About Us

The idea of the Sakai-Wellington sister city relationship was originally promoted by the Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand, Takeo Iguchi.

 In 1993, Fran Wilde, then Mayor of Wellington, visited Sakai and signed an agreement to set up a sister city relationship. On 4 February 1994 in Wellington the Mayor of Sakai, Hideo Hataya, and Mayor Wilde formally signed the sister city agreement.

The Wellington Sakai Association was set up in 1995. The mission of the association is to support the Council in the development of the sister city relationship with Sakai. There is also a Sakai Wellington Association in Japan.

In Katherine Mansfield Park in Wellington there is a group of cherry blossom trees planted in commemoration of the Wellington-Sakai relationship that look gorgeous in the spring and are a wonderful place to enjoy a Hanami picnic.

Wellington and Sakai have a wide variety of exchanges, including educational exchanges, an annual marathon event and exhibitions of art, pottery and ikebana.