Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, Higashimatsushima Mayor Iwao Atsumi and students from Lahainaluna High School pose for a photo after the signing of a Friendship City Agreement on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Maui County

Maui County’s new Friendship City is an ocean away, but the two municipalities might be closer to each other than geography suggests.

On Tuesday, the mayors from Maui County and Higashimatsushima in Japan exchanged kind words and gifts inside the Kalana O Maui County Building in Wailuku while signing a new Friendship City Agreement.

The agreement establishes a formal relationship between Maui and Higashimatsushima that the mayors said is rooted in shared experience and based on mutual respect, cultural understanding and exchange, and disaster recovery. Interestingly, the ties between the two cities grew out of a program from the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii that connected Lahainaluna High School students with the people of Higashimatsushima.

Like Maui, Higashimatsushima is closely tied to the ocean. The city sits on the eastern side of northern Japan’s largest island, Honshu, and borders the Pacific.

Also like Maui, Higashimatsushima has faced devastation. In 2011, more than 1,100 people in the city died after an earthquake triggered a massive tsunami off Japan’s coast. Across Japan, the disaster killed over 19,700 people with more than 2,500 still missing.

In Higashimatsushima, over 11,000 structures — or approximately two-thirds of the buildings in the city limits — were destroyed, and most of the city was inundated by the tsunami.

During his remarks, Bissen outlined the goals of the new friendship agreement, including disaster preparedness, educational and youth exchange, cultural exchange and mutual assistance in times of disaster. He also applauded the students from Lahainaluna who helped forge the new bond.

“These students, I know, will always remember the many lessons that they learned from a community that has navigated long-term recovery from 2011, and again their concerns are just as relevant today as they were for (Higashimatsushima) in 2011,” Bissen said.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen (left) and Higashimatsushima Mayor Iwao Atsumi celebrate after signing a Friendship City Agreement on Tuesday at the Kalana O Maui County Building in Wailuku. Eli Pace/The Maui News

Speaking through a translator, Atsumi echoed Bissen’s remarks, as he further highlighted the role private organizations can play in fostering exchange programs. Atsumi said it was “a great honor” to sign the agreement.

“Although our communities are separated by the Pacific Ocean, Maui County and Higashimatsushima city share a remarkable bond,” Atsumi said. “Also, our communities have endured devastating natural disasters. Yet in each case, governments, local businesses and residents came together with a resilience and determination to build stronger than before.”

The mayors weren’t the only ones celebrating the new formalized friendship. Mia Kosianowski, who graduated from Lahainaluna High School in 2024, was in the audience to witness Tuesday’s signing with a number of her peers.

In her senior year of high school, Kosianowski was among about a dozen students from Lahainaluna who visited Higashimatsushima on a sponsored trip during spring break.

“It was unforgettable,” she said. “That week felt like one of the best weeks of my life.”

Kosianowski remembers the warmth and welcoming nature of the people of Higashimatsushima, and how they found ways to overcome the language barrier as they connected with each other. Kosianowski also visited museums dedicated to the loss the city experienced in 2011, and she found inspiration in the role students played in the rebuilding process.

“The people were the biggest part of it for me. Meeting some of the high school students there who were around our age was so fun,” Kosianowski said. “We got to play volleyball with them and, even again, the language barrier, it didn’t change anything. We still had a blast. We laughed so much. It was just fun.”

She recalled that she got involved with the trip while taking a Japanese class at her school. Her teacher had informed her about the opportunity, and despite not yet having her passport, she signed up. As a result, she got a chance to travel abroad outside the U.S. and Hawaii for the first time at no expense to her, and she helped grow bonds between Maui County and Higashimatsushima in the process.

“I was very grateful that it all worked out and my passport came in time and I was able to go and experience that for sure,” she said.

Now, Kosianowski is attending the University of Hawaii Maui College with aspirations of becoming a teacher.

“Above all, I hope this partnership will inspire the next generation in both Maui and Higashimamatsushima to broaden their horizon, build a lasting friendship across the Pacific and grow into our future leaders with a global perspective,” Atsumi said.

Students from Lahainaluna High School who went on a trip to Higashimatsushima through the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii stand up to be recognized during the signing of a Friendship City Agreement on Tuesday. Eli Pace/The Maui News

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen (left) and Higashimatsushima Mayor Iwao Atsumi celebrate after signing a Friendship City Agreement on Tuesday at the Kalana O Maui County Building in Wailuku. Photo courtesy Maui County