Abdullaev Shokhrukh
The morning of July 12th was dedicated to the educational visit to Niseko High School – a modern and culturally-diverse school that greeted us very warmly. The visit started in a way that is quite typical for Japanese students: after entering the building, we left our shoes at the entrance and headed straight to the main hall, where 3 groups of 4-5 students were already waiting for us.
A presentation, prepared by Coordinators for International Relations (who are divided into ALT, SEA, and CIR categories), was very informative, interesting and thought-provoking, since prior to our visit we had little knowledge about Niseko town. During the lecture and discussions with students, we learned general information about the town including its history, mascots, symbols, multi-national population from 44 countries (which constantly fluctuates according to seasons), pros and cons of the development of tourism in Niseko, etc. For instance, it is famous for pumpkins and agricultural food and has many tourist activities and places such as rafting, hot springs, ostrich farm, Takahashi farm and Arishima Memorial Museum. So, it is no surprise that the town’s main industries are agriculture and tourism/ hospitality. Unfortunately, these industries have not only advantages, but also disadvantages in the form of environmental, societal and economic challenges. For example, excess of tourists causes difficulties and disturbances for local people, while new construction sites and infrastructural expansions require cutting down trees and harming the environment.
In order to highlight these issues and draw more attention to them, poet Takeo Arishima created “Niseko charter”, which aimed at protection of environment, abiding rules, building a healthy and working family, and ensuring a bright and safe future for local kids.
To transform the Niseko charter into reality, townspeople have come up with various projects and initiatives that focus on environmental and societal issues. For example, the town of Niseko passed the “Basic Ordinance for Town Planning” in 2001, which is the first basic legislation of self-government in Japan and is referred to as the “Town Constitution”. Furthermore, Niseko has recently been selected as an “SDGs future city” of Japan as a municipality that will make efforts and proposals for achieving SDGs. The town has been practicing and working on community development such as “practicing self-government through community participation and information sharing,” “Eco-Model City initiatives,” and “making unique development rules”. Moreover, when selecting the SDGs Future City, Niseko was also selected as a “municipal SDGs model project”, and with the government support, Niseko Town proposed the “NISEKO Life and Model District Construction Project”.
The town is also pursuing several projects such as zero emissions by 2050, measures against climate change, water resource protection, financial support and sustainable development. Even new construction projects should be strictly discussed with the officials of the town, which shows local people’s dedication and loyalty to the place where they live. These efforts have already borne fruits: Niseko town was declared “UNWTO Best Tourism Village 2021” and “Eco-model city” by the government for its global warming countermeasures.
Overall, the lecture was very interesting and inspiring, because now we know for sure that when people gather around an important idea with immense amounts of motivation and dedication, they can reach many amazing results. The fact that all people are working towards the same goals, despite their various backgrounds, shows us the importance of cooperation, communication, and synergy between people. Niseko should be an example of true dedication and diligence for not only other towns and cities of Japan, but also all over the world, since good intentions and efforts in the way of bright future for kids know no boundaries and are ubiquitous values for all people.
