Flag raised to mark friendship between Regina and Fujioka

REGINA - A long-standing connection between the cities of Regina and Fujioka was marked at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

Dignitaries marked the sixth anniversary of the City of Regina’s Friendship Agreement with Fujioka, Japan. But it was a particularly special occasion as they raised the official City of Fujioka flag at Regina City Hall for the first time. 

Among those at the event were Mayor Chad Bachynski and members of the Regina and Fujioka Friendship Committee, part of the Regina Japanese Cultural Club Regina-Japanese Cultural Club, who were organizers of the flag-raising.

The actual anniversary was over the weekend on Aug. 3. That coincided with the arrival of 23 Regina high school students to Fujioka for a ten day trip as part of the annual Regina-Fujioka Exchange Program. 

During that visit, board members and chaperones from the exchange program met Fujioka Mayor Masahiro Arai and gifted the city an official Regina flag, which was raised and now flies at Fujioka City Hall.

In commemoration of the anniversary the City of Fujioka has gifted their own city flag to Regina. At the event in Regina Tuesday, a letter was read from Mayor Arai, who stated the flag was being presented “as a symbol of our friendship.”

“I sincerely hope for the continued development of cultural and educational exchanges and the further strengthening of ties between our two cities in a wide range of fields.”

While the Friendship Agreement itself was signed by former Regina Mayor Michael Fougere in 2019, the relationship days back to 1991. 

That was the year when home stays were first arranged for students from Fujioka to stay in Regina on an exchange.

Groups of Canadian and Japanese students from the two cities have taken turns travelling to each other’s countries to experience home stays in alternate years. 

Members of the Kakehashi Project Toshi and Linda Shinmura, two of the founders of the cultural exchange program, said in remarks to the audience that the two cities had nurtured a warm relationship.

“These heartfelt interactions between our citizens have gone beyond simple international goodwill. They have deepened mutual understanding and respect of cultures and played a significant role in fostering younger generations with a global perspective.”

Former mayor Fougere was at the event Tuesday and he said the agreement signed in 2019 put a cap on a great relationship between the two cities.

“I think it’s important, it’s a statement to make that with all the things that are happening in the world today where there’s lots of troubles and lots of difficulties, we have a friendship relationship which I think is symbolic, that we can transcend difficulties around the world and we can see we have much more in common than we have differences. And as a city of Regina that is built on multiculturalism, this is a flagship of what we can do when we choose to and aspire to be greater than what we are today.”

“What began as an official agreement in 2019 builds on decades of goodwill and cultural exchange,” said Mayor Bachynski.

“Today we are doing more than commemorating an anniversary, we are making a statement. A statement that friendship, respect and cooperation know no borders — that cities through genuine relationships can lead by example to build more - a more connected and compassionate world. So let this flag flying proudly in Regina serve as a symbol of gratitude, admiration and enduring commitment of partnership with the people of Fujioka. We are proud to stand beside you. We look forward to future exchanges, to welcome visitors from Fujioka to our city, and sending our students from Regina to Fujioka.”