On Monday, February 27, Governor Koike met with Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Tokyo and Paris signed a friendship city agreement in 1982, and in 2015, the two cities signed an agreement committing to exchange and cooperation in the areas of the environment, culture, sports, urban planning, and tourism.

The governor said she wanted to work together to ensure that the friendly ties between the two cities would continue to grow stronger.  She pointed out that, like Tokyo, France is actively pursuing measures related to environmental issues, and said that she respected Mayor Hidalgo for taking a personal lead in these efforts. She explained Tokyo’s initiative to collect mobile phones and other electronic devices for use in creating medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and said that should Paris be chosen as host city for the 2024 Games, she hoped that Tokyo could cooperate with Paris to help make the Games a great success.

Mayor Hidalgo mentioned the long history of relations between Tokyo and Paris. She said that there is great affinity between the cultures of Japan and France, and ties between the countries are strong, including between cultural institutions, and through sporting and other activities. Confirming that the environment was a very important issue for Paris as well, she praised the idea of collecting electronic devices to make medals. She said that in its bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris would be promoting a Games that are friendly to the environment, adding that it was important for her to inspect the facilities for Tokyo 2020, and offering thanks for Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s cooperation to that end.