By Tom McClimon
December 13, 2004

"We have much in common and can learn from one another" was the message that Conference President Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic took through out his week-long visit to Japan to attend the Japan-U.S. Cities Summit in Hiroshima and meet with the Japan Association of City Mayors in Tokyo November 17 to 19.

Attending the Japan-U.S. Cities Summit, Plusquellic pledged the cooperation of the Conference of Mayors to continue the dialogue between U.S. and Japan mayors, and to work towards new ways to share best practices between mayors. "It is vitally important today that we look to each other to learn how to address common local problems. Meeting in this city reminds us on how important it is to continue to talk and work with one another," he said.

Plusquellic attended the Japan-U.S. Cities Summit along with five other U.S. mayors — Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, Tacoma Mayor William Baarsma, Fremont Mayor Gus Morrison, and Saipan Mayor Juan Borja Tudela. The Summit was hosted by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and was attended by a number of mayors from Japanese cities. Representatives from such U.S. cities as Long Beach, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Maui, Torrance, and Santa Cruz also attended the meeting.

In Tokyo, Plusquellic meet with Japan Association of City Mayors Secretary General Suzuki where he pledged to continue to work to strengthen the strong partnership between the two mayor's organizations that began over a decade ago.

Japan-U.S. Cities Summit

The purpose of the Summit was to bring together American and Japanese mayors to discuss common local problems. Over 100 representatives from United States and Japanese cities participated in the conference.

American mayors played a prominent role in the meeting. Plusquellic gave the closing session keynote address and moderated a session on "Utilizing Local Resources in Citizen-Led Community Building." Morrison served as moderator for the session on "Local Government in the Information Age" as well as served as a panelist for the session on "The Environment and Sustainable City Development." Harris played a major role in giving both the opening session keynote address on "The Important Global Role of Sustainable Cities" and also served as the coordinator for the session on "The Environment and Sustainable City Development." Tudela gave a case study presentation at the session on "Local Economic Invigoration and the Creation of New Industry and Enterprise." Baarsma was a presenter at the session on "Local Government in the Information Age." Fargo served as the American spokesperson at the Dogwood Tree Planting Ceremony.

Being in the city where the first atomic bomb blast occurred, the mayors took the opportunity to pay their respects to the bomb's victims. Plusquellic led the delegation in placing a wreath on behalf of the Conference of Mayors at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb victims. The mayors also toured Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Museum. At the museum, Plusquellic signed the official dignitary book of remembrance on behalf of the Conference of Mayors. The mayors also participated in a Dogwood Planting Ceremony along the Kyobashi River. Over the past four years, the city has received over 92,000 dogwood tree seeds from American citizens. These seeds were to act as an exchange for the cherry trees given by the Japanese people to American citizens. Over 100 trees were planted as part of the ceremony that the mayors participated in. Eventually there will be over 1,000 dogwood trees that will line the riverbanks of the Kyobashi River.

Plusquellic had a private meeting with the host mayor, Tadatoshi Akiba. Akiba is one of the founders and leaders of the Mayors for Peace organization, which is working to eliminate nuclear weapons and promote the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Conference of Mayors at its Annual Meeting last year in Boston passed a resolution in support of the organization's efforts. In their meeting, Plusquellic invited Akiba to address the Conference at its upcoming Winter Meeting and pledged to work with the mayor in his efforts. In return, Akiba thanked Plusquellic for the Conference's strong support and invited him and the Conference to participate in sessions to be held May 1-3 at the United Nations on nuclear disarmament.

The mayors from both countries pledged to continue to work towards maintaining the dialogue started at the Hiroshima Summit. It was agreed to explore ways that the Conference of Mayors along with the Japan Association of City Mayors could work together to sponsor similar summits in the future.

Japan Association of City Mayors

Traveling to Tokyo, Plusquellic held a meeting with the Japan Association of City Mayors. Renewing a partnership began nearly two decades ago, Plusquellic and the Secretary General of the Japan Association of City Mayors pledged to examine ways to further strengthen the partnership between the two mayors' organizations. Plusquellic invited the Japanese mayors' organization to send a delegation to the United States next year.

In addition to their talks on ways to strengthen their friendship, Plusquellic and Suzuki talked about a number of common local problems, such as efforts by both countries national governments to shift more of the costs of governmental services to local governments while at the same time decrease the amount of government assistance. Suzuki pointed out that in Japan local governments must absorb 70 percent of the costs of governmental services but only receive 30 percent of government revenues. Similar homeland security problems and costs were also an item of discussion.

Plusquellic and Suzuki agreed to examine ways that both organizations might be able to participate in each other's annual meetings next year.