The Consul-General of Japan in Sydney's Newsletter - Past Issues
No. 4 Sister City Relationships - Fostering the Future - December 13, 2019
Do you know what sister cities do? Local government authorities in Japan have 1,762 sister city relationships with local governments around the world. In Australia, there are 108 sister cities with Japan; Japan has the most ties with America (455), then China (370) and the Republic of Korea (163). In NSW and the NT, the area that this office has jurisdiction over, there are 42 sister city ties. Soon after I arrived, I had the opportunity to visit sister city anniversary events and I really felt the importance of sister city relationships. Let us consider the significance of sister cities as I introduce several concrete examples.
At the Mayoral Civic Reception to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Sister City arrangement between Goulburn and Shibetsu City
On 12 November, I visited Goulburn (Goulburn Mulwaree Council), having been invited to attend the Mayoral Civic Reception to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sister City arrangement between Goulburn and Shibetsu City in Hokkaido. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary, a 10-member delegation from Shibetsu, led by Mayor Makino Yuji, visited Goulburn to participate in a series of events.
Exchange between the two cities grew thanks to wool, and as it deepened, they decided to enter into a formal sister city agreement in 1999. Since then, short-term student exchange and mutual visits by city delegations have continued. At the civic reception, the approximately 50 attendees included past mayors from the time the sister city was established and representatives from schools, the police, and the chamber of commerce. The warmth of the welcome that the delegation received was plain to see. Mayor Makino explained to me that Shibetsu City emphasised the importance of educating the next generation and that exchange between high school students plays a vital role.
The Commemorative Stone in Shibetsu Garden, Goulburn
Building on trust established over many years of exchange, a Japanese garden is being constructed in Victoria Park in the heart of Goulburn. The design of the garden has already been finished and to coincide with the 20th anniversary it has been given the name “Shibetsu Garden”. On 11 November, the day before the civic reception, a ceremony was held at which a stone monument, garden stones and bamboo fences were donated by Shibetsu City.
Dinner celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Dubbo City-Minokamo City Sister City Relationship
On 23 and 24 November, I visited Dubbo Regional Council (Dubbo City) and participated in events commemorating the 30th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Minokamo City in Gifu Prefecture. Mayor Ito Seiichi led a 20-member delegation from Minokamo City to participate in the 30th anniversary events, which began with a celebratory dinner on the 23rd.
The opening of the Minokamo Way in Dubbo
On the 24th, a ceremony was held to open Minokamo Way in front of the Shoyoen Japanese Garden. Afterwards, an outdoor concert was held in the grounds of the garden.
The rock garden within Shoyoen, Dubbo
Shoyoen was gifted to Dubbo by Minokamo in 2002, and it is named after the novelist Tsubouchi Shoyo, who was born in Minokamo. It is a wonderful garden with a koi carp-filled pond, a rock garden and a tea house. Every year, Dubbo covers the cost for a gardener to come out from Minokamo to help maintain the garden.
The delegation from Dubbo with the kangaroo sculptures in Minokamo – photo: courtesy of Dubbo Regional Council
A little earlier, in mid-October, the Mayor of Dubbo, Cr Ben Shields, led a delegation to Minokamo, where they participated in the Otajuku Nakasendo Festival and donated bronze statues of kangaroos by a local Dubbo artist. In Minokamo, the statues have been placed at the end of a red-soil track called Dubbo Road. “Red soil” is the origin of the name “Dubbo”.
Ben and Yuki, who are married and live in Dubbo, met thanks to the high-school exchange program
When I was in Dubbo, one incident really made me feel the history of the sister city relationship. I met Ben and Yuki with their young family. The couple met during mutual student exchange and ended up getting married.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, Dubbo and Minokamo signed a declaration stating their intent to strengthen cooperation in the fields of “tourism” and “health”, in addition to “education and youth exchange”.
With Port Stephens Deputy Mayor Chris Doohan
There are other examples of active sister city exchange. On 22 November, I participated in the presentation ceremony of the FootGolf Asia Cup in Port Stephens. I met with Deputy Mayor Chris Doohan; the Mayor of Port Stephens was not in town, because he was in Japan to attend the 10th anniversary event of the sister city relationship between Port Stephens and Tateyama City in Chiba Prefecture. The two cities engage in various types of exchange, including through yacht races and marathons.
In fact, Port Stephens is also sister cities with Yugawara Town in Kanagawa Prefecture, and they engage in junior-high-school student exchange among others. Again in Port Stephens, there is a sister wetlands agreement between Hunter Estuary Wetlands and Hokkaido’s Kushiro Wetlands.
With Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller
On 4 December, I attended the Liverpool City Christmas Reception and spoke with Mayor Wendy Waller. Liverpool has a sister city relationship with Toda City in Saitama Prefecture, and every year, they conduct a reciprocal homestay program for junior high school students (years 7-9). I learnt from Mayor Waller that she had recently taken part in a Skype meeting with Toda City and Paddle Australia (Australia’s national canoeing team), during which the three parties signed a memorandum relating to Paddle Australia holding its training camp at the Toda Boat Course before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
There are many sister cities between Australia and Japan in addition to the ones mentioned above, and each in their own way is deepening exchange. Reciprocal youth exchange programs, in particular, act as incentives to foster learning about culture and languages and to encourage young people to be outward-looking. In this way, youth exchange programs play a vital role in the futures of both countries.
I would like to visit as many NSW and NT sister cities as possible, making the most of various occasions, including sister city anniversaries. In this way, I hope to boost exchange and cooperation at the community level between Australia and Japan.
Sister city exchange between Japan and Australia (Japan Local Government Centre (CLAIR Sydney))
http://www.jlgc.org.au/international-exchange-2/sister-city-exchange/