Tama City in Japan and Reykjavík become twin cities
Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir and Tama City Mayor Hiroyuki Abe recently signed a twin city agreement at Höfði.
Tama City Mayor Hiroyuki Abe visited Reykjavík City last week with a five-member delegation. They toured the city and were then hosted at Höfði, where the twin city agreement was signed in the presence of Takewaka, Japan’s ambassador to Iceland. Reykjavík is Tama City’s first twin city outside Japan, and this marks the first twin city agreement between municipalities in Japan and Iceland.
Tama City is part of the greater Tokyo area, about 30 kilometers from Tokyo’s city center. The relationship between the two cities began during preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Tama City served as the host city for Iceland’s Olympic and Paralympic teams. Relations between Tama City and Iceland then developed, including through cooperation with the Icelandic Embassy in Japan.
Twin cities establish formal partnerships to strengthen cultural, economic and social ties. In addition to Tama City, Reykjavík’s twin cities include the Nordic capitals of Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tórshavn and Nuuk. Others include Seattle, Winnipeg, Lviv, Vilnius and Wrocław in Poland.
