As part of the 150-year anniversary celebrations of the first Prusso-Japanese treaty, on February 8 2011 the first ever conference of German cities with ties to Japanese cities took place at the Japanese Ambassadors’ Residence in Berlin. More than 70 participants turned out for this event, among them mayors and former mayors for major German cities as well as representatives from the more than 50 German-Japanese Societies which play such a pivotal role in grass-roots exchanges. The welcome was given by Ambassador to Germany Dr. Takahiro Shinyo and also Member of the German Bundestag Ruprecht Polenz, who is the chair of the international affairs committee.
The event was jointly hosted by the Embassy of Japan and the German Association of Cities and aimed to recognise the large role such partnerships and exchanges between cities play. It was noted that the inclusion of cities within the celebration of 150 years of German-Japanese diplomacy was a milestone, and although the finances of local government both in Japan and Germany are not exactly rosy, these international links are valued very much much and that every effort is made to maintain and develop them. With about 56 formal and even more informal links between cities large and small, Germany leads all European countries in this field (for the UK, the number is 13 formalised links and a further handful of informal exchanges). Contributors from a number of the cities spoke about their experiences and hopes for the future and introduced their successes; and JLGC intrdocuded its role as well as the supporting mechanisms for Japanese twinning, including small-scale grants and awards from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The conference in Berlin follows on from similar conferences JLGC and the Japanese Embassy in London organised in 2009 and 2010, and it can be regarded as a highly successful.
