Revitalizing Regional Exchanges between the United States and Japan:
Examples of Sister-City Exchanges

With the goal of revitalizing sister-city exchanges between Japan and the United States, this project seeks to identify ways to overcome the issues that have led to the stagnation of many of these exchanges and to explore appropriate models for sister-city exchange in the twenty-first century. JCIE and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership will jointly develop a strategic model for the reinvigoration of regional exchanges between Japan and the United States, using sister-city exchanges as examples. Focusing on five selected Japanese regions with sister-city ties to the United States, two individuals from each region who have played a leading role in sister-city exchange will be chosen to join a ten-member study committee to revitalize sister cities in the United States and Japan. Sample topics to be addressed include the following: (1) methods of expanding civic participation in exchange activities; (2) securing financial resources for exchange programs; (3) issues in the United States and improving communication; (4) exploring new, updated themes for exchange; (5) sustainability of sister-city cooperation; (6) possibilities for new, IT-based exchange methods.