Let us remind you that the Japanese city of Kawasaki was among the first cities that the City of Rijeka twinned with by signing the first Friendship and Cooperation Agreement in 1977.

Mayor Filipović pointed out that the long-standing friendship between the two cities had resulted in cooperation on numerous projects over the years.

“Our two cities are connected by more than 40 years of friendship, and I believe that in a few years we will celebrate half a century of our exceptionally good cooperation in a special way,” said mayor Filipović, highlighting also very good cooperation with the Embassy of Japan in Croatia.

city of Kawasaki was among the first cities that the City of Rijeka twinned with

In his talks with the Japanese Ambassador Masato, Mayor Filipović pointed the implementation of several most significant ongoing projects in Rijeka, which would contribute to a better quality of life in the city and its citizens, such as the construction of road infrastructure, the planning of a new marina that would change the outlook of the city and will also influence the development of nautical and urban tourism. He also mentioned soon completion of works relating to the new hospital building and the new building of the city library in the art quarter Benčić. Since it is an infrastructure project realised owing to the fact that Rijeka in 2020 held the title of European Capital of Culture, the mayor also highlighted good cooperation with the EU Japan Fest Foundation, which had been supporting ECC cities for many years by financing the participation of Japanese artists and organisations in ECC cities’ programmes.

“I am glad that the Embassy of Japan and the City of Rijeka have established long and successful cooperation. To date, we have already cooperated in organising a number of events, mostly cultural ones, and I hope that we will continue this cooperation in the future. We already plan a diverse cultural programme for next year, which would also include the arrival of Japanese artists, and I believe that some of the planned events will also be organised in Rijeka in order that citizens may get to know better our culture”, said Ambassador Masato, who will attend this evening the opening of the Cycle of Japanese movies at the Art cinema.

During the today’s reception the ambassador and the mayor also discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the field of entrepreneurship and the economy of the two countries, that is, of linkage between entrepreneurs from Rijeka and Japan.

mayor Marko Filipović and Ambassador Iso Masato

The cooperation between Rijeka and Japan, primarily the city of Kawasaki, is most intense on projects in the field of culture and education. The City of Kawasaki provided support to Rijeka during its candidature for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2020.

Also, over the years, many Japanese artists sojourned in Rijeka and participated in various events such as the International Carnival Parade and the St. Vitus’ Days. Earlier this year, Ambassador Masato participated in the Gala party held on the eve of the International Carnival Parade.

Mayor Filipović and Ambassador Masato exchanged suitable gifts with mutual wishes for successful continuation of cooperation in the future.

In addition to mayor Filipović, the reception in honour of the Ambassador H.E. Iso Masato was also attended by Astrid Massari, a member of the Committee for Interurban and International Cooperation of the Rijeka City Council. The Ambassador was accompanied by Third Secretary Yutaro Nishida.