Kauaʻi, Iwaki Mayors Reaffirm 10-Year Sister City Pact in Honolulu
Updated
Updated · Kauai Now · May 22
Kauaʻi, Iwaki Mayors Reaffirm 10-Year Sister City Pact in Honolulu
1 articles · Updated · Kauai Now · May 22
Honolulu hosted a reaffirmation ceremony Thursday as Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami and Iwaki Mayor Hiroyuki Uchida marked 10 years of the official sister-city relationship.
The anniversary event coincided with the Japan-America Society of Hawaiʻi’s Sister City Summit, bringing Japanese and Hawaiʻi delegations together around continued cultural, educational and community exchange.
The partnership traces back to 1991 cultural performances in Iwaki and was strengthened by mutual support after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
A yellow buoy swept from Onahama Port to Kauaʻi after the 2011 tsunami remains a symbol of that bond; Kauaʻi dedicated an Iwaki Buoy Monument in 2014, and the partnership was last reaffirmed in Iwaki in 2016.
As skepticism over foreign ties grows, what makes the Kauaʻi-Iwaki relationship a model for the future?
A tsunami-tossed buoy sealed their bond. How will two cities now fund their joint fight against future disasters?