Madison Sister City Delegation to Visit Obihiro, Japan

A delegation from the City of Madison will visit local officials in Obihiro next week to strengthen ties with Madison’s sister city in Japan. The trip was organized by the Madison-Obihiro Sister Cities Inc. board to work for peace and better understanding of all cultures. The trip is funded entirely by individual members of the delegation; no tax dollars are being spent. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will lead the delegation. 

“I want to thank Obihiro Mayor Yonezawa for graciously agreeing to host us in his beautiful city in the Tokachi Subprefecture. In addition to sharing similar climates, Madison and Obihiro also are leading cities in their commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “I’m looking forward to further strengthening our relationship with Obihiro through people-to-people international diplomacy centered on improving the daily lives of our residents.” 

The Madison delegation will include the Mayor’s partner, Amy, Council Vice President MGR Govindarajan, Ald. Yannette Figueroa Cole, Sister City Coordinator Laila D’Costa, Madison-Obihiro Board President Jo Oyama-Miller, Board Members Emma Hahn and Patrick Miles, who is also the Chair of the Dane County Board.  

Oyama-Miller was instrumental in organizing this upcoming trip and is a founding member of the Madison-Obihiro sister city committee. 

“The importance of cultural exchange and cross-border understanding has never been greater,” said Board President Jo Oyama-Miller. “I am thrilled to be able to work with our friends in Obihiro to create this opportunity to deepen the City of Madison’s relationship with our sister city and to bring back information about educational, economic and cultural opportunities to our community here in Madison.” 

Vice President Govindarajan says at a time when international collaboration is fading and immigrants are increasingly marginalized in public discourse, he’s proud to represent Madison’s legislative branch on the visit. 

“As an immigrant myself, I’ve experienced the importance and value of building bridges across cultures and borders. I’m especially excited to visit Obihiro University, which has maintained a longstanding and meaningful partnership with UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences,” said Vice President Govindarajan. “For me, these connections highlight how much stronger our communities become when we embrace global cooperation and shared learning.”

Ald. Figueroa Cole hopes to gain insight by visiting the agricultural lands around Obihiro and its urban parks. She also aims to experience firsthand the walkable neighborhoods and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. 

“This is a unique opportunity to see how another local government provides services to its residents. There is a lot we can learn from each other, and I hope to bring those ideas back to Madison to enhance our city,” said Figueroa Cole. 

Miles is Nisei, second generation Japanese American, and the first Asian American to serve as Chair of the Dane County Board. 

"For twenty years, our partnership with Obihiro has been a bridge across the globe. There’s no better time to strengthen our bond, share ideas and recognize how much we have in common with our friends in Obihiro,” said Miles. "For me, this is also a personal journey — my first visit to Japan, the country my mother called home." 

Located on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, Obihiro has a population of around 160,000. Japan is Wisconsin’s 7th largest source of imports, and since 2013 there has been over $2.6 billion in Japanese investment in Wisconsin. The delegation will learn more about Obihiro’s local government and culture from July 2-12. Since the beginning of the sister city relationship between the two cities, Mayor Rhodes-Conway is the third Madison Mayor to visit Obihiro as part of an official delegation.  

Obihiro was chosen as a Madison sister city in October 2006 because both cities have growing international populations, world-renowned universities, strong economic impacts from agriculture and the biotech sector, are located near significant bodies of water, and share similar latitudes. 

In 1986, Madison's Common Council voted to name Arcatao, El Salvador the City’s first official sister city. The Sister Cities program was formally adopted into City ordinances in 1998.