Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan

On 21 March 2019, we signed an official declaration of partnership with Mihara. The agreement was signed by Mayor Grant Smith and Mihara Mayor Yoshinori Tenma.

As part of the visit, Mayor Tenma and the Mihara delegation attended the Sister Cities New Zealand Conference, which was held in Palmerston North that year. They also visited IPU to advance cooperation on education programmes and participated in the Festival of Cultures opening ceremony. As a gesture of friendship, Mihara permanently loaned a suit of samurai armour to the Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History.

 In 2024, Palmerston North and Mihara celebrated five years of bilateral city partnership. Over this time, both cities have engaged in regular mayoral-led delegation exchanges, with key areas of discussion focused on education, sport, economic development, and emergency management cooperation.

About Mihara

 Located in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture, Mihara was founded on 15 November 1936 and had an estimated population of 97,324. As of April 2023, the estimated population was 88,591.

Its name references the three (mi) plains (hara) that the three main rivers split the area into. Mihara Castle was built upon the plains in the late 1500s, and a castle town grew up around it—the castle celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2017. In 2005, the towns of Daiwa, Kui, and Hongō were merged into Mihara.

With the Hiroshima Airport located in the western hills of Mihara, the city serves as a major transit hub for much of the Hiroshima Prefecture. As a key junction of land, sea, and air transportation, Mihara is also an industrial city with varied economic strengths including shipbuilding, fisheries, printing machinery, and electronics manufacturing.

The University of Hiroshima has a Mihara Campus, home to the Faculty of Health and Welfare. The faculty specialises in healthcare frontline service majors, including nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and radiology.

Economic Overview

Population (April 2023): 88,591

Hiroshima Prefecture GDP (2019): ~11.969 trillion JPY (~NZD $131.66 billion)

GDP per Capita (2020): ~USD $39,500 (~NZD $70,022)

Common interests and potential collaborations

Education and cultural exchange: Long-standing sister city relations foster opportunities for student exchanges and cultural programmes.

Disaster resilience: Both regions' experiences with natural disasters provide a basis for sharing disaster preparedness and response strategies.