Japanese Ambassador Presents Honorary Awards to Two Austrians
For over 50 years, the Japanese town of Hanamaki and the Austrian town of Berndorf have maintained a harmonious town twinning relationship. Two of the most important people behind this project have received the "Japan Foreign Minister's Award" from the Ambassador of Japan, Akira Mizutani.
The Japanese town of Hanamaki and the Austrian town of Berndorf have enjoyed a harmonious town twinning for over 50 years. / Picture: © Japanese and Austrian crossed flags by Vindobona
The Japanese town of Hanamaki (formerly Ohasama) and the Austrian town of Berndorf have enjoyed a harmonious town twinning for over 50 years. Now the Ambassador of Japan, Akira Mizutani presented the "Japan Foreign Minister's Award" to two of the most important people behind this project.
At the ceremonial handover, the award was presented to Mr Jofes Büchsenmeister and Mr Günter Elmer. The two received the honour because of their many years of work as the first and second executive chairman of the Berndorf-Hanamaki Town Twinning Association respectively.
Since the beginning of the twinning between Berndorf in Lower Austria and Hanamaki in Japan in 1965, the two have worked with great commitment in the context of youth exchanges between the two towns and regular visits every five years. Through their work, they contributed immensely to promoting the friendly relations between the two towns.
Together with family members, Mayor Franz Rumpler and former Mayor Hermann Kozlik and members of the Berndorf-Hanamaki Town Twinning Association, the double award by the Japanese Foreign Minister was celebrated and the further expansion of the exchange between the twin towns was confirmed.
The twinning of the two towns was initiated in 1964 when the Austrian Association of Towns and Cities asked the town of Berndorf to enter into a twinning arrangement with Ohasama, a town far away. After 4 such alliances already existed in Austria, this was to be the country's fifth. The mayor of Ohasama was impressed by the idea and wanted to enter into an alliance with an Austrian town of similar size to his own and close to mountains where edelweiss blooms.
On Mt. Hayachine (1914 m) which is close to the town of Ohasama, the Hayachine-Usuyukiso blooms - very similar to the edelweiss. After the municipal council of the town of Berndorf unanimously decided at its meeting on 18 December 1964 to enter into a partnership with the Japanese town of Ohasama and to conclude a friendship pact, the alliance was sealed.
The city of Ohasama-machi is located in the centre of Iwate Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu. On 12 October 1965, the conclusion of the friendship pact between the cities of Ohasama - Berndorf was solemnly carried out in both cities.