A Brief History of Long Beach-Yokkaichi Sister City Relationship
On Sept. 25, 1963, the Long Beach City Council led by Mayor Edwin Wade unanimously recognized the Japanese port city of Yokkaichi as its Sister City.
Then on Oct. 7, 1963, the City Assembly in Yokkaichi led by Mayor Sukenori Hirata approved the relationship.
The Board of Harbor Commissions for the Port of Long Beach accepted the sponsorship of the Sister City Program for Yokkaichi at its meeting on Jan. 6, 1964. One of the first activities was an exchange of paintings by school children in the two cities.
The first official joint meeting of the Sister City Committees representing Long Beach and Yokkaichi was held on Aug. 10, 1964, with the primary discussion being the exchange of students.
They planned for two Yokkaichi students to come in the summer of 1965 and two Long Beach high school students to visit Yokkaichi the following summer.
The cultural exchange, referred to as the Trio, includes a teacher from each city and continues to this day.
In the summer of 2009, Kari Milton, a teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District, and Long Beach high school students Faustine Chow and Gage Hulsey, who have been selected as the Trio, will visit Yokkaichi from July 21 through Aug. 11. This is Long Beach’s 45th Annual Trio Cultural Exchange.
Cultural exchange is the hallmark of the four current programs of the Long Beach-Yokkaichi Sister City Association.