Kauaʻi and Iwaki City reaffirm Sister City relationship in celebration of
10th anniversary
HONOLULU – Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and Mayor Hiroyuki Uchida of Iwaki City, Japan, joined community members and dignitaries on Thursday, May 21, for a special ceremony to reaffirm the Sister City relationship between the County of Kauaʻi and Iwaki City in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their official partnership.
The reaffirmation ceremony was held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel in Honolulu, coinciding with the Japan-America Society of Hawaiʻi’s Sister City Summit, which brought together Japanese and Hawaiʻi delegations from across the Pacific.
“It is a great honor to stand together with our friends from Iwaki City as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the reaffirmation of our Sister City relationship,” said Mayor Kawakami. “Although our official agreement was signed in 2011, our friendship began in 1991 when musicians and dancers from Kauaʻi were invited to perform at Spa Resort Hawaiians. That cultural exchange created a bridge across the Pacific, rooted in music, hula, and shared values. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to continued exchange, understanding, and friendship for generations to come.”
The bond between Kauaʻi and Iwaki has grown stronger not only through celebration, but also through hardship. After Hurricane ‘Iniki struck Kauaʻi in 1992, the people of Iwaki offered support with generosity and compassion. In 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami devastated the Iwaki region, the people of Kauaʻi stood in solidarity with their friends across the ocean.
Later that same year, the two communities formalized their Sister City agreement, and in 2016, the partnership was reaffirmed in Iwaki City. Thursday’s ceremony marked more than ten years of official partnership and more than three decades of friendship between the two island communities.
One of the most powerful symbols of the relationship is the yellow buoy that drifted from Onahama Port after the 2011 tsunami and was later found off the shores of Kauaʻi. In 2014, the County dedicated the Iwaki Buoy Monument in ʻEleʻele to honor the lives lost and to remind future generations that even across vast oceans, the two communities remain forever linked.
“Mahalo to Mayor Uchida and the entire Iwaki delegation for traveling across the Pacific to be with us today,” Mayor Kawakami added. “To our friends from Iwaki City, mahalo for your friendship, your strength, and your unwavering aloha across the ocean.”
Mayor Kawakami also extended special thanks to Ms. Reyna Kaneko, President of the Japan-America Society of Hawaiʻi, for helping to coordinate the ceremony, and to Mr. Atsushi Nishiyama, Director of Iwaki City’s Exchange Promotion Division, for his ongoing commitment to cultural exchange between the two communities.
The Iwaki delegation included Mayor Hiroyuki Uchida; Mr. Satoshi Sakamoto, Desk Chief of the Secretariat; Mr. Atsushi Nishiyama, Director of the Exchange Promotion Division; and Mr. Takayuki Inuzuka, staff of the Exchange Promotion Division. Also in attendance were State of Hawai‘i Director of DBEDT James Tokioka and Japan Consul General Hideaki Chotoku, along with County of Kauaʻi representatives and local dignitaries.
Thursday’s reaffirmation reflects a shared commitment between Kauaʻi and Iwaki to continue building meaningful connections through cultural exchange, education, and mutual support, while passing the spirit of friendship on to the next generation.
County of Kaua‘i Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami (left) and Iwaki City Mayor Hiroyuki Uchida (right) sign friendship agreements, reaffirming the sister city relationship between Kaua‘i and Iwaki.
Group photo of the Kaua‘i and Iwaki delegations at the Kaua‘i – Iwaki Sister City Reaffirmation Ceremony.
Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami presents Mayor Hiroyuki Uchida with an official gift in celebration of a decade of the sister city relationship between Kaua‘i and Iwaki.
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