December 2022 (Volume 4, Issue 12)
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Hello everyone,
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
The CJSCN event co-hosted with the Consulates General of Japan in San Francisco and in Los Angeles in San Diego last month was a success! We hope all who attended enjoyed the event and found it informative. More details about the event and other sister city-related events in the area are below. Again, we would like to give special thanks to the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society (SDYSCS) for their exceptional support in planning and hosting this event.
This month, CJSCN will be partnering with the Consulates General of Japan in San Francisco and in Los Angeles again on December 9 to present the same event content in San Francisco, for our friends in Northern California. An invitation to this event was sent to each sister city organization already; if you think your sister city organization did not receive the invitation, please contact info@caljapansistercities.org.
As always, CJSCN would like to offer whatever support we can provide as sister city organizations begin to recommence exchange activities, events, fundraisers, and other activities affected by the pandemic. You are welcome to join the private CJSCN Facebook group, post on our public Facebook page, or send us an email at info@caljapansistercities.org.
If you have a news item for your organization that you would like to submit for a future newsletter, please use the submission form here, or email your articles and photos directly to info@caljapansistercities.org. We will send a reminder for submissions half-way through each month.
We know there are very few events going on for the near future, but if you have an upcoming event that you would like to publicize, you can submit it to our event calendar here. You can find a link to the CJSCN event calendar at the end of this newsletter.
See you again next month!
The CJSCN Board
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Report from the 2022 Fall Workshop in San Diego |
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Image (left to right): Noriko Yokota (CGJLA), Jessica Censotti (SanDISCA), Consul General Kenko Sone (CGJLA), Consul Shoko Kida (CGJLA), Vice Consul Karen Ono (CGJLA), Steven Sigafus (SDYSCS)
Report by Mark Kato, Vice President, CJSCN Board
In an effort to expand the sister city activities to youth and businesses, CJSCN held an in-person workshop called "Connecting Sister City Youth with Your Community" at Balboa Park in San Diego on Saturday, November 19. It was co-hosted by the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, and the California Japan Sister Cities Network in partnership with the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society (SDYSCS).
Steven Sigafus, President of SDYSCS and CJSCN board member, and Jessica Censotti, Executive Director of San Diego International Sister City Association, led the planning and preparation of this event. We could not have held such a successful event without their hospitality and thoughtful execution.
Ryan Tomita, delivered remarks perfect for this event by explaining how he, as a college student, was able to develop his internship in Rikuzentakata through his connection with CJSCN. Other speakers included Kenko Sone, Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles, and Dr. Ulrike Schaede, Professor of Japanese Business at the University of California, San Diego.
The event was attended by many young people and local businesses. During the breakout session, they shared ideas and their vision for future sister city - business collaborations.
I hope the success of this workshop will continue to encourage more youth and business related activities through sister city relationships in the future.
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Left image: Ryan Tomita gives remarks at the San Diego CJSCN event.
Right image: CJSCN President Meg Mizutani gives remarks at the San Diego CJSCN event.
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Comment from Jessica Censotti, Executive Director, SANDISCA following CJSCN San Diego event
"The CJSCN Fall Workshop in San Diego was a great success with exceptional knowledge-sharing opportunities for our Sister Cities' leadership, businesses, students, and community members to build a bridge and strengthen youth participation in Sister Cities. We are delighted at the turnout and thank CJSCN and the Consulates General of Japan in Los Angeles and San Francisco for selecting the City of San Diego to host this important workshop.
The San Diego International Sister Cities Association (SanDISCA) and San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society (SDYSCS) will continue the important work of connecting Japanese students and businesses throughout San Diego to create internship opportunities and increase youth participation in Sister Cities thanks to the CJSCN Fall Workshop."
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CJSCN joins San Diego & Yokohama's 65th anniversary celebration |
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Image: Brochure for the San Diego-Yokohama 65th anniversary celebration.
Prior to the CJSCN workshop on November 19, CJSCN representatives Mark Kato and Meg Mizutani were able to spend the day at the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society’s 65th Celebration at Balboa Park in San Diego.
Joined by other sister city programs of San Diego, there were a variety of performances on the stage, including taiko drumming and bon dancing. Booths representing different sister city programs had information and food from their cultures.
Kenko Sone, Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles, was one of the recipients of an award presented by the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society. CJSCN is grateful to Steven Sigafus and Jessica Censotti for organizing and inviting us to such an enjoyable event.
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Left image: In front of the Japanese Garden: from left to right, Noriko Yokota (CGJLA), Shoko Kida (CGJLA), Consul General Kenko Sone (CGJLA), Meg Mizutani (CJSCN), Mark Kato (CJSCN), and Vice Consul Karen Ono (CGJLA).
Right image: Steven Sigafus, President of the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Association, explains their activities to Consul General Sone at the Japan booth.
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CJSCN joins Pacific Rim Park Friendship Walk in San Diego |
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Image: Poster for the Pacific Rim Park Friendship Walk.
CJSCN board members Mark Kato and Meg Mizutani were invited to another great event held in San Diego on November 20: the Pacific Rim Park Friendship Walk. San Diego community members were led by a jazz band on a walk to the Pacific Rim Park on Shelter Island, and at the end of the walk, a ceremony took place. Several honorary speakers explained the mission of the Pacific Rim Park and emphasized the importance of people to people connections regardless of the political conflicts. (Unfortunately no one was able to attend from Yokohama this year.) Steven Sigafus, President of the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society, delivered a moving speech, explaining the history of the San Diego-Yokohama sister city relationship and the meaning of the Japanese Friendship Bell donated by the citizens of Yokohama in 1958. Then, participants were invited to ring the Friendship Bell, which symbolizes the people’s hope for world peace. We were honored to be able to represent CJSCN at such a meaningful event.
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Left image: Event attendees ring the Japanese Friendship Bell.
Right image: Taiko drummers perform at the event.
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Sister City Organization News |
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South San Francisco joins 100th anniversary of Kishiwada's municipal incorporation |
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Image: Delegation from South San Francisco in Kishiwada.
By Yutaka Shioya, Vice President, International Friendship Association of Kishiwada
Kishiwada City is world-famous for its Danjiri Festival, which features 34 floats in the shape of portable Shinto shrines, each pulled by more than 500 people, and originally used to pray for a rich grain harvest. This year is the 100th anniversary of Kishiwada's incorporation as a city. Also, this year is the 30th anniversary of our sister city relationship with South San Francisco. For these two anniversaries, a delegation of four people from SSF visited Kishiwada City on October 29th and attended various ceremonies within a tight schedule.
Mr. Frank McAuley, president of the SSF Sister Cities Committee, expressed hope in his remarks that our relationship would be even more active in the next 30 years, though unfortunately we have all suffered during the COVID pandemic and our exchange programs have been cancelled these past few years.
The International Friendship Association of Kishiwada, as a stakeholder of the sister city relationship between SSF and Kishiwada, entertained them with visiting Danjiri Carpenters and displays of Japanese traditional arts such as Cha-no-Yu (tea ceremony). Please drop by Kishiwada sometime, located near Kansai International Airport.
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Cupertino-Toyokawa Sister Cities student art exchange continues |
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Image: Toyokawa students' artwork displayed at the 2018 Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival.
By Jean Gasperini, Board Secretary, Cupertino-Toyokawa Sister Cities
Our annual student art exchange continues to flourish despite the pandemic causing us to pause our in-person student exchange program with Toyokawa. We are preparing to receive and display art pieces from students at five Toyokawa middle schools, and are shipping art pieces from our students here in Cupertino to Toyokawa. These pieces will be displayed in the Toyokawa City Art Museum as part of an annual display of art from each of Toyokawa's sister cities. The student art exchange started in 2011, and the photo shows our exhibit at the 2018 Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival. We display the Toyokawa student art at the CBF each year in addition to displaying it at the middle schools. We are always exploring new ways to maintain and strengthen our bond with Toyokawa.
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Fresno delegation reunites with friends in Kochi after pandemic |
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Image: Fresno delegation takes tour of Ryugado Cave while visiting Kochi.
In November, Fresno was finally able to visit their sister city of Kochi on Shikoku after multiple delays due to the pandemic. Twenty-four delegates spent three full days in the city and were treated royally by our hosts. The group visited some areas as a whole group, but also visited different venues by splitting up into two groups. Kochi plans to visit Fresno in the near future to celebrate the 60th year of our sister city partnership.
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The State of Sunnyvale |
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Image: Sunnyvale mayor Larry Klein at the podium delivering the 2022 State of the City address.
By Sinziana Berevoescu, Program Development Manager, Sunnyvale Sister City Association
Sunnyvale’s annual State of the City event highlights all the great things happening in the city. This year’s was held in-person for the first time in two years, at Heritage Park, and opened with a poem by Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Tshaka Campbell, “Love Letter to the Aftermath”. The reading was followed by the State of the City address proper, then the City Council presented the Sunnyvale Community Awards. These awards honor the contributions of some of the residents and organizations who make Sunnyvale a special place to live.
The mayor’s speech highlighted the construction of new parks and roads, and discussed plans for a new six-acre civic center that will include a new, more efficient city hall with better access to transit and services. Also noted was Sunnyvale’s exemplary vaccination campaign; with 90% of Sunnyvale residents older than 5 vaccinated, and nearly 70% with at least one booster dose.
The Sunnyvale Sister City Association is honored to be part of the State of the City and contribute for the past 10 years to make Sunnyvale a special place.
You can read "Love Letter to the Aftermath" at https://www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/h...
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Don't forget to check out the CJSCN Event Calendar!
Go to the event calendar landing page to find links to the full calendar and event submission form.
Upcoming events this month:
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You can also join us on Facebook!
If you have not yet done so, please follow the links below to "Like" our page and join our private group (Facebook account is required). >> CJSCN public Facebook page for general information and postings: https://www.facebook.com/caljapansistercities/ >> CJSCN private Facebook group for discussions, file/form template sharing (liability waivers, etc.), and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cjscn/
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CJSCN Sponsor & Partner Information |
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We are grateful for our sponsors and partners!
Our sincere thanks go out to our current sponsors and partners: Teraoka & Partners LLP, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Nippon Travel Agency (NTA), IACE TRAVEL, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles, Sister Cities International (SCI), JETRO, JETAANC, and JETAASC.
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