TORRANCE — At the Torrance City Council meeting on pornoizlemeJan. 23, Councilmember Jon Kaji proposed initiating the friendship city process with two cities in Japan: Oshu, Iwate Prefecture and Bizen, Okayama Prefecture.
“These cities are the hometowns of recently signed Los Angeles Dodgers superstar players Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto,” Kaji explained. “Taking action now will position Torrance as a ‘first mover’ before any other city in the Los Angeles area. Benefits to pursuing relationships with these two cities include:
“Attracting the growing demand by the Dodger Japanese fan base to visit L.A., specifically Torrance, to attend games and establishing Torrance as a destination for baseball fans.
“Bringing increased sales tax revenue by attraction of visitors.
“Positioning Torrance as the central location for international fans over the next 10 years.
“Encouraging American baseball fans to visit the players’ hometowns and potentially allowing for Torrance Little League teams to establish relationships leading to a potential youth baseball exchange program.
“Creating opportunities for the Dodgers organization to work with Torrance to hold events celebrating these players and strengthening our position in attracting other sports teams and new investment in advance of the 2028 Olympics.”
The council agreed to request city staff to proceed with the friendship city application process and to reach out to the cities of Oshu and Bizen. Further steps will be contingent upon their response.
“With our well-established Japanese American and Japanese expatriate community, supermarkets, restaurants and support services, Torrance continues to be the perfect destination for Japanese visitors,” Kaji said.
“We also look forward to working with the Dodger organization in creating a Shohei Ohtani Day in Torrance.”
Torrance currently has one sister city, Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, and three friendship cities, Hwaseong in South Korea and Changhua and Tainan in Taiwan.