Advancing EU–Japan Sustainable Urban and Regional Cooperation
The IURC Japan Kick-off took place in a hybrid format on 2 October 2025 as part of the Kyoto Smart City Expo 2025, co-hosted by Kyoto Prefecture. The session marked the formal launch of the International Urban and Regional Cooperation Programme (IURC) Phase II in Japan, bringing together European and Japanese representatives to deepen city and regional collaboration across thematic clusters such as urban innovation, industrial modernisation, clean energy, circular economy, and climate adaptation.

The meeting opened with welcoming remarks from Mr. Andreas Röttger, Head of Regional Team – Asia/Pacific at the European Union’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI). He underlined the EU’s long-term engagement with Japan in supporting livable urban innovation and knowledge exchange through the quadruple helix approach: linking government, academia, business, and civil society.
Mr. Röttger emphasised that IURC Phase II continues to build on a decade of successful decentralised cooperation, now strengthened by structured thematic clusters.

Following him, Mr. Cesar Moreno, FPI Representative for Japan, reflected on 13 years of EU–Japan cooperation, recalling milestones achieved through previous initiatives under the EU’s external action framework. He commended the Japanese partners for their openness to co-developing solutions on shared challenges—ranging from energy transition to demographic change—and reiterated the EU’s commitment to supporting peer-to-peer learning and concrete pilot implementation.

Source: International Urban and Regional Cooperation Programme