YAMANASHI PREFECTURE,
JAPAN
SISTER STATE RELATIONSHIP
EST. 1960
About Yamanashi
HISTORY
In 1959, a typhoon devastated Yamanashi Prefecture. In response, Iowa sent 35 breeding hogs and 100,000 bushels of corn to help with the recovery – an event that is famously known today as the Iowa Hog Lift. (Further information about the Iowa/Yamanashi Hog Lift can be found in this 1988 account by Michael E. Delaney.)
Yamanashi and Iowa would become Sister States in 1960 by a formal agreement, signed between Governor Norman Erbe of Iowa and Governor Hisashi Amano of Yamanashi. This agreement marked Iowa's very first Sister State relationship.
The people of Yamanashi and Iowa continue to grow and nurture this relationship. Over the years there have been exchanges in students, nursing, agriculture, young professionals and even bacon! The list of exchanges is endless and it continues to grow.
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Population: 817,192
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Capital: Kofu (187,985 pop.)
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Language: Japanese
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Area: 4,465.27 km2 (1,724.05 sq mi)
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Climate: humid subtropical