“2026 California-Japan Sister Cities Online Workshop” Held
2026/7/1
On June 18, the Consulates General of Japan in Los Angeles and San Francisco, in collaboration with the California-Japan Sister Cities Network (CJSCN), held an online workshop for municipalities and organizations in California that have sister city and friendship city relationships with Japan. The workshop opened with remarks by Consul General Kotaro Otsuki of Japan in San Francisco, Consul General Kosei Murota of Japan in Los Angeles, and CJSCN President Megumi Mizutani.
CJSCN Board Members then gave presentations on three themes for sustaining sister city projects: youth engagement, fundraising and grants, and cross-sector collaboration. Participants then broke into groups by exchange area, including pop culture, music, and sports, to share challenges, examples, and ideas.
With the support of the New York Office of CLAIR, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, which supports Japanese local governments in international exchange and cooperation, this year’s workshop received the largest-ever number of registrations from Japanese municipalities. In the session for participants from Japan, Mr. Kakeru Haneda, Executive Director of the CLAIR New York Office, introduced CLAIR’s activities and support system. This was followed by a presentation by Vice Consul Anzu Maekawa of the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles, who shared concrete examples of how sister city relationships can be utilized as tools for human investment and economic development.
There are currently approximately 114 sister city and friendship city relationships between Japan and California, representing about one-quarter of all sister city relationships between Japan and the United States. These exchanges are supported by municipal officials, sister city associations, local businesses, and citizens, and continue to contribute significantly to the friendship between Japan and the United States.
Workshop Recording
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfVTwRNkTAo
Presentation by the CLAIR New York Office (in Japanese)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Be-zEpxKE
CJSCN Board Members then gave presentations on three themes for sustaining sister city projects: youth engagement, fundraising and grants, and cross-sector collaboration. Participants then broke into groups by exchange area, including pop culture, music, and sports, to share challenges, examples, and ideas.
With the support of the New York Office of CLAIR, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, which supports Japanese local governments in international exchange and cooperation, this year’s workshop received the largest-ever number of registrations from Japanese municipalities. In the session for participants from Japan, Mr. Kakeru Haneda, Executive Director of the CLAIR New York Office, introduced CLAIR’s activities and support system. This was followed by a presentation by Vice Consul Anzu Maekawa of the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles, who shared concrete examples of how sister city relationships can be utilized as tools for human investment and economic development.
There are currently approximately 114 sister city and friendship city relationships between Japan and California, representing about one-quarter of all sister city relationships between Japan and the United States. These exchanges are supported by municipal officials, sister city associations, local businesses, and citizens, and continue to contribute significantly to the friendship between Japan and the United States.
Workshop Recording
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfVTwRNkTAo
Presentation by the CLAIR New York Office (in Japanese)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Be-zEpxKE
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| Remarks by Consul General Otsuki of Japan in San Francisco and Consul General Murota of Japan in Los Angeles |
Remarks by CJSCN President Megumi Mizutani |
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| Presentation by Ron Zielinski (Sunnyvale), Hannah Majidi (Glendora) and Frank McAuley (South San Francisco) |
Presentations by Executive Director of the CLAIR New York Office Mr. Kakeru Haneda, and Vice Consul Anzu Maekawa |