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Photos Attached: Mayor Crombie welcomes to Mississauga City Hall Kariya Mayor Yoshinori Takenaka; Mr. Hidefumi Maeda, Chair, Kariya City Council; Mr. Yasunori Nakayama, Consul General of Japan in Toronto; and Mr. Yutaka Suzuki, President of the Kariya International Friendship Association.
Mississauga – We gather to formally welcome Kariya Mayor Yoshinori Takenaka to City Hall to formally recognize and celebrate the 35thanniversary of the Mississauga-Kariya sister city relationship, Mayor Crombie said last week.
Mayor Crombie made the comments during a gathering, on Thursday June 30th, between Mississauga Councillors, senior staff and Japanese representatives who included: Mr. Hidefumi Maeda, Chair, Kariya City Council; Mr. Yasunori Nakayama, Consul General of Japan in Toronto; and Mr. Yutaka Suzuki, President of the Kariya International Friendship Association.
During the formal welcoming reception the Japanese flag was flown at Celebration Square.
Since 1981, Mississauga and the community of Kariya have enjoyed a sister-city relationship, exchanging friendship and cultural delegations. In 1992, former mayor Hazel McCallion, officially opened Kariya Park to honour this twinning relationship. The Mississauga Friendship Association was established in 1993 to promote, foster and maintain this sister-city relationship.
“Over the last 35 years Mississauga and Japanese communities have grown stronger through cultural and economic development connections,” Mayor Crombie said during an economic development networking session with the Kariya delegation and business leaders who represent Japanese-based companies that operate in Mississauga.
“In April, I joined our Economic Development Office for an investment Mission to Japan. We held meetings with business and government leaders in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Kariya. During this investment mission I had the opportunity to first meet with Mayor Takenaka.”
“Mississauga is proud to be home to 101 Japanese-based companies – more than any other Canadian city,” Mayor Crombie said. “In June 2016, Japanese-based Konica Minolta officially opened its new headquarters in Mississauga.”
During what was an afternoon filled with meetings and events, Mayor Crombie presented Mayor Takenaka with an Ojibway Hand Drum. The drum is hand-painted to reflect and honour the visual narrative values of both the Japanese and Anishinaabe people.
During his time in Mississauga, Mayor Takenaka also participated in Canada Day festivities at Celebration Square and in Port Credit.
This Sunday the 2016 Japan Festival Mississauga will take place at Celebration Square. The festival will feature authentic Japanese food, culture, stage performance more.
“Once again, I want to thank Mayor Takenaka for joining us here in Mississauga. We look forward to the next 35 years, as both Mississauga and Kariya renew our commitment to strengthen relations between our people, our businesses and to further celebrate our shared values.”
