Message from Chair of LANSCA, 2019

Hello and thank you for visiting this website.  Please explore.  I think you will find it as interesting as it is informative.  Let me tell you more about organization and what we are planning this year.
 
On March 31, 1959, the sister city relationship between Los Angeles and Nagoya, Japan was born as a part of President Eisenhower’s Citizens’ International Exchange Program.  For both cities, it was the first sister city relationship.  A few years later the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation (known as LANSCA) was formed.  LANSCA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  Over the years LANSCA has worked with its counterpart in Nagoya to establish and carry out many cultural, civic, educational and, most recently, commercial exchange programs.  Other pages on this site will explain some of those programs and more detail about LANSCA’s history.
 
One of LANSCA’s goals is for Angelinos to know their sister in Japan better.  This site includes a link to the City of Nagoya website, but here’s a preview.  Nagoya is the capital of Aichi Prefecture in Japan.  A prefecture is a government unit in Japan like a county is to California, but Aichi is much more than any California county. It is a “manufacturing powerhouse” that has ranked number one in Japan for product shipments continuously for past 40 years.  Toyota Motor Company is case in point and symbolic of the Aichi culture of “monozukuri” or craftsmanship, the art of making things.  Aichi also played a powerful role in Japan’s history, especially the “Period of Warring States” in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries when three great warlords from Aichi — Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa – unified Japan and ushered in the Tokugawa Shogunate that governed all Japan for over 200 years from its base in Nagoya Castle. This unique Samurai history and traditional arts and crafts such as pottery, enamelware, and tie-dyeing, can be found in Nagoya alongside the latest cultural trends in Japan, such Cosplay, which is an extension of the anime boom and is centered in Nagoya. Our sister city in Japan is proud of the unique character where old and new cultures coexist.
 
2019 is the 60th anniversary of this sister city relationship, and both LANSCA and Nagoya are celebrating this milestone with special events in Los Angeles and Nagoya.  Like the Nagoya Day event held at the Grove on August 10, 2014, LANSCA will hold the first event of the 60th anniversary year at the Paley Center for the Media in Beverly Hills on March 25, 2019.  This free one-day event open to the public will promote the culture, crafts, and attractions of Nagoya and the charm of “Nagoya Meshi”, Nagoya’s unique cuisine.  It is a unique opportunity to learn about our sister city in Japan and, especially for those thinking of attending the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, a chance to add to their itinerary a stop at one of the few centers in Japan not overrun by tourists.  Located on the main bullet train line between Tokyo and Kyoto, Nagoya is a quick 100 minutes from Tokyo or 40 minutes from Kyoto.  Not only does it offer sights, attractions, and experiences not available elsewhere in Japan, Nagoya is the gateway to the Central Japan region, with such historical Japanese towns as Ise and Takayama within day-trip range.  Intrigued about a trip off the beaten tourist path?  Please come to the Paley Center on March 25th. We will introduce you to a Nagoya that you have never known. 
 
If you miss our March 25th event, there will be a second celebratory event at the end of October – another chance to learn more about our great sister city, Nagoya.  Check back on this website for further information in the coming weeks.
 
I hope you will explore all the pages of this website and learn more about your sister city in Japan and the activities of LANSCA.  The relationship between the two cities is as strong as ever, notwithstanding the passage of 60 years, and will remain so for years to come.  If any of these activities peaks your interest, why not get in touch with us and find out more?  And if you would like to be part of the citizen diplomacy movement that is playing an important role in preserving peace between different nations, LANSCA offers a chance to get involved.  You might even want to become a member.  We would be happy to have you join.
 
 
With best wishes.
 
 
Teruko Weinberg
Chairwoman LANSCA