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Mie Prefecture and the state of Sao Paulo commemorated 40 years of sister region relations in August, 2013.  The following events were held to celebrate Mie and Sao Paulo’s long history of friendship.

 

CIATE is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1992 that provides information for Brazilians of Japanese descent who are interested in working in Japan and their spouses. The organization provides a variety of support services, including consultation and training. Mr. Ninomiya, Chairman of the Board at CIATE gave a detailed explanation of the organization’s initiatives during the meeting.

During the meeting, Mie Governor Eikei Suzuki remarked on the over 12,000 Brazilian citizens living in Mie, the highest ethnic population of non-Japanese living in the prefecture. He also emphasized the prefecture’s efforts to promote multiculturalism, and highlighted initiatives to provide information and support for Brazilian residents via internet resources and Portuguese language consultation services.

 

The terms of the agreement, which celebrates and expands upon 40 years of sister region relations, are as follows:

• The parties reaffirm the sister region relationship established in 1973 and recognize education, environmental protection, manufacturing and commerce, and tourism promotion as particularly important areas for cooperation in the future.
• The parties agree to carry out joint initiatives that have clear goals and advance services and technologies in both regions.
• The parties agree to deepen bilateral relations through continued exchange.
• This agreement is effective from 19 August, 2013 to 31 December, 2016. The parties will establish specific initiatives to carry out the terms of this agreement during this period.