［April 2013］
40th Anniversary of the sister city relationship between Japan and New Zealand

Last month, I attended the Sister Cites New Zealand 2013 Annual Conference and had the opportunity to make a presentation about CLAIR Sydney’s role in sister city relationships between New Zealand and Japan.

In my presentation, I emphasised the year 1973 which was when the first sister city relationship was established between New Zealand and Japan. This means 2013 is the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Christchurch and Kurashiki city in Okayama prefecture. For 40 years, these two cities have engaged in cultural exchange, sports exchange, student exchange, and thus developed a successful grassroots relationship.

At the time of the earthquake in Christchurch, the people of Kurashiki raised donations for the victims and dispatched fire fighters to support the rescue and recovery efforts.

When the major earthquake happened in Japan, sister cities in New Zealand offered warm-hearted support to the Japanese people. Earthquakes often occur in the two countries. We have helped each other and recovered from the hardships. The disasters are unfortunate, but the disasters have made the two countries’ bond stronger.

We now have 41 sister city relationships with New Zealand local governments. To mark 40 years, CLAIR will be promoting sister city relationships all throughout this year.