Mr Moore cautious on sister cities

Press, 29 August 1984, Page 3

Mr Moore cautious on sister cities

From

BRUCE ROSCOE

in Tokyo While New Zealand’s trade ties with Japan are being boosted by the visit of the Minister of Overseas Trade and Marketing, Mr Moore, the prospect of three new sister-city links has the potential to cement relations at the people-to-people level. Next month, the Ashburton County chairman, Mr W. A. Hart, and the Mayors of Mount Roskill and Papakura will visit Japan to hold talks with prospective sis-ter-city partners. Mr Moore will study the benefits of sister cities on August 31 when he visits Kurashiki, south-western Japan, which joined with Christchurch in 1974 to become New Zealand’s first Japanese sister city. Ashburton hopes to promote Japanese ski-ing at Mount Hutt and introduce New Zealand skiers to Japan through a friendship ski-field link with the Yu-

zawa ski-field in Shiozawacho, Niigata prefecture, on the west coast of Japan. Mount Roskill is courting the city of Ichiharu in Chiba prefecture, which borders Tokyo, although Ichiharu, with a population of 235,000, is several times bigger than Mount Roskill.

Papakura is dating the town of Togo in Aichi prefecture near Osaka.

The Mayors are due to spend a week in Japan from September 15. They will introduce their towns and discuss proposals for sister affiliations.

Mr Moore said the Japanese International Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Hikosaburo Okonogi, in talks on Monday had twice mentioned the importance of sister-city links such as Christchurch and Kurashiki. “A lesson I have learned about how to get access to Japanese society is in the little things, such as student and civic exchanges and

sister cities. It is a form of art in Japanese society, and a very important use of our people resources,” said Mr Moore. “But I think sister cities should be self-support-ing at the ratepayers’ level.”

Other than Kurashiki, New Zealand has seven sister ties with Japan: Auckland, Hakata; Nelson, Miyazu; One Tree Hill, Tomioka; Hamilton, Urawa; Manukau, Utsunomiya; Dunedin, Otaru; Napier, Tomakomai.

Christchurch’s relationship with Kurashiki is regarded as the most active among New Zealand-Japan sister cities, and has served as a model for other New Zealand cities. Last month a New Zealand Food Fair was held in Kurashiki, and Kurashiki is expected to provide a venue for a travelling exhibition of New Zealand contemporary prints that will come to Japan at the end of this year.