Fukushima City (2021 Host Town)

Tohoku | Fukushima City

2021 Tokyo Olympics & Paralympics

In a bid to clear its name from stigma and to head for a new stage, Fukushima City is actively teaming up with Switzerland ahead of Japan’s most important and anticipated event.

Accelerating recovery

Located at the foothills of iconic Mt. Azuma, Fukushima City is the gateway to the Tohoku region. With a population of around 290,000, the city is not only the political and economic center of the prefecture of the same name, but also the area’s main tourist destination. Natural hot springs, juicy homegrown fruits, flowers, mountains, and beautiful seasonal sceneries are only a few examples of what Fukushima City has to offer.

On March 11, 2011, however, a massive earthquake on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region not only damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, but also the image of the whole prefecture. Now risk-free, green energy-oriented and determined to change its reputation ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Fukushima City is partnering with a country that showed continuous support since 2011: Switzerland.

Partners and friends

Aside from the billions of yens personally donated by the Swiss citizens to support relief efforts and reconstruction of the affected areas in the Tohoku region (most notably the Onagawa Medical Center in Miyagi Prefecture) and their long-term rehabilitation, relations between Switzerland and Fukushima City took a big step forward in August 2013, when an aerobatic jet show sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Breitling took place in support of the Fukushima’s recovery. Other projects quickly followed, such as the Sky Sports International Festival in Fukushima and the internationally renowned Lucerne Festival's Ark Nova (2015) – an elegant inflatable concert hall.

To further strengthen the friendship with Switzerland, Fukushima City applied to become a Host Town of Switzerland and was later officially registered as Switzerland’s second 2020 Host Town on December 9, 2016, marking the beginning of a series of Swiss-related events in the area in 2017 and 2018, such as the unveiling of the relief of William Tell in Fukushima Sky Park, joyful Swiss Fairs, and concerts by renowned Swiss musicians. On the road to the Games, however, the best is yet to come!

Switzerland is coming to town

The Host Town Initiative was designed by the Japanese government in 2016 to promote educational and sports exchanges between the population living outside Tokyo, foreign countries and visiting Olympic teams before and during the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. In other words, pre-game training camps, showcases, lectures, workshops and festivals will be held all over Fukushima City, providing Swiss athletes and Japanese locals with unique opportunities to meet, exchange and create new ties that will outlast 2021.

The same events will simultaneously take place in four other Japanese places: Oyamazaki Town (Kyoto Prefecture), Oita City, Fuji City, and Tsukuba City. Thanks to these special partnerships, the Swiss-Japanese friendship is set to enter the post-2021 period with a renewed vitality and creative power!