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The city of Yokohama has eight sister/friendship cities and seven partner cities. The year 2015 marks 50 years since Yokohama entered into a sister-city agreement with each of the cities of Mumbai, Manila, Odessa and Vancouver in 1965. This June, the representatives of these cities gathered in Yokohama and joined the Commemorative Forum for the 50th Anniversary of our sister-city relationship. At the same time they signed the joint declaration in order to confirm the significance of the experience gained from half a century of sister-city ties and aim to further deepen cooperation in various fields.

At the beginning of September I visited Odessa in Ukraine, one of the 50th anniversary cities of our sister-city relationship. The city of Odessa is a very beautiful harbor city facing the Black Sea. The city of Yokohama presented 25 rose bushes to Odessa in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Roses

are the symbol flower of Yokohama. On September 2nd, the rose planting ceremony was held at the Lunniy Park in Odessa. Mr. Sekiyama, Director General of International Affairs Bureau of the City of Yokohama, attended and congratulated. Mr. Trukhanov, the mayor of Odessa, and Mr. Sumi, Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine also attended it. I am glad the citizens of Odessa will be able to feel Yokohama through the roses in bloom in the near future.

The Japanese cultural festival which is held every five years had been taking place for three days in Odessa. A lot of events such as Japanese language classes, Judo tournament for children and youth, and quiz tournament for kids etc., were held in each place in Odessa. I visited these events in order to inform of the attractiveness of Yokohama and make a good relationship with participants.

It is said that only very few Japanese people live in Odessa, so it is difficult for the citizens of Odessa to feel Japan closely. I sincerely hope that these steady exchanges would connect exchanges for cultural, sports and economical fields between the two cities. And we, the City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representative Office, would like to increasingly continue to make our good relationship stronger than ever before with all our sister cities and partner cities in Europe.

Thank you very much for your kindness, and I really appreciate your continued support.

Takashi YanagisawaChief Representative

The City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representative Office

The City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representative Office was established in 1997 to promote business relations between Yokohama and Europe. The Yokohama City government also maintains an office in Shanghai, China and in Mumbai, India.

Our mission is to:• encourage economic cooperation, be it on the administrative level or between companies• attract European investment and business interests to Yokohama• support Yokohama businesses to become more active in the European market• conduct information exchange between Yokohama and Europe

The City of Yokohama

Frankfurt Representative Office

Newsletter

September 2015 Issue

Message from the Chief Representative:

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Yokohama Newsletter September 2015

05 – 08 October 2015 < Asia Steel International Conference 2015 >The purpose of this annual conference is to provide a setting for the exchange

information on issues related to the iron and steel production and processing. It is held every three years. Venue countries so far were China, India, Japan and Korea. This year’s conference is held in Yokohama to mark the 100th anniversary of the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan established in 1915.

http://www.asiasteel2015.com/

10 – 11 October 2015 < Yokohama Jazz Promenade 2015 >“Yokohama Jazz Promenade” was started in 1993 through the involvement of citizens and musicians. Its scale

has steadily expanded over the years with the support of and cooperation from many people. Today, “Yokohama Jazz Promenade” is one of the largest jazz festivals in Japan, attracting an audience of more than 100,000 people and more than 2,000 professional and amateur musicians from Japan and overseas every year. Various styles of live jazz sessions will be played in about 50 venues including concert halls, live houses, and on the streets. Audiences can enjoy exquisite sessions of young and veteran musician at various venues around the City. Backed by the enterprising spirit of a port city, “Yokohama Jazz Promenade” integrally reflects the entire advantage of Yokohama’s history, culture and location.

http://jazzpro.jp/en.php

14 – 16 October 2015 < BioJapan 2015 >As Asia's premier partnering event for the global biotechnology industry,

BioJapan has been playing a vital role in facilitating interaction between Japanese and global companies and organizations, and stimulating new business opportunities. Biotechnology industry's top business development and licensing professionals, alliance management professionals, R&D personnel and biotech company executives from Japan and the world will gather in Pacifico Yokohama for the 17th BioJapan.

The City of Yokohama, together with Kanagawa prefecture, the city of Kawasaki, Kihara Memorial Yokohama Foundation for the Advancement of Life Sciences, Kanagawa Science Park and companies from the region will exhibit together at the joint booth “Kanagawa Pavillon”.

For European companies interested in visiting BioJapan 2015, our office can provide free entrance tickets. Please contact us for details.

http://www.ics-expo.jp/biojapan/

18 – 20 November 2015 < Embedded Technology 2015 >At the 29th Embedded Technology exhibition major semiconductor companies, processor vendors, OS, middle-

ware, development tools, board computer, measurement hardware, and design houses present their lates products and develoments.

http://www.jasa.or.jp/expo/english/

30 November – 4 December 2015 < ICOPE 2015 >ICOPE (International Conference on Power Engineering) is an international conference targeting a vast area

of power and energy systems studies with the exception of nuclear power generation. The conference is drawing

♦ Upcoming Events in Yokohama 2♦ Business Information 3♦ Information from the City Government 3♦ Operations of the Representative Office 4

♦ Upcoming Events in Yokohama

Contents:

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Yokohama Newsletter September 2015

attention as an ideal place to present on a variety of studies such as developments of industrial technologies, researches on measuring methods and evaluation tools, and feasibility studies. The conference is held every two years in a different city.

http://www.jsme.or.jp/pes/ICOPE-15/

< Business and management skills course for women entrepreneurs >A course specially designed for women who want to start their own business is being offered in Yokohama.

From September until January, participants learn about legal issues, entrepreneurship, management skills and support structures for new entrepreneurs. The course is offered by the Yokohama company “Women Net Academy & Consulting”, and pays special attention to women’s questions and challenges. For example, daycare is offered for a small fee so that mothers can attend without worrying about how to take care of their young children during the classes.

< Rate of empty office space lowest in 12 years >As the economy is picking up, the rate of empty office space is decreasing in and around Tokyo. From nearly

10% in 2012 in Tokyo, the rate of available office real estate went down to under 5% this August. As a result, office rents in Tokyo increased 4.5% from last year. Yokohama is feeling the effects, as it is favoured by many businesses due to its proximity to Tokyo. Good locations are filling up quickly, and office rents in Yokohama have been on the rise for the past five months.

< Promotion of Yokohama at Seatrade Europe >The Seatrade Europe, one of the biggest cruise and river cruise

conventions in the world, was held in Hamburg this September. Takashi Yanagisawa, Chief Representative of Yokohama in Frankfurt, visited and informed several key persons of cruise companies about the attractiveness and advantages of the Port of Yokohama.

http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/kowan/english/

02 – 05 September 2015 < 50th anniversary of sister city relations with Odessa >This year marks the 50th anniversary of the sister city relations between Yokohama and Odessa. In 1965,

Yokohama entered into sister city relations with four cities on three continents: Mumbai (India), Manila (Philippines) , Vancouver (Canada) and Odessa (Ukraine).

Odessa is a historical harbour city in southern Ukraine, famous as a centre of commerce and industry, but also for its culture and arts. Yokohama and Odessa have more in common: both cities were rebuilt as international port cities after being destroyed by war. For the last five decades, Yokohama and Odessa have been cooperating in many fields, such as culture, sports and healthcare. The Yokohama Odessa Friendship Committee is very actively engaged in citizens’ exchange, exchanging delegations between t h e t w o s i s t e r c i t i e s , a n d

supporting Japanese language education in Odessa. Every five years, Odessa organizes a large Japanese festival, where young and old Odessites can experience Japanese culture first-hand.

For this year’s 50th anniversary, Yokohama gave a special present to Odessa’s citizens: 25 rose bushes, planted in a prominent spot in Odessa. Mr. Makoto Sekiyama, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau of the City of Yokohama, and Mr. Takashi Yanagisawa, Chief Representative of Yokohama in Frankfurt, visited Odessa to transmit the greetings and congratulations of Mayor Fumiko Hayashi.

♦ Business information

♦ Information from the city government

Yokohama Newsletter September 2015

< City Promotion >19 July 2015 - Promoted Yokohama at the Japanfest in MunichBy invitation of the Consulate General of Japan in Munich, our

office introduced the Yokohama as a touristic destination at the annual Japanfest in Munich. On a sunny and warm day, several thousand people visited the Japanfest, and there was a large interest in information about Yokohama.

< City Cooperation >11 September 2015 - Mr. Volker Gempt honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun

Mr. Volker Gempt, immediate past president of the German-Japanese Association Frankfurt, was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun for his efforts and achievements for the exchange between Germany and Japan. Mr. Gempt has especially fostered the exchange between the partner cities Frankfurt and Yokohama, entering into a partnership with the Japanese-German Association Yokohama, and promoting students’ and cultural exchange. Yokohama’s mayor Ms. Fumiko Hayashi, who has met Mr. Gempt on several occasions, sent a congratulatory letter.

The Order of the Rising Sun was conferred to Mr. Gempt by the Japanese consul general in Frankfurt, Mr. Kamiyama. At the ceremony, Chief

Representative Yanagisawa read and presented the letter from Mayor Hayashi.

12 - 13 September 2015 - Taiko (Japanese drum) teacher from Yokohama gives workshop in Frankfurt Mr. Katsuji Kondo, a famous master of

“taiko” (traditional Japanese drums) who teaches at the taiko school “Hibikus” in Yokohama, visited Frankfurt to give a workshop. The nearly 30 participants came from all over Germany and Switzerland. The workshop - the ninth of its kind - was organised and hosted by “Kurinoki Wadaiko” from Frankfurt, the group that played at the joint Frankfurt-Yokohama apple tree planting ceremony in November 2013 and the summer festival in 2014, which were both organized by Frankfurt-Yokohama Citizens Network.

ImprintThe City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representative OfficeMainzer Landstr. 46, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, GermanyTel.: +49-(0)69-2423110 Fax.: +49-(0)69-24231115URL: www.yokohama-city.de E-Mail: info@yokohama-city.de

♦ Operations of the Representative Office