A shot of Wuhu of Anhui Province sitting astride the Yangtze River. [Photo/VCG]

In 1985, Japan's Kochi and China's Wuhu, Anhui Province, established sister-city relations. Since then, the two cities have had many exchanges in the fields of economy, trade, culture, education, and science and technology. Frequent high-level visits and close people-to-people exchanges have deepened their mutual understanding and friendship. 

Friendship across generations

In November 2008, a contingent of over 30 faculty members from the Kochi Shogyo High School led by headmaster Yokogawa Nagao paid an academic visit to the Wuhu Vocational Education Center. During the visit, both parties exchanged gifts, discussed pedagogies, and conducted various interactions between teachers and students. The visit ended successfully with popular Chinese and Japanese folk songs sung by faculty members from both parties. Headmaster Yokogawa Nagao expressed his deep gratitude to all the teachers and students of the Wuhu Vocational Education Center for their warm hospitality and hoped that their friendship would last forever. The two schools became sister schools in 2002, with multiple visits ever since.

In September 2011, Takuka Okazaki, the then deputy director of the Shanghai Office of Kochi Prefecture, Japan, and his party paid a friendly visit to Wuhu. They visited Wugao Industry, a Japanese-funded enterprise, and attended the third China International Cartoon Creative Industry Fair in Wuhu. After experiencing the endless fun of animation and the fashion of the ancient city, Okazaki said that Wuhu is a civilized, open and innovative city with its beautiful urban scenery and profound cultural heritage adding radiance to each other. Also, he promised, after his return, to continue promoting Wuhu and deepening exchanges between Wuhu and Kochi.