Tomioka Town and Otama Village—A 15-Year Bond for the Future

On August 31st, a friendship city exchange event between Tomioka Town and Otama Village was held at the Tomioka Winery restaurant.

The two towns signed a friendship city agreement on August 2nd. More than 50 people, including the mayors of Tomioka Town and Otama Village, as well as council members and senior officials from both towns, gathered at the exchange meeting held on that day to deepen their friendship.

When Tomioka Town was forced to evacuate its entire population due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident, Otama Village was quick to accept the townspeople and provided warm support. Fifteen years have passed since then, and I am deeply moved to see the two towns take a new step forward as sister cities.

Our company, Futaba Co., Ltd., has a connection with Otama Village that also extends to Machu Picchu in Peru.

In October 2015, after reading an article about the sister city agreement between Otama Village and Machu Picchu Village, I began planning a project to contribute to the preservation of the Machu Picchu ruins, driven by a desire to repay Otama Village for its kindness. Subsequently, after coordinating with relevant organizations and conducting preliminary surveys in Peru, a full-scale preservation survey of the Machu Picchu ruins began in 2025.

I myself visited Peru four times in 2025, participating as the overall leader of a research team mainly composed of employees from Futaba Co., Ltd. In addition to conservation surveys of the Machu Picchu ruins, this also led to significant achievements, such as the discovery of new archaeological sites.
What I will never forget is participating in the 10th anniversary ceremony of the sister city agreement between Otama Village and Machu Picchu Village last October, and having a conversation with Mayor Oshiyama of Otama Village there. I was also invited to the dinner, where Mayor Oshiyama said in his speech, "Futaba's Machu Picchu archaeological survey has added a special touch to the 10th anniversary ceremony."

Receiving those words is something I will never forget.

The warm support extended from Otama Village to Tomioka Town immediately after the earthquake led to a connection that extended to Machu Picchu, and now to a new bond: the establishment of a friendship city agreement between Tomioka Town and Otama Village.

We are truly honored that you chose our Tomioka Winery as the venue for such an important exchange.

We sincerely hope that this exchange event will mark the beginning of a lasting friendship between the two towns and a new era of intergenerational exchange. Thank you very much to everyone who attended.