Monday, February 24, 2025–9:50 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The City of Rome will be hosting representatives from our Sister City, Kumamoto, Japan on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Rome City Commissioner Jamie Doss, 30 years ago, then Rome City Commission chair George Pullen initiated the relationship with Ueki Town, which was merged into the expanded city of Kumamoto in 2010.
“Dr. Pullen asked me to go to Ueki Town, now Kumamoto, to sign out Sister City agreement,” Doss said. “Over the years, we’ve maintained a relationship. It kind of slacked off during the Covid era, but we’re getting things started back.”
In years past, the relationship has included students and elected officials from Rome visiting Kumamoto, and vice versa.
“This year we are planning to send a Rome delegation—mostly officials,” Doss added. “We have three guests from Kumamoto coming to Rome City Hall at 2 p.m. [Tuesday], and if anyone is interested, feel free to attend.”
Doss has visited Japan twice over the last 30 years, and he has learned a lot.
“Japan is a totally unique culture, very different from ours,” he said. “What you learn is they are people just like us, and it’s important to have relationships all over the world. We have several industries that have located in the Rome community from Japan. I think it’s been very beneficial for both Kumamoto and the City of Rome.”
Ueki is an agricultural community known for their watermelons. Meanwhile, the greater Kumamoto area has a population of more than 1.5 million. According to Doss, there are a lot of things to do and see, such as a castle and an active volcano.
“It’s a big city,” he added. “The people are very nice. They take their Sister City relationship very seriously. We’ve made a number of friends and contacts over the years, and it looks like we are going to be making even more friends.”
Again, Rome will host three representatives from Kumamoto on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Rome City Hall. The public is invited.