Mayor Nishimura of Komatsu City, Japan, is greeted by pupils at Lord Lawson of Beamish School on Friday June 20.
Children in a Gateshead school have met with the Mayor of the Japanese city of Komatsu and learnt more about life in the city, which is twinned with Gateshead.
The Mayor of Komatsu, Toru Nishimura, stopped by at Lord Lawson of Beamish School in Gateshead on Friday June 20, to meet pupils and talk about life in the twinned towns.
Lord Lawson pupils Evan Hook and Magda Nyadu provided a musical welcoming to Mr Nishimura. Lord Lawson of Beamish School is twinned with Komatsu Municipal High School, and art works and gifts are exchanged regularly.
A youth exchange programme has been running between Komatsu and Gateshead since 1991. The programme is designed to bring young people from Gateshead and Komatsu City together, to experience each other’s cultures, education, food and language, with the opportunity to see the heritage of both countries and regions.
Councillor Mick Henry, Leader of Gateshead Council, said: “Already 224 children from both countries have taken part in the exchange and Mr Nishimura has been, and continues to be, an enthusiastic supporter of the programme.
” Our relationship with Komatsu is a very special one, and our school children who take part in the exchange programme in particular gain a huge amount. Not only do the visits to Japan help our pupils to develop a better understanding of different cultures and ways of life, they also build long lasting friendships.”
Commenting on his visit Mr Nishimura said: “There is a strong contrast between the cultures of both cities. It is due to this that all the exchange of ideas and cross-cultural experiences which has taken place between our cities has been incredibly stimulating and rewarding to Komatsu.
“This will be my third visit to Gateshead and I can say that each of my previous visits were full of wonderful experiences. The partnership between both cities will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary but I feel as if this friendly relationship had started much longer ago. I sincerely hope that it continues forever.”
Mr Nishimura is now in his third term as elected Mayor of Komatsu, having held the post since 1997. Komatsu has been officially twinned with Gateshead since 1991, the link between the two originating from the arrival of the Komatsu excavator factory, which opened in 1987.
Children from Komatsu have enjoyed several visits to Gateshead, their favourite sights including The Sage Gateshead, The Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the multi award winning Saltwell Park. As well as their visits to Komatsu, Gateshead children have been taking part in video links to Japan for the last seven years.