December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy.

December 7, 1955, a day to make peace, new beginnings.

December 7, 2019, a day to celebrate 64 years of friendship and peacemaking.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, St. Paul will celebrate its 64th anniversary as sister city to Nagasaki, Japan, the second and hopefully last city ever devastated by an atomic bomb. When the civic leaders of Nagasaki and St. Paul proposed the sister city idea, the wounds of World War II were still fresh in many minds. That amazing leap of faith in the power of citizen diplomacy helped President Eisenhower establish the concept of Sister Cities around the world.

Today, the St. Paul and Nagasaki Sister City Committees are the oldest Sister City relationship between any city in the United States and any city in Asia. Through the years, many citizens as well as officials have visited each other’s cities. For our 65th year in 2020, dancers, taiko players, Civic Symphony members, two university groups, and Mayor Carter will visit Nagasaki. Guests from Nagasaki to St. Paul will include Mayor Taue, children participating in a tennis camp, sixteen selected junior high students, and musicians. Many of the guests will enjoy homestays with Twin Cities hosts, then continue their friendship via Facebook, SKYPE, and future visits.

Peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons are hallmarks of Nagasaki as are environmental stewardship and personal relationships with people of the world. After Pope Francis’s visit to Nagasaki this past November, the Pope declared, “the use of atomic weapons is a crime not only against the dignity of human beings, but against any possible future for our common home.” He urged all countries to support the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Both governments and citizens must work for a peaceful planet. The Sister Cities of St. Paul and Nagasaki are committed to the task.

JoAnn Blatchley, Edina

The writer is president of the Saint Paul – Nagasaki Sister City Committee