Sister Cities - Overview
There are 42 official sister city relationships between New Zealand and Japan. New Zealand has more local governmental international affiliations with Japan than with any other country, whereas, New Zealand is the 9th most prevalent country for Japanese local government international affiliations. The first sister city agreement was signed between Christchurch and Kurashiki-shi (Okayama Prefecture) on 7 March, 1973.
Japan - New Zealand Sister Cities
In this table:
- shi is the English equivalent to “city”
- ku is the English equivalent to “area”
- machi or – cho is the English equivalent to “town”
- mura or – son is the English equivalent to “village”
- * indicates link in Japanese Only
- ( ) indicates prefecture in which the Japanese city, area, and village
Date of Agreement |
New Zealand |
Japan |
| 7 March, 1973 | Christchurch | Kurashiki-shi* (Okayama) |
| 7 May, 1976 | Nelson | Miyazu-shi (Kyoto) |
| 22 April, 1980 | Napier | Tomakomai-shi (Hokkaido) |
| 25 July, 1980 | Dunedin | Otaru-shi (Hokkaido) |
| 24 February, 1982 | Manukau | Utsunomiya-shi* (Tochigi) |
| 28 July, 1983 | Wanaka, Queenstown Lake District | Hikimi-cho (Shimane) |
| 6 December, 1983 | Maungakiekie – Auckland | Tomioka-machi (Fukushima) |
| 14 May, 1984 | Hamilton, Waikato | Saitama-shi (Saitama) |
| 24 June, 1986 | Auckland | Fukuoka-shi (Fukuoka) |
| 10 July, 1987 | Rotorua | Beppu-shi (Oita) |
| 7 October, 1987 | Taupo | Hakone-machi (Kanagawa) |
| 14 October, 1987 | Ashuburton County | Shiozawa-machi (Niigata) |
| 18 April, 1988 | Tauranga | Hitachi-shi (Ibaraki) |
| 29 April, 1988 | Wanganui | Nagaizumi-cho* (Shizuoka) |
| 7 July, 1989 | Marlborough | Tendo-shi* (Yamagata) |
| 30 March, 1990 | Gisborne | Nonoichi-machi* (Ishikawa) |
| 16 January, 1991 | Marlborough | Otari-mura* (Nagano) |
| 29 April, 1991 | New Plymouth, Taranaki | Mishima-shi* (Shizuoka) |
| 4 May, 1992 | Waitakere | Kakogawa-shi* (Hyogo) |
| 9 September, 1992 | Selwyn | Akitakata-shi* (Hiroshima) |
| 20 April, 1993 | Invercargill | Kumagaya-shi (Saitama) |
| 13 May, 1993 | Far North District | Yuasa-cho* (Wakayama) |
| 17 May, 1993 | Auckland | Shinagawa-ku (Tokyo) |
| 28 October, 1993 | Tasman District Council | Fujimi-machi* (Nagano) |
| 15 December, 1993 | Porirua | Nishio-shi (Aichi) |
| l4 February, 1994 | Wellington | Sakai-shi (Osaka) |
| 31 January, 1995 | Horowhenua District | Shimofusa-machi* (Chiba) |
| 30 March, 1995 | Waitomo | Tatsuno-machi (Nagano) |
| 16 July, 1995 | Hutt | Minoh-shi (Osaka) |
| 7 September, 1997 | Motueka – Tasman | Kiyosato-cho* (Hokkaido) |
| 12 October, 1997 | Cambridge – Waipa | Bihoro-cho* (Hokkaido) |
| 7 November, 1997 | Turangi / Tongariro, Taupo | Kitashiobara-mura* (Fukushima) |
| 16 November, 1997 | Wakatane | Kamagaya-shi* (Chiba) |
| 19, December, 1997 | Tauranga | Susaki-shi (Kochi) |
| 21 April, 1998 | Masterton | Hatsukaichi-shi* (Hiroshima) |
| 8 May, 1999 | Wairoa District | Kitaibaraki-shi* (Ibaraki) |
| 20 October, 1999 | Warkworth – Rodney District | Furudono-machi* (Fukushima) |
| 11 July, 2000 | Ruapehu | Hidaka-cho (Hyogo) |
| 14 July, 2000 | Selwyn | Yuubetsu-cho* (Hokkaido) |
| 26 July, 2002 | Franklin District – Pukekohe Ward | Hara-mura* (Nagano) |
| 7 November, 2002 | Clutha District | Nantan-shi* (Kyoto) |
| 13 February, 2008 | Timaru | Eniwa-shi (Hokkaido) |