Torrance Mayor George K. Chen exchanges a official friendship city agreement with Oshu Mayor Jun Kuranari at a ceremony in Torrance City Hall on Oct. 1.
Oshu’s mayor and city delegation tour the South Bay and watch the town’s favorite son in action.
By GWEN MURANAKA and JUN NAGATA
RAFU SHIMPO STAFF WRITERS
TORRANCE —?As Shohei Ohtani celebrated his postseason debut with a booming three-run homer on Saturday, a delegation from his hometown of Oshu, Iwate Prefecture were among the thousands at Dodger Stadium to celebrate.
The game capped off a busy week that was highlighted by the signing of a friendship city agreement with Torrance last Tuesday, aimed at boosting economic, civic and business relations between the cities.
Earlier this year, Councilmember Jon Kaji suggested forming relations with Oshu, the hometown of Ohtani, and Bizen, the hometown of pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“I’m very happy to join in the signing of this friendship city agreement today,” said Kaji. “The amazing success of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani makes him the perfect goodwill ambassador for Oshu and Japan.
“However, we are also reminded of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Oshu and Iwate Prefecture and the Tohoku region. Thousands of people were killed and injured and the region was devastated. On behalf of the Japanese American community and the 145,000 residents of Torrance, let’s work together to rebuild the spirit and economy of Oshu and Tohoku.”
From left: Chen, Kuranari, Robert Smith, Ito En chief sales officer, Yoshikazu Sugawara, Oshu City Council chairperson, Torrance Councilmembers Sharon Kalani and Jonathan Kaji plant a cherry blossom tree on Oct. 2 in Torrance Park. Shohei Ohtani is the official spokesman for Ito En’s unsweetened green tea.
Consul General Kenko Sone praised the new relationship, saying, “One of my most important tasks as consul general is to promote exchanges between Japan, Southern California and Arizona. Exchanges between cities are the key foundation and I always encourage expanding and deepening such exchanges.”
The Oshu delegation visited several sites in Torrance, including the Real Time Response Center, Del Amo Fashion Center and Torrance Municipal Airport.
On Wednesday they joined in planting three cherry trees at Torrance Park, sponsored by Ito En, the green-tea brand that signed Ohtani as its global ambassador in April.
Yoshikazu Sugawara, chair of the Oshu City Council, shared his gratitude for the occasion with a nod to their most famous citizen.
“As many of you know, Oshu city is famous as the hometown of Shohei Ohtani. In fact, my son was a classmate of Ohtani during their junior high school years and they played baseball together … Shohei not only belonged to his school baseball team but also played mainly for a Senior Little League team. One day Ohtani invited my son to join him on that little senior team. Although my son participated in a few practices, he decided at the end not to join the team.
“Looking back, if my son had joined that team and played alongside Ohtani, perhaps he too would be thriving with the Dodgers!”
Torrance Mayor George K. Chen expressed his excitement about the agreement, stating, “This friendship city agreement with Oshu is a tremendous milestone for Torrance. Oshu’s strong sense of tradition and innovation reflects our own community values, and together, we will cultivate new opportunities for our citizens to learn, grow, and prosper.
“This partnership highlights Torrance’s dedication to building global relationships that contribute to cultural, educational, athletic, and economic advancements for both cities.”
Mayor Jun Kuranari of Oshu shared his enthusiasm, saying, “We are honored to forge this friendship with the City of Torrance. Oshu is committed to fostering international connections that promote mutual understanding, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange. Together, we will create new avenues for collaboration that benefit our citizens and pave the way for a brighter, shared future.”
The agreement is Torrance’s fifth friendship city designation, following partnerships with Changhua and Tainan in Taiwan, Hwaseong in South Korea, and Bizen in Japan.
Torrance also has a sistercity relationship with Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture.
In an interview with The Rafu,Kuranari explained that he used to live in Torrance when he was the president of a Japanese company from 2003 to 2009. He initially wondered if the letter from the city was concerning a delay in tax payments. Kuranari returned to Oshu and became mayor in 2022.
“The U.S. is advanced in the IT industry, so I would be happy if people who are interested would work here in Torrance, learn skills, and then come back to Oshu. This will increase the number of options, so the friendshipcity relationship with Torrance is very good,” he emphasized.
Ohtani has raised Oshu’s profile and the mayor expressed gratitude to their favorite son.
“Ohtani is a Japanese treasure that goes beyond the treasure of Oshu, which is beyond my scope of comment. He is a superstar of national treasure level, but the citizens of Oshu have known him from his achievements since junior high school, so they are familiar with him, and the older generation thinks of him as a grandson.”
In photo at right, the members of the Oshu delegation were thrilled to witness Ohtani’s game-tying home run in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
When Otani’s games are publicly viewed, TV stations will cover the event and broadcast it nationwide, so “I’m very grateful for this promotion for Oshu City. It’s all thanks to Ohtani,” he said with a smile.