Strengthening Local-Level Follow-up and Review for SDG Implementation: Recommendations for Japanese Municipalities

Local-level follow-up and review (FUR) is essential for realising the 2030 Agenda, given municipalities' crucial role in delivering SDG targets. However, Japanese municipalities face significant challenges, including capacity constraints, demographic shifts, financial limitations, and the absence of mandatory national SDG directives. This policy brief argues that to address these challenges, municipalities should integrate SDG-focused FUR within their existing policy processes. By embedding SDG monitoring into routine policy cycles—such as annual or mid-term reviews—local governments can continuously refine policies, enhancing responsiveness and effectiveness. Moreover, achieving successful local-level FUR necessitates vertical integration with national SDG frameworks and robust horizontal collaboration among municipalities. Strengthening inter-municipal networks and clearly linking local reviews with national processes promotes coherence, resource efficiency, and collective learning. Finally, innovative tools such as Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), sustainability budgeting, and inclusive multi-stakeholder engagement significantly bolster municipal capacity, data quality, and policy integration, ultimately strengthening local implementation and accountability.