Exchanges between Japan and Denmark local communities
2020/8/26
1 An overview of exchanges between cities
“The relationship between Japan and the city of Odense dates back 33 years to 1984. Following the visit of the then mayor of Odense, Mayor Dalskov to the city of Funabashi in Chiba, both cities established a sister city affiliation in 1989.” In June 2017, when His Imperial Highness Crown Prince of Japan made the above remarks during his visit to Odense, the Kingdom of Denmark on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Denmark.
There are nine pairs ofcities in Japan and Denmark, who have entered into sister city relations or cooperation arrangements including Funabashi and Odense. On top of that, 8 cities and a village in Japan are registered as Host Town to receive Danish friends toward Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games next year. (*the list of such cities is attached). Every sister city has gone through different ways to get to know each other initially, but all of them are firmly tied with its counterpart through deep friendship. It has certainly been difficult for them to visit each other in the past five months due to the COVID-19. Despite such challenges, it seems that some cities have planned for future opportunities, and that others have renewed their homepages trying to establish further links with their sister cities.
I visited both Sorø and Silkeborg in August. Since 2003, Sorø has been a friendship city of Wakuya, Miyagi prefecture. Silkeborg and Kama, Fukuoka prefecture signed the letter of intent for outdoor tourism and tourism friendship exchanges in 2019. Fortunately, thanks to the effective measures taken by Denmark to contain spread of COVID-19, I was able to travel rather freely within Denmark with careful observance ofthe Danish hygiene criteria such as keeping social distance, no hand-shakes, wearing a facemask at certain facilities and so on.
2 Wakuya, Miyagi Prefecture and Sorø
“Welcome to Sorø.” It was Mayor Gert Onstrup Jørgensen, who warmly received me at the historic building of the City Hall on 10 August. My trip coincided with one of the busiest days for the Mayor and the city because it was the first day of autumn term for schools after summer holidays. Despite his busy schedule, Mayor Jørgensen kindly spent his time and discussed some issues such as the friendship city exchanges with Wakuya, which started through their common interests in social welfare, how to address the COVID-19 challenges and so on. After our discussion at the City Hall, the Mayor took me around Sorø Academy established in the twelfth century around the time of foundation of Sorø by Bishop Absalon, who later on founded Copenhagen as well. It was eye-opening to learn about the history of Sorø as we walked around the vast premises of Sorø Academy.
During our conversation in the garden of the Academy, I also shared what I had learnt about Wakuya’s long history such as the facts that gold was discovered and produced there for the first time in Japan, that in 749 during Emperor Shomu’s era, Wakuya dedicated its gold to Todaiji-temple for the erection of a huge Buddha statue, and that in 2017 Mayor and Speaker of Wakuya with the director of its social welfare center visited Sorø. At the end of this brief but unforgettable first meeting, we promised to see each other again.
I was enlightened by Mayor Jørgensen on many accounts including the importance of liberal use of modern technology such as remote video to communicate with senior citizens at home during the COVID-19 challenges by being much attentive to each person’s mind and preference. The COVID-19 has certainly been affecting social welfare administration in various ways.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the colleagues of Wakuya, including “Mr Gold (Kin-san) of Joyama” (https://www.facebook.com/town.wakuya.miyagi） who hadgiven me good advice on my visit to Sorø.
3 Kama, Fukuoka prefecture and Silkeborg
“You would be recommended to wear sports attire since you will experience outdoor activities during the visit.” The invitation from Silkeborg contained that advice. In 2019, Silkeborg signed the letter of intent to agree to promote outdoor tourism exchanges with Kama, Fukuoka prefecture. On 13 August, three hours’ drive from Copenhagen took me to the headquarter of Nordisk, one of the oldest and most successful outdoor sports companies, who bridged the exchanges between the two cities. Probably due to a temporal renovation of the city hall, Mr. Steen Vindum, Mayor of Silkeborg warmly received me there. We discussed further development of outdoor tourism between Kama and Silkeborg, and I listened to the detailed briefing on their new strategy on sports and social welfare and an outline of the master plan based on the strategy. Later on, I shared the account with my colleagues of Kama who had kindly updated me on their latest exchanges with Silkeborg and their points of interests prior to my visit there.
My first experience of rowing kayak followed the meeting. I took the suggestion of Mr Møller, CEO of Nordisk, to change the jacket to T-shirt and short trousers. On departing from kayak, I had a very pleasant and encouraging conversation with Ms. Thea Amalie Nielsen, table tennis candidate for Tokyo Paralympic 2021, Mr. Morten Gravesen, Sprint Kayak candidate for Olympic and their management colleagues. Despite some challenges by COVID-19, the young competitors have firmly kept training and preparing. I felt that I should emulate their attitude.
The visit concluded with a lunch and a quick tour of the museum hosted by Mr. Jacob Thage, Director, Museum Jorn. Mayor Vindum and Mr. Møller kindly participated. (https://www.museumjorn.dk/da/samlinger/om-asger-jorn/). The Director explained the programme for the children and their families who can experience the interactions between nature and arts at and around Museum Jorn, which is located in the middle of forest and river. We put facemasks on during the tour inside the museum.
All in all, thanks to the hospitality of Silkeborg, the day trip made me deeply appreciate the spirit of Silkeborg and Kama who have been and will be pioneering their exchanges focusing on outdoor tourism with the involvement of private enterprises.
4 In the future
In Japan, Mr. Peter Taksøe-Jensen, Ambassador of Denmark to Japan, has been vigorously promoting and participating in exchanges between cities of both countries. For example, during this summer, the Ambassador drove his car to Ogata, Akita prefecture, Host Town for Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was an opportunity to deepen the exchanges. I have heard that he is also planning to visit other cities in Japan while confirming safe and freer trips within Japan would be possible vis-à-vis COVID-19.
One of the golden rules passed on from one generation to another is that person to person relations lay the foundation of the relations between the states. Since I came to Denmark and experienced every new meeting with Danish friends and colleagues, in particular with those who are involved in exchanges between cities of our countries, I think that I understand and value this old and new saying. From autumn onward, I also do look forward to any opportunities to help facilitating such exchanges between cities in Denmark and Japan.
Last but not least, the Embassy of Japan wishes you well and let us stay safe while this challenge would continue for some time. See you next month.
【reference】List of sister cities and friendship cities
1989- Funabashi, Chiba prefecture and Odense(sister city)
1997- Anjo, Aichi prefecture and Kodling(sister city)
2000- Taito-ku, Tokyo and Gladsaxe (sister city)
2003- Wakuya, Miyagi prefeccture and Sorø (friendship city)
2003- Narita, Chiba prefecture and Næstved (friendship city)
2007- Noboribetsu, Hokkaido and Faaborg (friendship city)
2011- Hidaka, Wakayama and Frederikshavn (exchange students)
2018- Taiji, Wakayama prefecture and Klaksvik(Faroe Islands)（sister city）
2019- Kama, Fukuoka prefecture and Silkeborg (outdoor tourism and tourism friendship exchanges)
(Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Host Town)
Sakade and Marugame, Kagawa prefecture
Otsu, Shiga prefecture
Ogata, Akita prefecture
Noboribetsu, Hokkaido
Nagano, Nagano prefecture
Higasimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture
Nihonmatsu, Fukushima prefecture
Nerima, Tokyo
“The relationship between Japan and the city of Odense dates back 33 years to 1984. Following the visit of the then mayor of Odense, Mayor Dalskov to the city of Funabashi in Chiba, both cities established a sister city affiliation in 1989.” In June 2017, when His Imperial Highness Crown Prince of Japan made the above remarks during his visit to Odense, the Kingdom of Denmark on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Denmark.
There are nine pairs ofcities in Japan and Denmark, who have entered into sister city relations or cooperation arrangements including Funabashi and Odense. On top of that, 8 cities and a village in Japan are registered as Host Town to receive Danish friends toward Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games next year. (*the list of such cities is attached). Every sister city has gone through different ways to get to know each other initially, but all of them are firmly tied with its counterpart through deep friendship. It has certainly been difficult for them to visit each other in the past five months due to the COVID-19. Despite such challenges, it seems that some cities have planned for future opportunities, and that others have renewed their homepages trying to establish further links with their sister cities.
I visited both Sorø and Silkeborg in August. Since 2003, Sorø has been a friendship city of Wakuya, Miyagi prefecture. Silkeborg and Kama, Fukuoka prefecture signed the letter of intent for outdoor tourism and tourism friendship exchanges in 2019. Fortunately, thanks to the effective measures taken by Denmark to contain spread of COVID-19, I was able to travel rather freely within Denmark with careful observance ofthe Danish hygiene criteria such as keeping social distance, no hand-shakes, wearing a facemask at certain facilities and so on.
2 Wakuya, Miyagi Prefecture and Sorø
（Old City Hall of Sorø Photo：Embassy of Japan） （With Mayor Gert Onstrup Jørgensen in front of his alma mater,
Sorø Academy Photo: City of Sorø）
“Welcome to Sorø.” It was Mayor Gert Onstrup Jørgensen, who warmly received me at the historic building of the City Hall on 10 August. My trip coincided with one of the busiest days for the Mayor and the city because it was the first day of autumn term for schools after summer holidays. Despite his busy schedule, Mayor Jørgensen kindly spent his time and discussed some issues such as the friendship city exchanges with Wakuya, which started through their common interests in social welfare, how to address the COVID-19 challenges and so on. After our discussion at the City Hall, the Mayor took me around Sorø Academy established in the twelfth century around the time of foundation of Sorø by Bishop Absalon, who later on founded Copenhagen as well. It was eye-opening to learn about the history of Sorø as we walked around the vast premises of Sorø Academy.
（Sorø Academy Photo: City of Sorø） （Sorø Klosterkirke Photo: Embassy of Japan）
During our conversation in the garden of the Academy, I also shared what I had learnt about Wakuya’s long history such as the facts that gold was discovered and produced there for the first time in Japan, that in 749 during Emperor Shomu’s era, Wakuya dedicated its gold to Todaiji-temple for the erection of a huge Buddha statue, and that in 2017 Mayor and Speaker of Wakuya with the director of its social welfare center visited Sorø. At the end of this brief but unforgettable first meeting, we promised to see each other again.
（Golden Mountain Shrine, Wkuya Photo: Wakuya HP） (Photo: Wakuya HP)
I was enlightened by Mayor Jørgensen on many accounts including the importance of liberal use of modern technology such as remote video to communicate with senior citizens at home during the COVID-19 challenges by being much attentive to each person’s mind and preference. The COVID-19 has certainly been affecting social welfare administration in various ways.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the colleagues of Wakuya, including “Mr Gold (Kin-san) of Joyama” (https://www.facebook.com/town.wakuya.miyagi） who hadgiven me good advice on my visit to Sorø.
3 Kama, Fukuoka prefecture and Silkeborg
（In 2019, Mayor Akama, Kama city and Mayor Vindum signed the letter of intent for outdoor tourism exchanges in Silkeborg. Photo: Kama city）
“You would be recommended to wear sports attire since you will experience outdoor activities during the visit.” The invitation from Silkeborg contained that advice. In 2019, Silkeborg signed the letter of intent to agree to promote outdoor tourism exchanges with Kama, Fukuoka prefecture. On 13 August, three hours’ drive from Copenhagen took me to the headquarter of Nordisk, one of the oldest and most successful outdoor sports companies, who bridged the exchanges between the two cities. Probably due to a temporal renovation of the city hall, Mr. Steen Vindum, Mayor of Silkeborg warmly received me there. We discussed further development of outdoor tourism between Kama and Silkeborg, and I listened to the detailed briefing on their new strategy on sports and social welfare and an outline of the master plan based on the strategy. Later on, I shared the account with my colleagues of Kama who had kindly updated me on their latest exchanges with Silkeborg and their points of interests prior to my visit there.
（With Mayor Steen Vindum. Photo: Silkeborg City） (With Mr. Eric Møller, CEO of Nordisk . Photo: Nordisk)
My first experience of rowing kayak followed the meeting. I took the suggestion of Mr Møller, CEO of Nordisk, to change the jacket to T-shirt and short trousers. On departing from kayak, I had a very pleasant and encouraging conversation with Ms. Thea Amalie Nielsen, table tennis candidate for Tokyo Paralympic 2021, Mr. Morten Gravesen, Sprint Kayak candidate for Olympic and their management colleagues. Despite some challenges by COVID-19, the young competitors have firmly kept training and preparing. I felt that I should emulate their attitude.
（With Olympic and Paralympic candidates and the management of their team from Silkeborg）
The visit concluded with a lunch and a quick tour of the museum hosted by Mr. Jacob Thage, Director, Museum Jorn. Mayor Vindum and Mr. Møller kindly participated. (https://www.museumjorn.dk/da/samlinger/om-asger-jorn/). The Director explained the programme for the children and their families who can experience the interactions between nature and arts at and around Museum Jorn, which is located in the middle of forest and river. We put facemasks on during the tour inside the museum.
（Mr. Asger Jorn in 1950’s From “100 ARTISTS IN THE COLLECTION OF MUSEUM JORN”）
All in all, thanks to the hospitality of Silkeborg, the day trip made me deeply appreciate the spirit of Silkeborg and Kama who have been and will be pioneering their exchanges focusing on outdoor tourism with the involvement of private enterprises.
4 In the future
In Japan, Mr. Peter Taksøe-Jensen, Ambassador of Denmark to Japan, has been vigorously promoting and participating in exchanges between cities of both countries. For example, during this summer, the Ambassador drove his car to Ogata, Akita prefecture, Host Town for Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was an opportunity to deepen the exchanges. I have heard that he is also planning to visit other cities in Japan while confirming safe and freer trips within Japan would be possible vis-à-vis COVID-19.
（On 7 July, Mayor of Ogata, Akita prefecture and Ambassador Peter Taksøe-Jensen Photo: Embassy of Denmark in Japan FB）
One of the golden rules passed on from one generation to another is that person to person relations lay the foundation of the relations between the states. Since I came to Denmark and experienced every new meeting with Danish friends and colleagues, in particular with those who are involved in exchanges between cities of our countries, I think that I understand and value this old and new saying. From autumn onward, I also do look forward to any opportunities to help facilitating such exchanges between cities in Denmark and Japan.
Last but not least, the Embassy of Japan wishes you well and let us stay safe while this challenge would continue for some time. See you next month.
Embassy of Japan
Manabu MIYAGAWA
Manabu MIYAGAWA
【reference】List of sister cities and friendship cities
1989- Funabashi, Chiba prefecture and Odense(sister city)
1997- Anjo, Aichi prefecture and Kodling(sister city)
2000- Taito-ku, Tokyo and Gladsaxe (sister city)
2003- Wakuya, Miyagi prefeccture and Sorø (friendship city)
2003- Narita, Chiba prefecture and Næstved (friendship city)
2007- Noboribetsu, Hokkaido and Faaborg (friendship city)
2011- Hidaka, Wakayama and Frederikshavn (exchange students)
2018- Taiji, Wakayama prefecture and Klaksvik(Faroe Islands)（sister city）
2019- Kama, Fukuoka prefecture and Silkeborg (outdoor tourism and tourism friendship exchanges)
(Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Host Town)
Sakade and Marugame, Kagawa prefecture
Otsu, Shiga prefecture
Ogata, Akita prefecture
Noboribetsu, Hokkaido
Nagano, Nagano prefecture
Higasimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture
Nihonmatsu, Fukushima prefecture
Nerima, Tokyo