LIHU‘E — Liaison and translator Art Umezu said on Thursday that he hasn’t slept for three days, as he emceed the County of Kaua‘i and Suo Oshima 60th anniversary Reaffirmation Ceremony at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall.
“Suo Oshima Mayor Kiyotaka Fujimoto kept referring to ‘Sister Island,’” Umezu said. “Suo Oshima is an island. Kaua‘i is also an island, so it makes sense to this being a sister island relationship.”
The County of Kaua‘i, state of Hawai‘i, United States of America, and Suo-Oshima, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, hereby reaffirms our sister city relationship for the purpose of further enhancing and developing friendship, cooperation, and promoting mutal understanding, said a joint press release issued by the Suo-Oshima and County of Kaua‘i.
“Through years of partnership, we have come to share a mutual understanding of each other’s government, economy, agriculture, tourism, and community,” Fujimoto said in the release. “This mutual reaffirmation is based on the bond of our past, and shall contribute to the future prosperity of our islands, and people, by fostering and enhancing friendship, respect and trust between our citizens.”
The reaffirmation certificate states the two islands have deepened the bonds of friendship through exchanges in various fields and celebrates the 60th anniversary of sister city partnership this year. Reflecting on the friendship and trust our two islands have fostered over the years, and in our desire to further strengthen mutual understanding and trust, our two islands do hereby declare that our ties will be passed onto the next generation, and that the friendship exchange will be promoted into the future.
Making the trip to reaffirm the sister city relationship, Mayor Fujimoto was accompanied by 15 other delegates, including two representatives of the Yamaguchi Prefecture, Iwaki City representatives and the Consul General, who only took his oath of office on O‘ahu in the past 10 days.
Mayor Kawakami, speaking in an environment steeped with the host culture and Japan, said Kaua‘i has always had a close connection with Japan.
“Kaua‘i shares a sister city relationship with four cities in Japan — Moriyama, Iwaki, Ishigaki and Suo-Oshima. The relationship between Japan and Hawai‘i is an integral part of our state’s historic, cultural and economic well-being,” Kawakami said.
“Just look at our food, our customs, and our people. With a significant portion of Hawai‘i’s population having ancestral ties to Japan, there is a great commonality and affinity between our two great homes. We truly are an extended ‘ohana.”
The Reaffirmation Certificate was signed by Mayors Fujimoto and Kawakami and witnessed by Kaua‘i County Council Chair Mel Rapozo and Suo-Oshima County Council President Masayoshi Arakawa before the traditional gift exchange and dinner lavished with Hawaiian and Japanese dance presentations.
The Japanese delegation will be on island through the weekend, taking in a sister city lu‘au at Puakea Grill, a goodwill golf tournament at the Ocean Course at Hokuala, and a stop at the Matsuri Kaua‘i event on Saturday, presented by the Kaua‘i Japanese Council and Pearl Shimizu.
“Today, as we reaffirm 60 years of friendship, and celebrate together this milestone, we continue our promise to share our rich cultural heritage, exchange our knowledge through education, strengthen our economics, and honor those who came before us — for without whom this bond between Kaua‘i and Suo-Oshima would not exist,” Kawakami said. “In doing so, we continue to pass along our customs with the next generation, keeping both Japan and Hawai‘i culture and tradition alive.”
