Annual Meeting of the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC)

On Thursday, September 19, Consul General Yo Osumi attended the Annual Meeting of the Rural County Representatives of California held in the city of Rohnert Park. At this year's meeting, which was attended by county supervisors from all over California, former Rikuzentakata City Mayor Futoshi Toba and Rikuzentakata City Councilmember Akihiko Ito traveled from Japan to attend the meeting and gave a presentation on the disaster response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 and the sister city exchange with Crescent City and Del Norte County, which was established as a result of the tsunami. Consul General Osumi pointed out the similarities between Japan and California in terms of the number of disasters and active sister cities, while introducing the role of the Consulate General. Also present at the meeting was Meg Mizutani, President of the California-Japan Sister Cities Network (CJSCN), who introduced to the county supervisors the active sister city relationships between California and Japan, including the sister city relationship between Rikuzentakata and Crescent City and Del Norte County.