Mayor Sarno welcomes visit from Mayor Kōkichi Maeda of Takikawa, Japan to Mark the 30th Anniversary of Springfield’s Sister City

Mayor Sarno states, “It is always a pleasure to welcome my friend and Mayor of Takikawa, Japan, Kōkichi Maeda, as we celebrate and mark this special occasion of our 30^th anniversary being sister cities.  Thanks to the efforts of Sheila McElwaine, our relationship and partnership with our sister city from Japan has been tremendous.  My administration has proudly hosted and welcomed many visits from our brothers and sisters from Japan.  From welcoming Mayor Kōkichi Maeda and his delegation, to our educational exchanges and welcoming Japanese students at City Hall, we are proud to continue this great tradition going strong.  I fondly remember working with Sheila, Sharon Gazda and Kathleen Riordan to help orchestrate these visits, which were started by Sue Root when I was a Mayoral Aide during the Mayor Mary Hurley days back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  Mary also traveled to Japan to view their Maglev trains to, a precursor to West-East Rail.  I also want to thank and acknowledge Norikazu Mizuguchi, President of the Takikawa International Exchange Program, Kumiko Nomura, English Teacher at Takikawa West High School and the late Yasuhiro ‘Yas’ Yamauchi – such a gentleman, Director of the Tourism and International Affairs Department for the City of Takikawa.  Mr. Yamauchi taught in the Springfield Public Schools in the 1990’s and has served as an interpreter for many of the student groups that previously visited.”