Wollongong City Council will join with Kawasaki officials, school children and the Deputy Consul General of Japan to celebrate 23 years of friendship with Kawasaki City on 19 August.
Four school children – the Kawasaki Youth Friendship Ambassadors – are on a visit to Wollongong with two officials from Kawasaki’s Shinkin Bank in August.
Wollongong City General Manager David Farmer said the visit will help to strengthen the long standing friendship links both cities have enjoyed since signing the Sister city arrangement in 1988.
“Council welcomes school children from Kawasaki,” General Manager David Farmer said. “Council has maintained an ongoing relationship with many areas of Kawasaki. The children visiting are ambassadors and have contributed to the friendships through essays they have contributed. The students are from Years five and six and Council has ensured that during their visit they visit Wollongong city students as well as seeing some of the popular sites.”
The school children will be accompanied by the Managing Director of the Kawasaki Shinkin Bank Mr Atsuo Onishi, and the Bank’s Senior Secretary Mr Yoichi Kato.
Council will also host the Deputy Consul General of Japan Mr Kazutoshi Inadome for the official function on Friday 19 August. Japan’s Local Government Centre will be represented by Mr Minoru Okuyama and Ms Yasuko Ohbayashi.
The 20th Kawasaki Youth Friendship Ambassadors are Hayate Hosenji, Yumi Takamizawa, Haruka Mizukami, and Naoya Miyajima. These four students are the winners of an annual essay competition which is coordinated by the Kawasaki City Council and sponsored by the Shinkin Bank. There were more than 4,500 entrants in the competition.
Background
Kawasaki City – population 1.429 million – is located in Kanagawa, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the ninth most populated city in Japan and one of the cities forming the Greater Tokyo area. The city dates from 707 BCE.
For more information you should visit the Council’s website or contact Council’s Customer Service centre on (02) 4227 7111.