On 28th November 2025, the Embassy hosted the Yokohama City Delegation for a cordial discussion focused on strengthening the relationship between Yokohama City and Tanzania. The discussions highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation across trade, investment, culture, sports, and education, and considered the potential to establish formal relations with the City of Dar es Salaam. Welcoming the delegation was Ms. Edna Dioniz Chuku, Counsellor Economic Affairs accompanied by Embassy staff, Ms. Vicky Mnzava and Mr. Kazuma Shirai.

The Yokohama delegation expressed appreciation for the ongoing partnership with Tanzania in sports, culture, and education. They reflected on previous exchanges, particularly in baseball, highlighting successful interactions involving Tanzanian baseball teams, high school exchanges, and contributions from the DeNA BayStars. Yokohama also noted the technical learning opportunities that had occurred, such as a visit by experts from Tanzanian and Zanzibar fisheries institutions to the Tsurumi Waste Management Facility, which underscored the link between waste management and marine conservation. Other areas of past cooperation included business exchanges, with companies like JGC establishing ties through memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in renewable energy, as well as collaborative efforts during TICAD involving Yokohama’s Mayor and Tanzania’s Minister Kombo.

Looking ahead, the Yokohama delegation outlined the intention to deepen collaboration with Dar es Salaam in key sectors, including waste management, plastic reduction, port and logistics cooperation, water supply, urban services, technical training programs, youth exchanges, and business promotion. The delegation also noted that establishing formal city partnerships is complex and that new Sister City agreements are unlikely due to strict approval processes. Instead, they proposed a Partner City arrangement or an MOU as more feasible alternatives. Dar es Salaam was identified as a strategic African partner for Yokohama due to its economic significance, port role, youthful demographics, and ongoing exchanges supported by the Embassy.

In response, the Embassy provided clarifications on potential areas of engagement. It recommended consultations with relevant Tanzanian authorities, such as Dar es Salaam City Municipal, port management institutions, and youth development agencies, to assess collaboration needs. The Embassy also expressed support for enhanced sports and educational exchanges and encouraged business-related collaborations, including engagement with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and partnerships in renewable energy. They proposed organizing business matching sessions in Dar es Salaam, accompanied by reciprocal events in Yokohama. Furthermore, Yokohama was invited to co-host the 2026 Tanzania Investment Seminar, which the Embassy usually organizes annually in Tokyo and Osaka.

Other issues were addressed during the dialogue, including Tanzania's relationships with other Japanese cities, such as Nagai, which has a sister-city relationship with Dodoma, and ongoing engagements with Matsubara City. The Embassy reassured that previous misunderstandings in media coverage about “Japan Hometown Initiative” had no impact on ongoing cooperation with JICA or Nagai City.

Both parties agreed on a way forward that includes formalizing a collaboration framework between Dar es Salaam and Yokohama, advancing sectoral cooperation in waste management, port logistics, and developing structured youth programs, especially in sports and education exchange. Additionally, business cooperation targeting SMEs will be strengthened through planned matching seminars and joint investment promotion activities, while high-level visits and preparations for Tanzania’s participation in the 2027 Green Expo in Yokohama will continue with coordinated planning.

The meeting was concluded by reaffirming the substantial goodwill and shared follow up mechanism with the relevant authorities in Tanzania. It acknowledged the significant opportunities for cooperation between Tanzania and Yokohama; and agreed to maintain close communication to advance the proposed programs and partnership frameworks.