19 Apr, 2022
Celebrating our 40 year relationship with Himeji
The City of Adelaide is holding a celebration in Adelaide-Himeji Garden today to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Himeji, Japan.
Himeji Mayor Hideyasu Kiyomoto will deliver a video message to Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor and special guests including His Excellency, Mr Yamagami Shingo, Ambassador of Japan to Australia, Mr Shimada Junji, Consul-General in Melbourne, Federal and State Members for Adelaide and the Minister for Tourism.
Himeji is known for UNESCO world heritage listed Himeji Castle, modern architecture, arts and culture, and festivals.
The sister city relationship was established in 1982 for the purposes of deepening mutual understanding, friendship and goodwill through programmes of educational, cultural, social and economic exchange.
Partnership outcomes to date have included economic benefits from visits and delegations, the beautiful Adelaide-Himeji Garden in the southern Park Lands, and student and cultural exchanges.
The Lord Mayor thanked the City of Himeji for its many years of friendship and expressed Adelaide’s deepest respect for its sister city.
“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our cities have stayed close and continued to connect with another in the spirit of friendship and I believe our best days together are still ahead of us,” said the Lord Mayor.
“Looking forward, there is so much for our two cities to share as Australia and Japan continue to work together – particularly in the exciting field of space exploration, with the Australian Space Agency based here in Adelaide.”
Mayor Kiyomoto also expressed Himeji’s gratitude and respect for the City of Adelaide in his message.
“Thanks to your great efforts, we have been able to establish and build upon our sister city relationship across this long period of the last 40 years. For this, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Adelaide community,” said the Mayor.
“In recent years, mutual visits have been unavoidably cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, even with unpredictable circumstances, we did not isolate ourselves from one another and have continued to remain connected through our strong bond. I believe that as we overcome these events, this bond will further solidify.”
Today’s event starts from 2:00pm in Adelaide-Himeji Garden and media are welcome to attend.
For more information
Matthew Halliwell