Thanks to our giant pandas, we've built great relationships with the Chinese Embassy in Japan and the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka, helping to boost exchanges between Japan and China.
We've built great relationships with the Chinese Embassy in Japan and the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka over the years. In August 2020, we visited the Chinese Embassy in Japan and met with Ambassador Kong Xuanyou to chat about continuing the Giant Panda Conservation Joint Project. Then, in September of the same year, we also visited the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka and met with Consul General He Zhenliang and Deputy Consul General Zhang Yuping. Everyone at the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka (Consul General He Zhenliang) has been super friendly towards our park, even sending us congratulatory messages on our official SNS for giant panda birthdays and when new panda babies are born! Back in January 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading, Wakayama Prefecture sent 50,000 medical gloves to Shandong and Sichuan provinces, along with video messages of support from local Chinese organizations and schools. In return, we received 50,000 masks from Shandong Province and 10,000 masks from Sichuan Province, which really helped deepen the exchange between Japan and China.
Connecting China and Wakayama Prefecture
| April 1984 | Sister city agreement with Shandong Province | Shandong Province |
| November 2007 | Governor Nisaka visited China and signed a 'Memorandum on Developing Friendly Exchange Relations between Wakayama Prefecture and Shandong Province'. | Shandong Province |
| August 2011 | Governor Nisaka visited China, stopping in Shandong and Liaoning Provinces (where he met Governor Chen Zheng'gao in Shenyang City). | Shandong Province, Liaoning Province |
| May 2015 | Deputy Governor Shimo visited China, including Beijing (with then Secretary-General Nikai and over 3,000 others) and Shandong Province. | Central government and Shandong Province |
| 2016年11月 | Governor Nisaka visited China and met with Li Jinzao, Director of the China National Tourism Administration, and Guo Shuqing, Governor of Shandong Province. | Central government and Shandong Province |
| August 2017 | Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited Wakayama Prefecture. He came to Japan for the 6th Japan-China Ruling Parties Exchange Council and checked out Mount Koya. | Central government |
| September 2017 | Xia Geng, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People's Congress, visited Wakayama Prefecture. He toured Mount Koya and attended a dinner hosted by the Governor. | Shandong Province |
| 2017年11月 | Governor Nisaka visited China with the 7th Japan-China Ruling Parties Exchange Council delegation. They checked out places like Kaiyuan Temple, which has ties to Kukai. | Central government and Fujian Province |
| April 2018 | Governor Nisaka visited China and chatted with Governor You Zheng about things like exchanges on policies for the elderly. | Shandong Province |
| 2018年12月 | Yu Guoan, Vice Governor of Shandong Province, visited Wakayama Prefecture. He paid a courtesy call to the Governor and also checked out agricultural facilities in the prefecture. | Shandong Province |
| March 2019 | Governor Qi Zheng of Shandong Province and his 112-person delegation visited our prefecture to join the 35th-anniversary talks and celebration. | Shandong Province |
| August 2019 | Mid-level officials from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited our prefecture, checking out places like Shirahama Town and Mt. Koya. | Central government |
| 2019年10月 | Governor Nisaka went to China and had 35th-anniversary talks with Shandong Province Secretary Liu Jiayi, and also met with Sichuan Province Governor Yin Li. | Shandong Province, Sichuan Province |
| 2019年12月 | Liu Jiayi, Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Committee, came to Japan and met with the Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party at the LDP headquarters, with our Governor present. | Shandong Province |
| 2019年12月 | Chen Xu, Secretary of Tsinghua University, visited our prefecture for an inspection and joined a dinner party hosted by then-Secretary-General Nikai, with our Governor also there. | Tsinghua University |
| March 2020 | The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan and the Dalian Municipal Government of Liaoning Province donated medical supplies, with then-Secretary-General Nikai and our Governor attending. | Central / Liaoning Province |
| March 2020 | We signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sichuan Province to boost mutual exchange (done by mail). | Sichuan Province |
| July 2020 | Governor Nisaka attended the "Dialogue Shandong - Japan-China Local Industry Cooperation Exchange Meeting." | Shandong Province |
| February 2021 | Governor Nisaka had an online chat with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Kong Xuanyou, who is stationed in Japan. | Central government |
| 2021年11月 | We signed an MOU with Tsinghua University. | Tsinghua University |
| January 2022 | We became sister cities with Sichuan Province. | Sichuan Province |
| January 2022 | Governor Nisaka attended the "Dialogue Shandong 2022 Silver Industry Cooperation Exchange Meeting" and met with Secretary Li. | Shandong Province |