OPINION: Osaka-San Francisco Conflict Disrupts U.S.-Japan Relations

By Jia Sheng

Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura on October 2 declared that it would formally terminate its sister-city relationship with San Francisco, 61 years after the two port cities bonded over their similarities in geography and economic drivers.

Conflict between the two cities erupted over a San Francisco statue symbolizing three comfort women with the inscription, “Hundreds of thousands of women forced into slavery,” according to Asahi News. The statue was commissioned in September 2017 by a local private group and later donated to the San Francisco government. The Japan Times reports that the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, accepted the statue despite repeated requests against such action from Yoshimura.

According to the Japan Times, Yoshimura considered severing the tie between Osaka and San Francisco in November 2017 but decided to postpone it due to the sudden death of the former-mayor of San Francisco, Edwin Lee. The plan resurfaced in September 2018 when Yoshimura sent Breed a request to cancel the transfer of the statue to the city government, according to Asahi News. The article reports that Breed did not respond before the end of September deadline.

According to the Japan Times, on the day Yoshimura officially cut ties between Osaka and San Francisco, he also sent a ten-page letter in which he expressed “solemn [disappointment]” over the action taken by the San Francisco government.”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Breed also expressed disappointment with Yoshimura’s insistence on breaking the tie between the cities but remained hopeful for the continuation of friendship between the citizens of San Francisco and Osaka, commenting that “we’re committed to our sister-city relationship… we want them to continue maintain that relationship.”

The event comes amid a series of challenges to U.S.-Japan relations, including recent disputes over trade policies and tensions over the U.S. military presence on Okinawa. Such disruptions in bilateral relations promise some conflict, and though they may not create immediate change, issues of this sort may create barriers for future business and political cooperation between the two countries.