NEWS RELEASE

                               Department of Customer Services

                               City & County of Honolulu

                               523-4385 (www.co.honolulu.hi.us/newsroom)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2002

                                      JAPAN – U.S. CITIES SUMMIT

            Mayor Koichi Sueyoshi of Kitakyushu, Japan comes to Honolulu on Wednesday, July 10 to meet with Mayor Harris and make final plans for the formation of the Japan-U.S. Cities Summit. Representatives from Fukuoka and Hiroshima, Japan will also attend. 

            This organization will replace the Japan-American Conference of Mayors and Chamber of Commerce Presidents (JACMCCP).  Mayor Harris has led the American delegations to the JACMCCP since 1997, and will continue to serve in that capacity with the Japan-U.S. Cities Summit.

            It aims to strengthen the network of American and Japanese cities with a new international framework appropriate for the 21^st century. Participants will include city leaders and mayors, government officials, business people including chambers of commerce, academics and researchers. The 11 major Japanese cities participating in the creation of the Japan-U.S. Cities Summit include: Chiba, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Tsukuba, Yokosuka, Yokkaichi and Sakai.

           Hiroshima, Honolulu’s first Sister City, will host the first Summit in the autumn of 2004. It will be held biennially in alternate countries. 

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