Representatives from the City and Borough of Sitka visited Japan last month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Nemuro, a coastal city on the eastern edge of Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost island.
Three city officials, plus spouses traveling on their own dime, flew to Nemuro for three days, where mayors of both communities signed a joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to friendship and cooperation.
Melissa Lunas is the public and government relations director for the City and Borough of Sitka, and attended the trip alongside Sitka’s mayor and municipal administrator. She said the relationship between Sitka and Nemuro began with conversations in 1970 and led to a formalized sister city partnership five years later.
“There was a resolution at the time, and it recognized that both cities are located on mountainous islands in the North Pacific, and many citizens were making their living with fishing and seafood related industries,” Lunas said. “So it was a very simple purpose to promote friendship and understanding between the two communities that were connected by the sea.”
Over the past five decades, there have been exchanges between the two communities nearly every year, including 20 visits from Nemuro officials and students to Sitka and six visits from Sitkans to Nemuro. But a municipal delegation from Sitka hasn’t visited the Japanese city since 1990, when then-mayor Dan Keck and six others visited for three days.
“In 1980, there was a Baranof Bluegrass Band, and they went over there,” Lunas said. “And there’s been lots of student relationships. But also, over the decades, cultural visits by Sitka New Archangel dancers, and their East Point Orchestra has come over and we’ve had students come back and forth over the years as well.”
Lunas said much of this ongoing connection between the two cities was made possible by former Sitka-resident Atsuo Tsunoda, who’s helped coordinate exchanges for decades, interpreted during visits and mentored students in both communities.
“Those exchanges [are] so important,” Tsunoda said. “I enjoy those activities I’m so happy to do.”
The 81-year-old who currently lives in Tokyo, moved from Japan to Sitka in 1978 to work at the now-closed pulp mill. He lived on the island for 22 years and has two daughters who graduated from Sitka High School.
“I’m kind of the in between to coordinating, helping, assisting the assembly in what I can do,” he said. “[For the] last 46 years I’ve done it, and I enjoyed that.”
Tsunoda said as staff have come and gone at both city governments over the years, his continuity has helped maintain and strengthen the sister city relationship.
“International friendship is so important, I think. So I strongly hope for those relationships [to] continue in the future too,” he said.
During the 50th anniversary visit in October, both cities held a formal ceremony, exchanged gifts and Tsunoda received recognition from Nemuro for his dedication to keeping the cities connected. Lunas said the visit also included an online exchange between Sitka and Nemuro High School students, a city museum and City Hall tour and a traditional tea ceremony.
“We were just going all day, all night,” she said.
At the Oct. 28 Sitka Assembly meeting, Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said he’d learned a lot on the trip that he thought could be applicable to Sitka. He recalled the group’s tour of the Nemuro Fisheries Research Institute where they’re using hatchery technology to raise king crab.
“Right now, it involves basically capturing a pregnant female, hatching those eggs, raising them till they’re a size where they have some viability out in nature, and pumping them back out,” he said. “I think some of their work could be translated over here on how can we potentially rebuild some of our king crab populations. They’re doing the same with sea urchins. I know we don’t need more sea urchins in this area, but it is an important food source for them. So they’re looking at repopulating urchins.”
Eisenbeisz said, most of all, he wanted to thank the assembly and Sitkans for sending the delegation to Nemuro, and hoped that Nemuro’s delegation would come back to Sitka in the future.
“It meant a lot to our sister city Nemuro,” he said. “They were overjoyed that we were able to come. And they showed that in every single experience they had.”
