Consul General of Japan in Detroit Yusuke Shindo and his wife Seiko visited Sidney late last week to visit with Sidney mayor Mike Barhorst and his wife Jenny. The visit coincides with Shindo’s pending diplomatic reassignment and his desire to learn more about Barhorst’s recent visit to Japan.

In late May, Barhorst and city manager Andrew Bowsher visited Japan to meet with executives of those Japanese companies with a presence in the local area. Their visit was planned specifically so that the mayor and city manager could express their gratitude to company executives for investing in the Sidney-Shelby County community.

They also visited Ichihara City, a major manufacturing center in Chiba Province. While in Ichihara City, they met with Ichihara City mayor Joji Koide. Mayor Koide was invited to make a return visit to Sidney as the community moves toward a friendship city relationship with Ichihara City.

“Since neither Mr. Bowsher nor I had previously visited Japan,” Barhorst said, “Consul General Shindo was particularly interested our impressions of Japan. He was also interested in learning first-hand about our corporate visits, the cultural sites we had visited, and our visit to Ichihara City. He also expressed the important benefits of having a sister-city relationship with a Japanese city.”

“Consul General Shindo has encouraged us to move forward with developing a sister-city relationship,” Barhorst continued. “A number of local governments in Japan have sister-city relationships and active exchanges with local communities. He feels strongly that such exchanges contribute to friendly relations between the U.S. and Japan, and promote business activity.”

“I will miss the relationship I have enjoyed with Consul General Shindo,” Barhorst stated. “Since joining Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986,” Barhorst noted, “Shindo has been posted in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Indonesia, Switzerland, Pakistan, and the United States. I know that he and Mrs. Shindo have very much enjoyed their stay in the United States.”

“The most difficult part of moving to a new assignment is saying farewell to those we have met,” Shindo stated. “The second most difficult part of any new diplomatic posting is packing. Seiko has told me that I simply have to get rid of some of my many books, and that will be hard to do, as I enjoy reading.”

After Sidney officials had searched for a Japanese sister city for some years, Advanced Composite President Yasuhiro Niki suggested Ichihara City. Advanced Composites’ parent company, Mitsui Chemicals, has a large chemical plant in Ichihara City. That plant manufactures olefins, aroma, polyethylene, polypropylene, phenol, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, tertiary butyl alcohol, elastomers, and polyolefin synthetic pulp. Barhorst and Boswher visited the plant while in Ichihara City.