Photo provided Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and other members of the delegation met the new mayor of Miyoshi, Tasuku Oyama, and other city officials.
The members of the first local delegation to Japan since the coronavirus pandemic struck have returned to Columbus in what officials characterized as a successful trip to reaffirm the city’s longstanding ties with employers and its sister city Miyoshi.
The 15-person delegation, which was led by Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop, returned just over a week ago after spending about seven days in Japan, visiting, among other places, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagoya and Miyoshi, which has been Columbus’ sister city for nearly 30 years, according to an itinerary provided by local officials.
The delegation included city, civic, nonprofit and business representatives, including Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp.; Cindy Frey, president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce; as well as representatives from Toyota Material Handling, CAPCO, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp., and Purdue Polytechnic Institute, among other organizations.
Lienhoop’s previous trip to Asia was in 2019 and included stops in Japan and Taiwan.
“We had a wonderful trip,” Lienhoop told The Republic. “Part of our purpose behind the trip was really to reinforce to the people of Miyoshi that we are interested in the sister city relationship that we have, that we’re committed to it, and we wish to keep it strong. We’ve not had much in terms of communication the last two to three years because of the pandemic, and so we felt like it was appropriate for us to try to make it clear to them how much we value that.”
During the trip, Lienhoop and other members of the delegation met the new mayor of Miyoshi, Tasuku Oyama, and other city officials there.
Lienhoop said the delegation extended an invitation to Oyama to visit Columbus during this year’s Ethnic Expo, which will feature Japan as the host country. Lienhoop said Oyama is “very interested” in participating in the event, though it is not yet known if the mayor of Miyoshi will be able to attend.
In addition, the delegation presented keys to the city of Columbus to former Miyoshi Mayor Kenji Onoda and former City Council Chair Toshio Kondo.
Hester said that he believes that the delegation was able to strengthen the city’s relationship with Miyoshi, while giving other members of the delegation who had never been to Japan before the opportunity to experience the cultures and business practices of a country that plays a significant role in the local economy, Hester said.
A total of 24 Japanese companies operate in Columbus — including Toyota Material Handling, NTN Driveshaft and Enkei America Inc. — collectively employing about 6,000 people, Hester said. Cummins Inc., the largest employer in Columbus, also operates in Japan.
The delegation visited Miyama Unitec, local employer CAPCO’s parent company, and the Toyoya Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, and meet with officials from Cummins Japan; and Dick Yamamoto, who officials said played a key role in the formation of the Columbus-Miyoshi sister city relationship in the 1990s.
“These experiences provided lessons that our team can bring back home to our respective roles in Columbus, especially with our efforts to be a welcoming community,” Hester said.
Another highlight of the trip, Lienhoop and Hester said, was visiting Minami Junior High School in Miyoshi.
BCSC Assistant Superintendent Chad Phillips and First Lady Pamela Lienhoop delivered a box of letters written by Central Middle School students to seventh grade students at the junior high school in Miyoshi, officials said.
Hester said the students in Miyoshi sent back a collection of calligraphy that they completed for students at Central Middle School.
“It was just really remarkable,” Hester said of the visit to the school. “…They had students lead us on a tour of the school, and then there was a music performance, and then they did, effectively, an entire talent show for us that their students had prepared from all their extracurricular clubs and activities. It was just a really special part of our time in Miyoshi. “
Overall, the trip cost about $136,500, according to figures provided by Hester.
That includes $28,000 from The Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, $24,000 from Toyota Material Handling, $24,000 from the city of Columbus, $23,500 from the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. and $37,000 in individual participant contributions.
The city funded the travel expenses for Lienhoop, Redevelopment Director Heather Pope and city engineer Andrew Beckort. The city did not pay the travel expenses of the mayor’s wife, Pamela Lienhoop, who also was part of the delegation officials said.
Mayor Lienhoop, who will leave office at the end of the year, characterized the trip — which could be his last to Japan as mayor — as a success.
“Overall, I thought it was a great trip, a great exercise and a great opportunity for Columbus to sort of learn a little bit more about Japanese culture and deepen the relationships that we have in Miyoshi,” he said.
