1、前言：
我是大分市市长木下敬之助。
尊敬的李宪生市长、尊敬的来宾、世界各地为出席"武汉友好城市发展论坛"而来的代表们，能与你们会聚一堂，我深感荣幸。在此，我真诚地感谢李宪生市长使我有机会作此发言，同时还为友好城市间的商讨提供了场所。
各位或许知道，1979年9月，大分市在11对友好城市中率先与武汉市签定了友好城市协议。两市不但定期互派正式代表团，还在医疗、农业、经济等领域进行了积极的交流。我想以所取得的成绩为背景，开始这次论坛的主题"为进一步发展友好城市关系而努力"
2、大分市概况：
首先，我简要介绍一下大分市。
大分市位于日本列岛的第三大岛九州岛的东北部，以纬度而言，在武汉市以北约300公里。
大分市的地形是北面临海，三面由高崎山等美丽的山峰环绕。年平均气温为15-16℃，年降水量为1700mm。如此气候加上有益身心的自然环境，使大分市成为温暖、舒适的居住地。
尽管大分市的短暂历史几乎无法与拥有如三国演义描述的那般悠久、傲人历史的武汉市相比，但是公元7世纪以前，大分就建立了地方政府。16世纪后半叶，大分在杰出的领主大友宗麟的领导下，积极与外国通商，盛极一时。其中与中国的贸易往来兴隆，当时大分市内就出现了以中国人居住为主?quot;唐人町"。与此同时，大友领主还与西方特别是葡萄牙建立起联系，并率先将西方医学、音乐、戏剧等文化元素介绍到日本。可以说，大分市自大友宗麟时代就积极融合外国文化，直至成为今天的充满活力的国际都市。
大分市目前的繁荣是基于临海工业区的发展。1959年工业企业着手填海拓地。先后建成了石油精练厂、石油联合加工厂和日本钢铁公司大分钢铁厂。此后又吸引了东芝公司到内地建立集成电路工厂。目前钢铁、石油和集成电路已成为大分市的重点工业。1997年，作为地方分权制度的一部分，大分市被日本政府指定为重点城市。美丽迷人的大分市正在为成为与其县都会相称?quot;相互理解、青枝绿叶、生机勃勃"的城市而奋进。
3、友好城市间的交流
下面，我想谈谈迄今为止大分市与武汉市的交流情况。
促成大分市-武汉市友好城市协议的是大分的日本钢铁厂与武汉钢铁集团公司的交往。1974年，大分市的现代化、最先进的钢铁厂被选定为武汉钢铁厂的设计样板。此后两年间，大分钢铁厂共接待武汉钢铁公司技术研修人员200人次。同时，也向武汉市派出了工程技术人员提供技术指导。大分市与武汉市就此以铁为媒，开始了民间的交流。
那时，我国正好迎来地方国际化的时代。正在摸索与近邻中国建立联系的大分市于是在1976年提议与武汉市建立友好城市关系。三年之后，1979年9月，两市正式签署了友好协议。
此后23年来，两市通过互派代表团，稳步推进双方关系。同时还交流了经济、文化、体育、农业、医疗、卫生等各领域的信息。这些努力收到了很好的效果，加深了两市的友好情谊。下面，我想介绍几个大分市与武汉市交流活动的具体事例。
作为经济交流的典范，1984年为纪念大分武汉缔结友好城市5周年，在大分市举办了"湖北省及武汉市商品展览会"。三天时间共卖出商品2.1万件。成交额超过800万美元,取得极大的成功。
在文化艺术方面，武汉市引以为豪的杂技团、京剧团和歌舞团三次联合组团到大分市进行公演。大分县民歌剧、现代舞、鹤崎舞以及其他传统艺术团体让武汉市民领略了其风采。此外，在书法、绘画、摄影等领域也开展了活跃的交流。
在教育方面，两市共有16所教育相关机构包括大、中、小学签定了友好协议并通过互访和书画交流加强沟通。我希望这种交流能加强青年之间的国际理解，培养出未来世界舞台上的重要人物。
在体育交流方面，大分市曾派出"体育之翼访华团"。同时还进行了女子篮球和青少年足球队交流。大分市每年都主办世界最大规模的轮椅马拉松赛事"大分国际轮椅马拉松"。从1984年以来，武汉市每年都有选手参赛。
此外，在今年8月举办的"纪念日中邦交正常化30周年日中友好交流城市中学生乒乓球大会"上，大分市与武汉市的中学生联合组队，取得了分组赛冠军。
在农业方面，自1984年以来，大分市已接受了6批武汉市派遣的农业研修生，我感到大分市正在为武汉市的农业现代化作出重大贡献。武汉研修生与大分农户的友谊开创了经济交流的新思路，即由武汉市生产箩卜苗和日本芹种籽，由大分农户种植。
在医疗卫生领域，两市积极互派观察小组和研修生参加传统中医、烧伤治疗、患者检查技术、地区预防医学及医院管理体系等培训课程。这些课程为改善两市卫生水平作出了很大的贡献。
在最近的交流中，去年12月份武汉市派遣的武汉烹饪代表团在大分市举办了"武汉烹饪展销会"。吸引了众多大分居民参加。包括特色小吃"豆皮"在内的武汉食品与北京和上海的味道不同，受到日本美食家的亲睐，并极受大分市民的欢迎。大分市市民希望将汉味食品推广到全日本。
此外，还在广播电视、新闻等媒体行业、零售业（如：百货公司）、服装设计及刺绣等领域内进行了有特色的交流。
4、新世纪友城关系
下面，我想就大会的主题"新世纪·友好与合作"谈一点自己的看法。
众所周知，环境问题、非再生能源问题、人口问题已成为全球性的问题。随着交通系统和通讯技术的不断改进，国界正极快叵Ｎ颐侨缃袼Φ氖贝词故窍绱宓厍男畔⒁部梢运布浯槿颍跋煺鍪澜纭?
这些新发展将增进世界不同文化和生活方式的相互理解与尊重。时代要求人们相互接受文化差异并为协力达成众多目标而建立起联系。为此，我相信在21世纪，城市之间跨越国境的成功交流将更为重要。因此，此次友好城市论坛召开得恰逢其时。我向作此决断的李宪生市长表示由衷的敬意。
现在，我向大家介绍一下大分市的几个主要做法。
尽管我刚才已经向大家谈了大分市在各个领域里民间交流所取的巨大成果。但是，要使民间的交流今后能经常性开展，有一点非常重要，那就是广泛宣传城市的显著特征。因此，世界上最大的体育赛;世界杯"在大分市举行了几场比赛。这为突出大分市"国际重点旅游城市"形象提供了绝好机会，并将主要宣传语--"温泉·神乐舞·美味与矶崎新氏"积极传向世界。
中国也首次亮相2002世界杯。我本人十分高兴，中国能作为体育大国向全世界展示其威力。
宣传语"温泉"，是指大分县是拥有别府、汤布院等著名温泉胜地的日本温泉第一县。而在大分市内，也有170多个温泉，大分市的温泉别具特色，出自600至800米的地下，被称为大深度地热温泉，素以费用低廉、舒适宜人而深受广大观光客的好评。
"神乐舞"，是一种传统民间表演，它以壮勇的舞姿和豪放的鼓声为特征。"冈仓"与日本传统艺术--歌舞伎和狂言有密切联系。在世界杯期间，"冈仓"连演数日，外国游客好评如潮。
"美味"，是指用大量新鲜原料制成的品种繁多的名菜。比如说，用因肉质优良而享有盛名的丰后牛制作的牛肉菜肴，用产自丰后水道、新鲜度和品质都在日本首屈一指的河豚、竹荚鱼、鲐鱼等制作的海鲜菜肴等均格外有名。这些受惠于高山大海的菜肴连烹饪研究专家、美食家也赞不绝口。这正是"食在大分"之所在。
大分市还因世界著名的建筑家矶崎新氏而闻名，矶崎新氏的著名作品遍布大分市。大分市中心展览馆保存着矶崎新氏在世界各地的建筑设计模型。整个大分市简直就象是矶崎先生作品的展廊。矶崎先生目前正在参与北京的城区改造项目。
当然，除上述之外，大分市及其周边地区还有以世界最大的野生猴栖息地而闻名的高崎山自然动物园，以及许多国家重点保护历史场所如：文物石佛群、古墓群等无数旅游景点。我衷心希望更多人能有机会访问大分市，在感受大分市民热情的同时，亲身感受大分市的美丽。
我们想顺带谈一下，国内外约12万人前来观看的在大分市进行的三场世界杯球赛。9天的时间里有超过33万球迷参与了有关赛事。大赛期间，我感到外国客人在大分生活得十分愉快，并借此难得的机会，跨越语言障碍与当地居民建立起友谊。
下面，我向大家介绍一下大分市正在进行的一些项目。大分市目前正在实施主体城市基础设施改造工程，要求高架大分火车站并重新开发其周遍环境。该项目在日本独树一帜，被称为"大分市车站周边地区综合创新工程"。作为该项目的一部分，为了使新城区的发展尽可能贴近大多数市民的意愿，我市启动了新的城市规划方案即"以公众需求为导向之城市发展"。
首先，我们请我已谈及的建筑家矶崎先生，在不拘泥于现有的城市规划法律、法规的情况下展开设计制成模型以展现理想中的目标。去年11月的讨论会上，矶崎先生公开展示了该模型。武汉来宾也参加了讨论会并提出了宝贵的意见。
（这就是立体模型的照片）
这个模型作为可行性草案公众推出，抛砖引玉。土地所有者、居民和企业在最初的设计基础上提出了更为具体的建议和想法，与此同时，通过与大分市政府的进一步讨论，我们决定将城市建设得尽可能贴近市民的理想。该建设方案因此被命为"以公众需求为导向之城市发展"。
我们已收集了市民们的很多意见和具体的方案，市民们的关心和参与城市规划的热情将引导我们设计出理想的方案。市民的积极参与必将使大分市更具魅力并成为市民的骄傲。
尽管缺乏正规法律基础，居民和各行业提供的信息表明，"以公众需求为指向之城市发展"是新世纪规划设施与城区的极为有效的途径。我希望将来有一天，我们从此次经历中汲取的信息可以对日本以及世界其他地区有所帮助。
我相信，象大分市这样进行新思路、新信息、新的办事方法的交流是21世纪国际城市交流所必须的。
今天我就友城交流这一主题谈了看法。我坚信新世纪必将带来更为紧密的全球一体化。同时，也需要更多的智慧与努力。国际城市关系，例如友城协议关系，将翻开新时代新的篇章。我期待有一天此类国际关系可以跨越种族、国界，为人民的幸福，为全世界的和平作出贡献。
5、结语
最后，我要向李宪生市长以及为促成此次武汉友好城市发展论坛辛勤工作的人们表示由衷的感谢！同时，我也真诚地祝福各位来宾身体健康，祝愿你们的城市不断发展！我的发言到此结束，谢谢各位。
Speech by Mayor of Oita,Japan
1. Introduction
Hello. I am Keinosuke Kinoshita, Mayor of Oita City. Mayor Li Xian Sheng, honored guests, representatives form around the world and all those who have come to participate in the Themes for 2002 Wuhan forum on Development of International Friendship Cities Wuhan, it is a profound honor and pleasure to be here with you today. I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Mayor Li Xian Sheng for allowing me the opportunity to give this speech and for providing this space for discussion among the Friendship City representatives.
As you may know, in September 1979, Oita finalized the Friendship City Agreement with Wuhan as the first of eleven Friendship cities. Since then, not only have Oita and Wuhan periodically sent formal delegations to maintain ties, but have also striven to promote exchange in various fields such as medicine, agriculture, business and culture. With these achievements serving as a backdrop, I would like enter the main theme of this forum: "Working Together to Further Develop Friendship City Relationships".
2. Overview of Oita City
I will first give a brief overview of Oita City.
Oita is situated on the northeast coast of Japan’s third largest island, Kyushu, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Wuhan’s location in China. It faces the ocean to the north and is bordered by beautiful mountains, such as Mt . Takasaki, in all other directions. The temperature averages between 15℃ and 16℃ (59oF and 61oF), and rainfall averages 1,700 millimeters (67 inches) per year. This climate, along with the healthy natural environment, make Oita a warm and pleasant place to live.
Oita’s own short timeline can hardly compare to Wuhan’s long and proud history-as featured in the story of Sanguoyanyi-but by the seventh century, Oita had established a provincial government office. In the latter half of the sixteenth century, Oita flourished under the prominent feudal lord Otomo Sorin (Dom Francisco), who established trade with several foreign countries. Trade with China was so vigorous during this period that the city even had a Chinatown district called Tojinmachi. Otomo also established connections with the West, especially Portugal, and was the first to bring Western medicine, music, theater and other Western elements into Japan. Thus, Oita has been actively incorporating elements of foreign cultures since Otomo Sorin’s time, and it continues to be a vibrant international city today.
Oita’s current prosperity is based in the coastal industrial zone. Industrial ventures were launched in 1959 on reclaimed land just off the shore. The establishment of a petroleum purification plant and industrial complex were followed by Nippon Steel Corporation Oitta Works. Later, Toshiba was invited to set up an IC factory at an inland location, and now steel, petroleum and IC serve as Oita’s key industries. Furthermore, in 1997, Oita was designated a "Core City" by the Japanese government as part of the movement to decentralize government authority. As befits a capital city of the prefecture, Oita is a beautiful and charming city that constantly strives toward the goals of "Mutual Understanding, Greenery and Vibrancy".
3. Friendship City Exchanges
Next, I would like to talk about the exchanges held so far between Oita and Wuhan. The opportunity that led to our Friendship City agreement was a connection between Oita’s Nippon Steel Works and the Wuhan Iron and Steel Group Corporation. In 1974, Oita’s modern, cutting-edge factory was selected as a model for the design of Wuhan’s factory. In the following two years, a total of 200 technical trainees from the Wuhan Corporation were accepted, and many engineers from the Nippon Steel travelled to Wuhan to provide technical guidance. In this way, the steel industry served as a spark for the connection between the people of Oita and Wuhan.
At that time, internationalization was just starting to take root at the local level in Japan. Oita, seeking to establish relations with its near neighbor China made a proposal in 1976 to establish a Friendship City relationship with Wuhan. Three years later, in September of 1979, the two cities formally signed the agreement.
For 23 years since, our two cities have forged connections through the sending of delegations, and we have also exchanged knowledge in diverse fields such as economics, culture, sports, agriculture and medical hygiene. All our efforts have yielded promising results, and have deepened the feelings of friendship between the two cities.
I would now like to give some concrete examples of the exchange activities Otia and Wuhan have conducted over the years.
One representative activity in area of economic exchange is the "Product Exhibition of Hubei Province and Wuhan City" , held in 1984 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of our Friendship City relationship. Over 21,000 items were sold in three days, generating over eight million dollars and making the event a great success.
In the field of arts and culture, Wuhan’s acrobatics troupe, Beijing opera performers and song and dance groups-the pride of Wuhan-came to perform as a group in Oita three times.Groups from oita performed opera,modern dance, Tsurusaki Dance and other traditional arts and entertainment in Wuhan to the delight of the audience. Painting, calligraphy and photography are other fields which have been enjoying active exchanges.
In the field of education, a total of sixteen education related institutions including elementary schools, middle schools and universities in both cities have made friendship agreements with each other, have been fostering communication through exchange visits and the exchange of calligraphic paintings. I believe that such contact between young people promotes international understanding and helps nurture individuals who will play valuable roles on the global stage in the future.
In the field of sports, events such as sending the "Wings of Sports" group to China, women’s basketball exchanges and junior soccer team exchanges are taking place.Oita also hosts the yearly"Oita International wheelchair Marathon",the largest event of it kind in the world.Since1984,athletes from Wuhan have participated yearly in this event.
Furthermore, the "Japan·China Friendship City Middle School Table Tennis Tournament", which commemorated the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, was held in August of this year. Middle school students from Oita and Wuhan combined to form teams and finished the tournament as champions in their division.
In the field of agriculture, interns from Wuhan have come to Oita six times since 1984, and I feel that Oita is making a significant contribution toward the modernization of agricultural technology in Wuhan. The new friendship between Wuhan interns and Oita farmers has led to a novel idea for economic exchange: seeds of radish sprouts and Japanese parsley are now produced in Wuhan and are subsequently cultivated by farmers in Oita City.
In the field of medical hygiene, both cities have actively sent observation grounps and trainees to participate in training programs to study traditional Chinese medicine, burn treatments, patient examination techniques, systems of local preventative medicine and hospital management. These programs have contributed greatly to the improvement of health conditions in both cities.
In a more recent exchange program, a group of chefs from Wuhan came to Oita in December of last year to hold the "Wuhan Cooking Fair". Many Oita residents participated in the event. Wuhan dishes including an unique snack called "doupi" taste a bit different from dishes of Beijing and Shanghai. The flavors turned out to have great appeal to the Japanese palate, and were very popular with the Oita participants. Oita residents are hoping to spread the taste of Wuhan all across Japan.
As for other programs, the cities have held unique exchanges in the fields of television broadcating, mass media, retail business (such as department stores), fashion designing, and needlework.
4. Relations between Friendship Cities in the New Century
Next, I would like to speak a little on today’s theme, "Relations between Friendship Cities in the New Millennium".
As you know, problems with the environment, nonrenewable energy resources and the human population have reached global proportions.Furthermore, the world is rapidly shedding its borders as transportation systems and communication technologies continue to improve. We now live in an age where even information from rural areas can travel around the globe in an instant and influence the entire world.
All these recent developments have helped promote mutual understanding and respect for the world’s diverse cultures and ways of life.In this age, it is imperative that people accept each other’s cultural differences and build ties to cooperate in achieving various goals. To this end, I believe that successful exchanges between cities that cross national boundaries are even more important in the 21st century. Thus, I highly respect Mayor Li Xian Sheng for deciding to hold this Friendship City Development Forum, as there is no more appropriate time than the present to foster international exchange.
I will now introduce some major current projects in Oita City.
As I have said, we have had many exchange program successes in various fields, but in order to further international exchange in a practical sense for the city residents, it is important that we widely advertise the city’s positive traits. Therefore, several games of the world’s largest sports event, the World Cup, took place in Oita. It provided an ideal chance for the city to project an image of being a major city for international tourism. The key promotion words "Onsen, Okagura, Oishinbo and Isozaki" were actively sent out across the globe.
China also made a debut at the 2002 World Cup games, and I am very happy that such a large, sports oriented country had the opportunity to demonstrate its prowess to the world.
The promotion word, "Onsen" means "hot spring", and refers to Oita Prefecture being the best in the country for hot spring baths. Numerous hot spring baths dot Oita City’s neighboring cities of Beppu and Yufuin, and even in Oita City, over 170 hot springs bubble forth from the earth. Oita City’s hot springs arise from 600 to 800 meters (1969 to 2625 feet) underground, and are known as "Deep Geothermal Hot Springs". Their reasonable entry fees make them popular and affordable for frequent use.
"Okagura" is a traditional folk performance characterized by heroic dancing and the lively beat of taiko drums. Closely related to the origins of Kabuki Theater and Comic Drama of Noh, Japan’s traditional arts, it was performed daily to the delight of Oita’s foreign guests during the World Cup.
"Oishinbo" refers to many kinds of famous dishes made from an abundance of fresh ingredients. For example, the most famous dishes use premium quality Bungo Beef as well as fish caught from the waters of the Bungo Channel. In Oita, the freshest blowfish and horse mackerel in all of Japan is transformed into delicious seafood dishes. These dishes, made from the natural products of the mountains and sea, constantly receive wonderful reviews from culinary experts and food critics alike, and one could even say that Oita is largely defined by its cuisine.
Lastly, Oita is known for its world famous architect Arata Isozaki, and his celebrated designs can be found all over the city. There is an exhibition hall in the city center holding several design models of buildings that have been constructed all over the world. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the entire city itself is like a gallery of Isozaki’s works. The architect is now working on an urban renewal project in Beijing.
Of course, Oita City and the surrounding areas boast countless tourism destinations, such as Mt. Takasaki Zoological Preserve, known for being the world’s largest park habitat for wild monkeys, and many national historical landmarks such as stone Buddha statues and burial mounds, I sincerely hope that more people have the opportunity to visit Oita and experience firsthand the beauty of the land as well as the warmth of its residents.
Incidentally, I would liko to mention that some 120,000 spectators from Japan and abroad attended the three World Cup games in Oita, and over a period of nine days, 330,000 fans attended related events.During the event, I feel that our foreign guests enjoyed their stay in Oita thoroughly and had a wonderful opportunity to transcend language barriers to form friendships with local citizens.
I will next introduce some new projects taking place in Oita. We are currently in the midst of a major city infrastructure improvement project calling for the elevation of Oita Railway Station and redevelopment of it surroundings. The project is known as the "Oita Station Vicinity Comprehensive Renovation Project", and is unique in Japan. As part of the project, the city is implementing a new urban planning technique called "Guided Urban Development According to Public Needs" so that development of the new city area results in a design as close as possible to the ideal of the majority of citizens.
We first asked Arata Isozaki, the architect I spoke of earlier, to create a design without regard to the existing town planning laws and regulations. This design was made in model form and represented the ideal goal of the project. Isozaki presented the model to the public in a symposium held in November of last year. Visitors from Wuhan also participated in the event and contributed important ideas for the project.
(Here is a photograph of the architectural model.)
This model was presented to the public as a rough design of what could be possible, and served as a springboard for new ideas. Landowners, residents and businesses presented more concrete suggestions and ideas based on this first design, and through progressive discussions with the city government, we aim to build an area as close as possible to a design that is ideal for the residents. Thus, this method is named "Guided Urban Development According to Public Needs".
We have already gathered many opinions and detailed proposals from the residents, their interest and enthusiasm for participating in urban planning helps guide development toward an ideal design. Surely, such active participation by its residents will result in Oita becoming the kind of place that its citizens find even more charming and feel proud of.
Although lacking any formal legal grounding, the input from many residents and businesses has shown "Guided Urban Development According to Public Needs" to be a highly effective method for planning new facilities and urban areas for the new century. I hope that the knowledge we are gaining from this experience will one day be used to assist other regions in Japan and the rest of the world.
The exchange of new ideas, new information, and new ways of doing things like what Oita has implemented--this is what I believe inter-city exchange in the 21st century is meant to be.
I have spoken today on the topic of exchanges between Friendship Cities, and would like to conclude by expressing my conviction that the new millennium is destined to bring about a closer-knit global community. Along with it, the need for greater wisdom and effort will increase even more. International city-to-city relationships, such as Friendship City agreements, are poised to turn a new page in history in this new age. I expect that such international connections will someday go beyond racial and national borders and contribute to the well being of people and greater peace throughout the world.
5. Conclusion
To finish, I would like to express my gratitude to Mayor Li Xian Sheng and all the others who worked so hard to make the Wuhan City Forum a reality. To the members of the audience, I would like to give my sincere prayers for good health and continued improvement of your home cities. This concludes my speech, and I thank you all for listening.
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