TV & Radio Interviews in March, including BBC and
CNN
3/16 Simultaneous interpreting introduced for Chief Cabinet
Secretary announcements (in addition to PM)
3/20 Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano starts foreign media
interviews, holding interviews with 11 media agencies
3/21 Start of Daily Foreign Press Briefings by gov‟t officials
• PMO, Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency, Nuclear Safety
Commission, MEXT, MHLW, MAFF, MOFA
• Daily until April 25
Appreciation Advertisement by PM Naoto Kan
4/11 • FT, IHT, WSJ, People‟s daily, Chosun Ilbo, Kommersant, Le
Figaro
4/17 Op-Ed contributed by PM on "Japan's Road to
Recovery and Rebirth“ to Washington Post & IHT
• Picked up by 128 outlets in 62 countries through May
5/21 Face to face interview between
PM & Financial Times
Office of Global Communications Prime Minister's Office 2

4. Website and Social Media
Website Facebook Twitter
• Upgraded the English website • Created Facebook account • Launch English twitter
"Prime Minister of Japan and His （Prime Minister‟s Office of (@JPN_PMO)
Cabinet" in Jan 2012 Japan）(March 23, 2011) • over 70,000 followers
• Special website about the Great • Over 10,000 “Like”
East Japan Earthquake
• Japan-related info also
Sina Weibo tweeted at @norishikata
• Over 14,000 followers
• Japan-related info in Chinese
• Added Chinese page in Feb • Over 5,000 followers
2012
– http://www.kantei.go.jp/cn/ind
ex.html
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5. Future direction: Stronger communications function
• Strengthen communications through enhanced collaboration among
government ministries and agencies
• Share and utilize the knowledge and content of each ministry/agency
• Create a framework to align the activities/strategies of communications
personnel
• Foster global communications mindset and skills
• Diversify channels of communication
Office of Global Communications Prime Minister's Office 4

6. Priority themes & agenda for global communications
Address global issues and drive economic growth
• Tackling environmental issues
（e.g. „Future City‟）
• Responding to the aging society
Japan’s （e.g. international medical exchange, Life (Health) Innovations）
Strengths • Promotion of the deployment of integrated infrastructure systems overseas
（e.g. Nuclear generation, High-Speed Rail, water）
• Inward Investment Promotion Program
（e.g. Japan as a „bridge nation to Asia‟）
Cool Japan, latent demand in tourism and healthcare provision should be realized
• Cool Japan
（e.g. food, fashion, music, animation film, traditional culture）
Japan’s • Tourism
Attractions （e.g. 30 Million Annual Visitors to Japan Program, holding of international conferences at
tourist sites）
• Healthcare
（e.g. international medical exchange）
Underlying philosophy for Japan‟s strengths and attractiveness will be globally communicated
• New Growth Models
Japanese （e.g. Gross National Happiness）
‘Values’ • Human Security
（e.g. Public-Private Collaboration in Human Security Fund）
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