Koshigaya City is located in the south-east part of Saitama Prefecture, 25 km north of central Tokyo. Koshigaya has developed as a core city with a current population of approximately 345,000 people, having rapidly increased in population since its establishment in 1958 as a residential area near the capital. In addition, the city has many rivers and waterways flowing through the city and has long been familiar to many people as ‘Suigo Koshigaya’ (‘Water Town Koshigaya’). It is a city where rich nature meets history. In the Edo period (1603-1867), Koshigaya flourished as the third shukuba-machi (posting station town) on the Nikko Douchu Road (Nikko Kaido), and the remnants of that still exist in the city.
Koshigaya City formed a sister city affiliation with Campbelltown, New South Wales in 1984. Since then, the two cities have deepened exchanges and established friendly relations through mutual exchange of delegations and staff dispatch programs.
Koshigaya City had been implementing two main exchange programs every year: sending a delegation of junior high school students from Koshigaya City to Campbelltown and receiving a youth delegation from Campbelltown in Koshigaya City. However, due to the spread of Covid-19 in 2020, these programs were cancelled for three years.
To continue the exchange and provide an opportunity for students who were unable to go to Campbelltown, Koshigaya City considered whether there was a way of conducting the exchange that could be implemented even during Covid-19.
As a result, it was decided to implement the ‘Video Online Sister City Exchange Program’ as an alternative to the Junior High School Student Delegation Program. In this project, junior high school students from Koshigaya City and students from Campbelltown make a video introducing their city and their country’s culture, etc. After watching each other’s videos, they shared their impressions and asked questions about the videos in an online exchange meeting. The students who participated in this project worked enthusiastically on creating a video, and at the exchange meeting, they were able to enjoy virtual interactions, asking each other about their interests and what is popular in their respective countries.
In 2024, Koshigaya and Campbelltown will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their sister city affiliation. Both cities are very much looking forward to celebrating this milestone. Koshigaya City hopes to continue exchanges with Campbelltown in the future and further develop their relationship.
