Hellenic Republic Lefkada

【Outline】 

Land Area: 302 km²
（Lefkada Island）
Population: Approximately 21,000

Lefkada is an island in the Ionian Sea, blessed with a temperate Mediterranean climate. It is located about 30 meters from the mainland of Greece, to which it is connected with a road.
The harmony of mountains, valleys, plains, and coastlines of the city of Lefkada is exquisite, and the city has a rich culture and long history as the center of agriculture, fishery, and tourism. Blessed with beautiful shorelines, it is famous as a resort area for many tourists from various parts of Europe. In addition, many people come from all parts of the world for the International Speech and Arts Festival, and the International Folklore Festival held every year.

【Background to the Friendship City Agreement】
Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), a literary artist during the Meiji period, was born in 1850 on the Island of Lefkada, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. After living in Ireland and the U.S., he came to Japan in 1890, married in Japan and had a family. While teaching at several institutions, such as the University of Tokyo and Waseda University, he played an important role in introducing traditional Japanese culture and folk stories to the world. In his later years, he lived in Shinjuku, and died in Okubo. As a result, the Friendship City Agreement between Shinjuku and Lefkada was signed on October 12, 1989. Since then, various exchange programs, such as the Children’s Art Exchange Program, have been held in an effort to strengthen mutual understanding and friendships to create a peaceful international society.

Federal Republic of Germany Mitte, Berlin

【Outline】

Land Area: 39.47 km²
Population: Approximately 320,000

Mitte is located in the center of Berlin and is one of the 12 wards of that city.Mitte’s historical buildings include the German Cathedral, St. Marien Church, and Berliner Dom, as well as the famous Brandenburg Gate, and cultural/academic institutions such as Humboldt University, Pergamon Museum, Berliner Philharmonie and Deutsches Theater. The center of redevelopment in Mitte is in the commercial-industrial district of Potsdamer Platz. Here, there are many important facilities, tourist spots and government buildings, such as the German Parliament Building and Schloss Bellevue (the principal residence of the German President), which help make the city a busy place with tourists from around the world.

【Background to the Friendship City Agreement】

On January 1, 2001, present day Mitte was formed through a merger of three districts: Tiergarten, which had conducted friendship city exchange programs with Shinjuku until then, Mitte and Wedding.
Shinjuku had conducted exchange programs with the former Tiergarten district through resident chorus groups and youth exchange programs, and signed a Friendly Cooperative Agreement on July 6, 1994.
We believe that a city like Shinjuku, which is located in the center of the international city of Tokyo, and a city like Mitte, which is located in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany, can learn a lot from each other, and thereby play an important role in helping the other city work on city planning in order to create a more comfortable environment for our inhabitants to live in.

People’s Republic of China Dongcheng District, Beijing

【Outline】
Land Area: 41.84 km²
Population: Approximately 860,000

Dongcheng is located in the center of Beijing and is one of two districts in that city (Dongcheng and Xicheng).
With Tiananmen Square and Gugong, a world-famous group of buildings, located in Dongcheng District, the city welcomes crowds of tourists every year.
Also popular is Wanfujing shopping district, which has a history of over 100 years as the center of commerce in Beijing. Thousands of shoppers go there every day.

【Background to the Friendship City Agreement】

Shinjuku City has strengthened it friendly ties with Dongcheng District in Beijing, China through exchange programs, involving senior citizen gateball games, youth soccer games and ping-pong games. A friendly exchange and cooperation agreement was signed on October 15, 1995.
On August 11, 1997, the Revised Agreement Related to the Establishment of a Friendship District Relationship was signed to strengthen our friendly ties even more.
With Dongcheng District located in the center of Beijing, and Shinjuku located in the center of Tokyo, both areas share the characteristic of being located in the center of a capital city. Based on our agreement, we look forward to future culture and education-related exchanges between our residents.

Nagano Prefecture Ina City

【Outline】
Land Area: 667.81 km²
Population: Approximately 70,000

Located in the southern part of Nagano Prefecture and surrounded by two mountain ranges—the Southern Alps and Central Alps—with the Tenryu and Mibu rivers flowing through its center, Ina City is rich in natural scenery as well as in history and culture.
In spring, many tourists visit Ina City to see cherry blossoms in Takato Joshi Park, which are called the most beautiful cherry blossoms in the world.

【Background to the Friendship City Agreement】
The Ina City of today was established on March 31, 2006, when the old city of Ina merged with the town of Takato and the village of Hase. Up until the merger, Shinjuku City had a friendship city relationship with the town of Takato.
The relationship between Shinjuku City and the former town of Takato dates back to the Edo period. The area where Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is currently located was the premises of Lord Naito of the Takato domain and the place he built his secondary mansion. A part of the property later became a new post station, Naito Shinjuku, and Takato and Shinjuku have continued mutual exchanges ever since. The friendship between these two areas became stronger, and on July 12, a little more than 20 years ago, in 1986, 25 years ago, a friendship city agreement was signed. Memory of the historical significance of these two towns has been fostered by many people, and friendly exchanges have been conducted with community residents playing the main role. Even after Takato became a part of the new Ina City, Shinjuku City signed a friendship city agreement with Ina City on July 2, 2006, with the hope of further developing friendly ties.