City Name: Kashihara City (sister city since February 11, 1966)
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Steps Towards the Partnership
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It is said that Emperor Jinmu left "Ehe Land of Hyuga" (today's Miyazaki Prefecture) and found a new country in "Yamato Kashihara" (today's Kashihara City). Because of that ancient bond, a delegation headed by the mayor of Kashihara came to Miyazaki in October 1965 to propose the founding of a city partnership.
Soon the proposal was discussed by city officials, and in December of the same year, after passing a suggestion at the city council, the partnership was decided upon. The contract of city partnership between Miyazaki City and Kashihara City was signed in February 1966.
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Outline of Kashihara City
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Kashihara City is situated in the south of the Nara basin. West of the city is Sakurai City, further west is Yamatotakada City, in the south you find the village of Asuka and Takatori Town, and in the north lies Taharamoto Town.
Within the city we find the group of three mountains called "Yamato Sanzan". The Asuka River, which that runs through the heart of Kashihara, conserves sentiments of ancient times. The city is blessed with a mild climate and an abundance of nature. As the birthplace of Yamato, the culture of ancient Japan, Kashihara boasts an outstanding number of historical landmarks and cultural assets.
The area of the city covers 40.43 square kilometers, most of which is flatland. The rest consists of historical heritages and a hill area which contains ancient mounds. Furthermore, being close to Osaka, Kashihara is well connected to the interregional traffic net, which has caused the population to grow rapidly.
City excellent Virginia Beach city(tie-up date May 25, 1992)
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Steps Towards the Partnership
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Exchange on a civic level started in 1984, which included exchange visits by students and adults, home stays and cultural exchange events. In 1988, the chairman of the sister city association (privately) visited Virginia Beach, and delivered a message from the mayor. In 1991, the mayor of Miyazaki visited Virginia Beach and had an audience with mayor Oberndorf.
In December of the same year, the Virginia Beach City Council voted to enter into a sister city pact with Miyazaki City. In 1992, the congress decided upon the establishment of a city partnership. In May of the same year, a sister city pact was formalized between the two cities.
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Outline of Virginia Beach
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Virginia Beach City, located on the east coast of the USA, is surrounded by more than 60 kilometers of beautiful coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. With around 400,000 inhabitants it is the largest city in the US state of Virginia, covering an area of 800 square kilometers (about 2.8 times the size of Miyazaki City). Since it is the landing place of the first English settlers, Virginia Beach is of high historical significance.
Virginia Beach is blessed with a pleasant climate and offers a wide variety of outdoor activities, making it a popular tourist resort destination.
Cityname: Huludao City (Liaoning Province, China)
(sister city since May 16, 2004)
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Steps Towards the Partnership
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Exchange began in 1999, when the vice mayor of Huludao and other officials visited Miyazaki City. In May 2001, the Miyazaki City Chinese Friendship City Exchange Research Committee (Miyazaki shi chûgoku yûkô toshi kôryû kenkyûkai) was established to gather information regarding exchange with Chinese cities. In November of the same year, a Friendship City Exchange Research Committee visited Huludao, whereafter in April 2002 the initiation of a youth exchange program was proposed by the mayor of Huludao.
In August of 2002, a group of Miyazaki City junior high students visited Huludao City, preceding a group of young people from Huludao coming to Miyazaki. The exchange greatly deepened the understanding between the participants.
In February 2003, the Miyazaki City Chinese Friendship City Exchange Research Committee submitted a proposal to Miyazaki City to enter into a sister city pact with Huludao in the year 2004. In June 2003, the proposal was accepted by the City Council of Huludao City, and in August a proposal which functioned as an initialing pact was formulated. In November the mayor of Miyazaki City visited Huludao, and continued fostering the exchange through further visits.
In March 2004 the city council of Miyazaki City established the sister city pact, which was brought into effect with the signing ceremony on May 16, 2004.
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Outline of Huludao City
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Huludao City is situated in the south-west of the Chinese Province Liaoning, in the north-east of the country. The city relies on light and heavy industries, agriculture and tourism. A mild climate and an abundant nature make it a tourist resort city, offering beaches in the summer and ski resorts in the winter to its guests.
Boasting a great number of cultural assets and historical sites, it is a charming city with magnificent scenery.
Cityname: Boeun County (Chungcheong Province, South Korea)
(sister city since August 6, 1993)
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Steps Towards the Partnership
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Since the early 90s, there has been great focus on internationalization. Following that trend, Takaoka Town also felt the urge to initiate a partnership, and therefore started looking for a sister city.
South Korea is very close to Japan in terms of distance and culture, and right at the time when the sister city research was focused on Korean communities, a delegation dispatched by the Korean Japanese Tradition and Culture Exchange Association (kannichi dentô bunka kôryû kyôkai) visited Takaoka.
It happened that the head of the delegation, Mr. Chou, was born in Boeun County in the Chungcheong Province, and he proposed his home for a city partnership. After that, a delegation from Takaoka traveled to Boeun County, while a group of visitors from Boeun County came to Takaoka, and an active exchange was initiated.
Led by the Korean Japanese Tradition and Culture Exchange Association, the mutual efforts of both sides resulted in a sister city pact, with the signing ceremony being held on August 6, 1993 in the City Hall of Boeun County. Therefore, official sister city exchange projects were made possible.
Since the bonding of the city partnership, main projects have involved mutual research in agriculture as well as cultural and governmental exchange. Recently, a home stay program for elementary school students was undertaken, as one of several ongoing exchange projects. Since the merger of Takaoka Town into Shin-Miyazaki City in January of 2006, Miyazaki has continued the sister city relationship.
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Outline of Boeun County
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Boeun County is situated in the south of the South Korean Province Chungcheong, and has a blooming agriculture and tourist industry. Surrounded by a number of beautiful mountains, like Kubyonsan, Songnisan, Kwanumbon, Sanghabon and others, Boeun County is also called “The Alps of Chungcheong”. Many travelers enjoy mountain climbing and hiking on the numerous paths created by the city.
Cityname: Waukegan (Illinois, USA)
(Sister City since May 3, 1990)
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Steps Towards the Partnership
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To attract investment by foreign companies, Kiyotake Town (a community in the close vicinity of Miyazaki City) entered a sister city pact with Waukegan in March 1990, in the year of the 40th anniversary of the Kiyotake Town administration.
From thereon, every other year mutual exchange visits were organized, which mainly consisted of junior high school and high school students being either sent abroad or being welcomed in Kiyotake.
After the amalgamation of Kiyotake Town with Miyazaki City on March 23, 2010, Miyazaki City continued the sister city relationship with Waukegan.
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Outline of Waukegan
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Waukegan is situated in the northern part of the US state Illinois. It takes an one hour drive both to Chicago in the south and to Milwaukee in the north. In the east, the city borders on one of the 5 Great Lakes, the Michigan Lake.
Waukegan is an industrial port town with lots of water, good traffic connections to large cities and abundant energy resources.
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