Timmins renews ties with Japanese sister city

With a population just over 3,500, Naoshima, Japan may not be the biggest of towns but it has a strong bond with the City with the Heart of Gold.

Timmins and Naoshima are celebrating 35 years of being sister cities to one another by renewing their agreement to explore options for future development.

It was marked by raising the Japanese flag at city hall Thursday afternoon.

Timmins Mayor Steve Black says the partnership started when Kidd Operations was developing their met site.

“They brought over 64 Japanese technicians and engineers to develop the process used at the Kidd metallurgical complex, and double the capacity of the complex,” he said.

“At that time,” Black added, “there was only two complexes in the world that were using the technology and the project was completed on time and under budget.”

Now, for those who aren’t familiar to what being a sister city is all about, Black says the goal of it is to work together to promote economic development, cultural and tourism exchanges between the cities and learn from each other’s successes and opportunities.

One of those opportunities would be the arts and culture community.

Timmins has had struggles to take it to the next level, and Naoshima has become a hub.  So much, Conde Nast Traveler, an American sightseeing magazine, named it one of the “seven places in the world you should see next.”

That, according to Japan National Tourism Organization’s official site.

They look to have a future visitor in Mayor Black, who was extended an invitation by Naoshima Mayor Michuru Hamanaka.