Published: July 01, 2009 09:43 pm      

Visitors bid city sayonara

Delegation from Japan was touched by hospitality shown by city officials

A spirit of volunteerism, pride in community and excellent hospitality is what two of Logansport’s Japanese visitors say they will take away from the city when they return home.

The ten-person delegation from Mibu Town in Tochigi, Japan, will leave the Logansport today after a two-day tour that took in many of the area’s major sites.

Yoshikazu Hosoi, chairman of the Mibu Town assembly, the equivalent to the Logansport City Council said he was touched by the welcome he received and is hopeful that a sister city relationship will be formed between the two communities

“We have all been so touched by how welcoming the people of Logansport have been,” Hoisoi said through an interpreter. “Of course the mayor of Mibu Town Hideo Shimizu will be the decision maker, but we hope to have some input on his decision and our hope is that our existing relationship will continue for a very long time.”

Hosoi added that, as a city council member, he was struck by the energy and youth evident in Logansport’s council and the willingness of its members to spare time for city duties outside of their day jobs. Hosoi said he is an employee of Mibu Town and paid a wage to serve the city.

Noriko Ochiai, superintendent of education for the Mibu Town board of education, was taken back by efforts to preserve the history and the integrity of the community.

From an education standpoint, Ochiai very impressed with the Century Career Center and an apparent recognition in American culture to prepare students while they are still in school for a career beyond graduation.

She said there is a culture of delinquency among some Japanese youth, and greater preparation for work is something that she would like to see introduced in her hometown’s education system.

“Even from an early age, high school students get to experience work,” Ochiai said. “I think that is wonderful.”

Logansport Mayor Mike Fincher felt the city made a strong impression on its Japanese visitors, who were especially happy to see Mayor Shimizu’s picture on the front page of the newspaper.

“As we left on the bus at 5:30 p.m. tonight everyone seemed to be happy and made the impression that it was a very enjoyable experience and they learned a lot about Logansport,” he said.

Fincher presented Mayor Shimizu with a key to the City of Logansport at the final dinner of the visit at the Logansport Country Club. Fincher said he hopes the key will invite future exchanges and open the door to better trade relations with Japan.

He added he will continue to look at opportunities to conduct marketing trips in Japan, and while it takes time for a sister city relationship to be firmly established, he feels Logansport and Mibu Town are on the right track.

“When we first started this we were told it could take five to six years to be put in place,” Fincher said. “So to have them here twice in less than a year is a good sign that we have made an impression.”

• Kevin Smith is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5148 or kevin.smith@pharostribune.com