2022 California-Japan Sister Cities Fall Reception

On Friday, December 9, Consul General Noguchi hosted a reception at his official residence for California-Japan sister cities. The reception was co-hosted by the California-Japan Sister Cities Network (CJSCN), which provides support for the sister and friendship city connections between California and Japan in order to nurture and cultivate long-lasting international relationships. The theme of the event was “Engaging the Next Generation of Sister City Leadership” and invited cities were encouraged to send representatives from the younger generation. In all, guests from 26 cities in Northern and Central California attended and were able to network with like-minded passionate individuals from their same regions.

The keynote address was given via pre-recorded video message by Ryan Tomita, Board Member of the San Carlos Sister City Association and President of the San Diego State University Japanese Student Association. He talked about the importance of using sister city relationships to set up internship opportunities for students, and recounted his recent internship experience in Rikuzentakata that he coordinated with the help of their sister city Crescent City. Special guest Grace Aimi, an Okinawa-based singer-songwriter and Honorary Board Member of the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society, also treated the participants to a performance of her debut single, “Eternal Sunshine.”

Guests were also able to enjoy sake from local breweries Sequoia Sake (San Francisco) and Den Sake (Oakland) in honor of the San Francisco-Osaka and Oakland-Fukuoka milestone sister city anniversaries this year.