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Fort Bragg in California and Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture marked the 10th anniversary of their sister city relationship in 2011. The program was launched by a man in Otsuchi who lost his father at sea in a fishing accident when he was a young boy. He would sit on the bluffs overlooking the ocean and search for any sign of his father. When he became older, he began to wonder what it was like on the other side of the ocean. He drew a line across the Pacific and found Fort Bragg at the exact same latitude. In 2001, he made contact and invited the mayor of Fort Bragg to visit Otsuchi. Subsequent exchanges took place after that and in 2005 the two cities officially became sister cities.
The devastation and destruction in their beloved sister city of Otsuchi left the people of Fort Bragg in shock. Out of a population of 15,000, at least 1,500 people, including the town’s mayor, perished in the disaster. Members of the Fort Bragg Otsuchi Cultural Exchange Association mobilized to create an Otsuchi Relief Fund. The entire community rallied to raise funds to help the families in Otsuchi who had lost their homes, businesses, and families. Although Fort Bragg’s population is only 7,000, the city has been able to raise over $250,000 for Otsuchi.
(Source: https://amview.japan.usembassy.gov/en/sister-cities/ )
2010 Exchange visit to Otsuchi. Exchange participants had lunch with Otsuchi Mayor Kato and his staff. From left is Katsutaro Yamazaki (President, Coordinator and Interpreter for the Otsuchi Exchange), three Otsuchi city staff members, Nancy Nelson of Fort Bragg, Carol Kawase of Fort Bragg, Angela Harney (Exchange Coordinator for Fort Bragg), Otsuchi Mayor Koki Kato, Sharon Davis (Exchange Coordinator for Fort Bragg), Laurie and John Crowell of Fort Bragg.
Fort Bragg visitors and Mayor Dave Turner say goodbye to the mayor and council outside City Hall in 2005 on the first visit to Otsuchi, Japan.
A temple in Otsuchi, Japan.
The Wind Phone in Otsuchi, Japan.
The late Sharon Davis, Coordinator of the Fort Bragg Otsuchi Cultural Exchange spoke to Jack Hanson in February of 2012 about the fundraising efforts for their beloved sister city of Otsuchi, Japan.
Otsuchi was completely devastated by the March 11th 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Strength of Sister City Bond in Wake of Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Featured on “60 Minutes”
Strength of Sister City Bond in Wake of Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Featured on “60 Minutes”
BY GRACE RUCH OCT 06, 2011
As we reported earlier on this site, American communities with sister cities in Japan were at the vanguard of providing support and aid to Japan in the wake of the devastating March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters. The fishing village of Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, was hit particularly hard by the massive wave. The city maintains a sister city relationship with Fort Bragg, California, and the connection between these two harbor towns and the strength of their ties in the wake of tragedy was the focus of a recent segment on the CBS news program “60 Minutes.”
According to the data collected for the Japan Matters for America/America Matters for Japan initiative, the Otsuchi-Fort Bragg sister relationship is one of 7 such US-Japan linkages in Iwate Prefecture and one of 97 in the state of California. There are more sister city relationships between American communities and Japan than any other country.
Reporter Bob Simpson interviewed Ken Sasaki, the Otsuchi city worker who launched the sister partnership of the seaside community after finding that the California town of Fort Bragg lay directly across the ocean from his home. Researching the latitudinal neighbor, “Ken-san” discovered deeper similarities between the two communities, such as both boasting ties to salmon fishing. It was his invitation to the Mayor of Fort Bragg in 1997 to visit a marine convention in Otsuchi that launched a vibrant sister relationship that has persisted through the devastation of the Japanese town.
The television program brought Fort Bragg exchange participant, Sharon Davis, to Otsuchi to tour the post-disaster town and reconnect with friends made through the sister-city relationship. She experienced a tearful reunion with the two students who she had hosted the year before in her California home, both girls survived the disaster to Davis’ relief. Davis also brought with her over a thousand letters from kids in Fort Bragg to their Japanese neighbors.
Heartfelt wishes were not the only gifts sent by the people of the California town to Otsuchi. Though Fort Bragg boasts only a modest population of 7,000, the city was able to raise over $180,000 for its Japanese sister city. Former Mayor Lindy Peters explained that this impressive sum came in from small donations from Fort Bragg citizens. They put out donation canisters throughout the town, and within a week they had raised $50,000 in small amounts, much of it in quarters and dollars. He says that rather than giving it to an international relief organization, the town plans to deliver it to Otsuchi directly as “a gift from Fort Bragg.”
Source: East-West Center in Washington at the East-West Center https://asiamattersforamerica.org/articles/us-japan-sister-cities-on-60-minutes
For more information on the Fort Bragg - Otsuchi Sister-City relationship or activities, contact:
Veronica Bazor, Student Exchange Coordinator
PO Box 1017
Fort Bragg CA 95437
Phone: (707) 234-0527
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