Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of a Friendship City Agreement
	Friendship City of Shinagawa Let’s Get to Know the City of Auckland, New Zealand!

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the friendship city arrangement between Shinagawa and Auckland, New Zealand. Shinagawa City began exchange programs with Mount Roskill (which is now Auckland’s main suburban area) in 1987 because the two cities shared many similarities: both have declared they will strive for peace and nonnuclear proliferation, are located on roughly the same latitude (opposite to each other in the Northern and Southern hemispheres), and in countries surrounded by the sea. In 1989, Mount Roskill merged into Auckland, and our friendship city relations continued. Auckland is New Zealand largest city, with a population of around 1.62 million. The city is a commerce center and a gateway to the sky and the sea.

Inquiries: International Affairs, Community Promotion Section (Tel: 03-5742-6691, Fax: 03-5742-6877)

Location: Located on a narrow isthmus on the northern peninsula of New Zealand’s North Island, the city is sandwiched between the South Pacific and the Tasman Sea. Blessed with two harbors, Auckland is often referred to as “the city of sails,” presenting a spectacular sight of many boats in the harbor.
Area: 4,894 km² (214 times bigger than Shinagawa City)
Population: 1,615,000 people (as of January 2017)
Climate: New Zealand is located in the Southern Hemisphere, so the seasons are opposite to those of Japan. In addition, its temperature is said to have four seasons within a day due to drastic weather changes—the night and morning are categorized as “winter,” with afternoon being “spring and summer” and the evening being “fall.”
Time difference: A three-hour time difference (three hours ahead of Japan)
Note: Due to New Zealand’s use of Daylight Savings Time, New Zealand’s clocks are moved ahead one hour between the first Sunday of October and the third Sunday of the following March, making the time difference with Japan during that period plus-four hours.

Ceremony Marking the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Shinagawa-Auckland Friendship City Agreement A ceremony marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Shinagawa-Auckland friendship city agreement took place at Shinagawa City Office on July 31 (Tue.). There were nine attendees from Shinagawa City—including Shinagawa City Mayor Takeshi Hamano and Toshiyuki Matsuzawa, chairman of the Shinagawa City Assembly—and ten attendees from Auckland, including Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and H.E. Mr. Stephen Payton, New Zealand’s ambassador to Japan. The mayors of both cities signed a communique for friendship exchange, which says: “With the twenty-fifth anniversary of our friendship city agreement, we will continue to strive to strengthen friendly relations between our cities, and we hope that mutual understanding and friendship between the citizens of our cities will develop further through various future exchanges.” The attending parties also agreed to deepen exchanges involving people and culture, focusing on youth.