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and Central Californian Sister Cities in Japan |
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California and Japan share a long history of mutual exchange and cooperation, not only at economic and diplomatic levels, but also at the person-to-person level.
According to statistics issued by the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), there are 439 sister-city relationships between Japan and the U.S. as of January 1st, 2013, which is the largest number of such relationships of any country with Japan. Of these, there are 98 sister-city relationships between California and Japan, giving California the largest number of Japanese sister cities among the 50 states. 60 of these 98 relationships are within this Consulate's jurisdiction.
In November 1994, the State of California and Osaka Prefecture entered into a Cooperation Agreement that bolstered strong relations at the local level and formalized regional cooperation. The interactions through sister-city relationships include mutual visits to the cities by mayors and citizens, anniversary events, student and economic exchanges.
The Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco actively supports activities resulting from these sister-city relationships, based on the idea that the promotion of region-to-region relationships through sister-city interactions further strengthens relations between Japan and the U.S.
A description of the support services that
the Consulate General of Japan is able to provide to Sister Cities
in Northern and Central California.
The Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), a semi-governmental
Japanese organization, provides information and support
services for cities in Japan and abroad interested in seeking exchange
partners.
The Consulate is happy to announce that starting in January 2013, we began publishing a bi-monthly newsletter for all of the sister city relationships we oversee in Northern and Central California. This newsletter provides a venue to share news among the Consulate and other sister city organizations. It is the first step in the Consulate's goal to become more involved in the sister city relationships of Northern and Central California, and enhance reciprocal relationships within the Sister City community.
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