logo
  • Explore
    • Local Events
    • Local News
    • Local Organisations
  • News
    • Community
    • Local Government
    • Sports
    • Alberta Politics
    • Opinion
    • Deke
  • Peaks & Valleys
    • Wildlife
    • Hiking and Climbing
    • Biking
    • Fishing
    • Snow Sports
  • Culture
    • Jasper Arts & Culture
    • Local Dining
    • Local Literature
  • Jasper History
  • Support
    • Explore
      • Local Events
      • Local News
      • Local Organisations
    • News
      • Community
      • Local Government
      • Sports
      • Alberta Politics
      • Opinion
      • Deke
    • Peaks & Valleys
      • Wildlife
      • Hiking and Climbing
      • Biking
      • Fishing
      • Snow Sports
    • Culture
      • Jasper Arts & Culture
      • Local Dining
      • Local Literature
    • Jasper History
    • Support
Error with device mobile widget id reference_widget-4
Error with device mobile widget id reference_widget-4
Konnichiwa, Hakone: Council votes to continue Jasper to Japan delegation
Courtesy Hideo on Flickr
Local Government, News
By Bob Covey
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Konnichiwa, Hakone: Council votes to continue Jasper to Japan delegation

Jasper Municipal Council is keeping a 51-year relationship with its Japanese Twin City alive.

Despite some councillors wanting to skip the trip this year, a majority of voices around the Committee of the Whole table on Tuesday, May 9, voted in favour of sending a delegation to Hakone, Japan, in 2023.

“I think momentum is here now, we should take the opportunity,” Councillor Scott Wilson said.


Advertising inquiries: andrea@ravencommunitymedia.com


Councillor Rico Damota wanted to see the Hakone item moved to a future budget cycle. He made a motion as such.

“I think we’re better suited for 2024…unless there’s an appetite to really push forward this year,” he said.

Wilson was among those hungry to see a 2023 Hakone delegation. He voted against Damota’s motion to defer the item to 2024. So did councillors Kathleen Waxer and Mayor Ireland. The motion was defeated in a tie.

Before the vote, Mayor Ireland challenged the group to give the Hospitality and Twinned Communities Committee clear direction. He and councillor Waxer sit on that committee.

“At some point, what the committee is struggling with is trying to get an understanding from council whether they want to go at all,” Ireland said. “Council has to decide at some point whether a 51 year relationship with Hakone is worth preserving.”


Advertising inquiries: andrea@ravencommunitymedia.com


Wilson thinks it is. A Jasper delegation hasn’t travelled to Japan in nine years, he noted. He made a motion to send a delegation in the fall of 2023 and to promote the opportunity to interested community members. It was passed. Councillor Damota was in opposition.

“We’re going to find out if there’s a desire to go in 2023. We may hear more of us can go in 2024. But we’ll be that much further ahead,” Wilson said.

The estimated per person cost of the 10 day trip is approximately $8,000, according to initial investigations by administration.

This Friday and Saturday (May 12-13), Jasper is hosting a conference for the Alberta/Japan Twinned Municipalities Association at the Forest Park Hotel.

Shout it from the Mountain Tops: Japan, We Miss You! will bring speakers, storytellers and local artists to help welcome the newly-appointed Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary. At that conference, Wilson expects the Hospitality and Twinned Communities Committee will gauge interest from Jasperites in joining a Hakone delegation.

Jasper’s twin city relationship with Hakone goes back to the early 1970s. It is the longest running community relationship between Alberta and Japan. At the time of its creation, the impetus was to boost tourism. While that remains an important component of the twin cities program, the relationship has evolved to one of a cultural exchange, Ireland has said.


Advertising inquiries: andrea@ravencommunitymedia.com


Hakone is located 80 km southwest of Tokyo and before the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted nearly 20 million visitors a year. The town is located in the centre of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

In the past, Jasper has sent, and received, Grade 11 students as part of a Jasper/Hakone student exchange.


Bob Covey // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

Articles You May LIke ›
Jasper council to discuss hopping onboard with public transit
Community
Jasper council to discuss hopping onboard with public transit
Partnership with school division proposed; fixed route-bus service aimed at visitors, locals and students
Bob Covey 
Monday, May 8, 2023
Jasper Municipal Council will discuss a recommendation to establish a public transit system at its next meeting. The town’s Chief Administrative Offic...
this is a test
Council reallocates funds to support mural festival
Arts and Culture
Council reallocates funds to support mural festival
Bob Covey 
Thursday, April 6, 2023
View Post The Municipality of Jasper is lifting up the community’s approaching mural festival. At their April 4 regular council meeting, council agree...
this is a test
Mayor powers council through charged conversation
Local Government
Mayor powers council through charged conversation
Bob Covey 
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
As some municipal councillors voiced frustration with Jasper’s uncertain power situation, Jasper’s mayor advocated for a principles-based-approach to ...
this is a test
Opinion: Threats to Alberta’s headwaters are in all of our purview
Alberta Politics
Opinion: Threats to Alberta’s headwaters are in all of our purview
Bob Covey 
Monday, February 22, 2021
Who opposes the province’s decision to allow open-pit coal mining in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains? Basically everyone. So suggests Edmonton-based writer ...
this is a test
Most Read ›
Fully funded bridge proposal rebuffed by Jasper’s superintendent
News
Fully funded bridge proposal rebuffed by Jasper’s superintendent
Bob Covey 
Friday, May 5, 2023
Jasper National Park Superintendent Alan Fehr has declined a private offer to rebuild a washed-out bridge at Simon Creek, a structure which would allo...
this is a test
NDP’s Kreiner withdraws from all-candidates forum
Local Government
NDP’s Kreiner withdraws from all-candidates forum
Bob Covey 
Monday, May 15, 2023
West Yellowhead’s NDP candidate Fred Kreiner has elected not to participate in Jasper’s scheduled all-candidates forum. “I’ve decided and the NDP part...
this is a test
Helicopter sustains “incredible” damage after accident on Columbia Icefields
Community
Helicopter sustains “incredible” damage after accident on Columbia Icefields
Bob Covey 
Monday, April 24, 2023
A helicopter transporting Natural Resources Canada glacier surveyors had a hard landing on an icefield in Banff National Park April 14. The accident l...
this is a test
Letter: Keep up the public pressure to make Jasper’s backcountry safe
Opinion
Letter: Keep up the public pressure to make Jasper’s backcountry safe
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Re: Fully funded bridge proposal rebuffed by Jasper's superintendent (May 5, 2023) Dear Editor, This is an excellent article in The Jasper Local. I am...
this is a test
Latest ›
A Glimpse of the trans experience: Art exhibit celebrates gender euphoria
Arts & Culture
A Glimpse of the trans experience: Art exhibit celebrates gender euphoria
Jack Mastrianni 
Thursday, September 7, 2023
A combined still-life/portrait series celebrating queer identity is catching the eyes of Coco’s Café clientele. Local art enthusiasts and coffee addic...
this is a test
Corral Creek wildfire under control, not expected to grow
News
Corral Creek wildfire under control, not expected to grow
Bob Covey 
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
A wildfire which ignited in the east portion of Jasper National Park after a lightning storm is under control. On Friday, September 1, Parks Canada fi...
this is a test
HEADLINERS: Jasper Folk Music Festival artist profiles
Arts & Culture
HEADLINERS: Jasper Folk Music Festival artist profiles
Jack Mastrianni 
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
The 2023 Jasper Folk Music Festival kicks off September 8. The Jasper Local puts the spotlight on four bands which have the two-day festival's top bil...
this is a test
Fruit tree bears trapped, relocated
Community
Fruit tree bears trapped, relocated
Black bears attracted to ornamental trees are an increasing concern
Bob Covey 
Friday, September 1, 2023
A mother black bear and her cub have been captured and removed from the Jasper townsite by wildlife officials. It’s a second-to-last-ditch effort to g...
this is a test

NEXT ARTICLE

From dusk til dawn: Low light, high chance of wildlife encounters

Peaks & Valleys, Wildlife

Most Read ›
Fully funded bridge proposal rebuffed by Jasper’s superintendent
News
Fully funded bridge proposal rebuffed by Jasper’s superintendent
Bob Covey 
Friday, May 5, 2023
Jasper National Park Superintendent Alan Fehr has declined a private offer to rebuild a washed-out bridge at Simon Creek, a structure which would allo...
this is a test
NDP’s Kreiner withdraws from all-candidates forum
Local Government
NDP’s Kreiner withdraws from all-candidates forum
Bob Covey 
Monday, May 15, 2023
West Yellowhead’s NDP candidate Fred Kreiner has elected not to participate in Jasper’s scheduled all-candidates forum. “I’ve decided and the NDP part...
this is a test
Helicopter sustains “incredible” damage after accident on Columbia Icefields
Community
Helicopter sustains “incredible” damage after accident on Columbia Icefields
Bob Covey 
Monday, April 24, 2023
A helicopter transporting Natural Resources Canada glacier surveyors had a hard landing on an icefield in Banff National Park April 14. The accident l...
this is a test
Letter: Keep up the public pressure to make Jasper’s backcountry safe
Opinion
Letter: Keep up the public pressure to make Jasper’s backcountry safe
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Re: Fully funded bridge proposal rebuffed by Jasper's superintendent (May 5, 2023) Dear Editor, This is an excellent article in The Jasper Local. I am...
this is a test
Latest ›
A cosmic career: Jasper Rotary Club to host astronaut Marc Garneau
Community
A cosmic career: Jasper Rotary Club to host astronaut Marc Garneau
Bob Covey 
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
The Honourable Marc Garneau is coming to Jasper for the upcoming Dark Sky Festival. Despite Garneau’s career in exploration, the 74-year-old has never...
this is a test
Former Jasperite brewing beer with all of the passion, none of the gluten
Business
Former Jasperite brewing beer with all of the passion, none of the gluten
Naito Beer debuts in Alberta
Bob Covey 
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
No one could accuse Ray Naito of doing things the easy way. To get his gluten-free craft beer concept from a back-of-the-napkin idea, to where it is n...
this is a test
Injured black bear euthanized
Community
Injured black bear euthanized
Bob Covey 
Friday, September 22, 2023
Parks Canada wildlife specialists euthanized a black bear cub after it was seriously injured in what appears to be a railway incident. For the last fo...
this is a test
New Métis government formed; Kaila Mitchell elected Jasper House citizen representative
Alberta Politics
New Métis government formed; Kaila Mitchell elected Jasper House citizen representative
Bob Covey 
Thursday, September 21, 2023
A new Otipemisiwak Metis Government has been formed and Kaila Mitchell is the newly elected representative for the Jasper House Métis District. “This ...
this is a test

© Copyright The Jasper Local

This site complies with Jasper requirements
Contact us
Privacy Policy
Advertise With Us
About The Jasper Local
Accessibility Policy
Support
This site complies with Jasper requirements
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • About The Jasper Local
  • Accessibility Policy

Follow Us

Advertise with us

Measurable, targeted, local. Email example@thejasperlocal.com

ePaper
coogle_play
app_store

© Copyright The Jasper Local