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The City of Osaka's International Network
Exchanges with Sister Cities
Through the city's extensive international network of sister/friendship cities, friendship cooperation cities, business partner cities, and other international affiliations, the City of Osaka aims to promote various exchanges across the cultural, sports, human resources, and business fields.
Sister Cities / Friendship Cities
The City of Osaka is currently affiliated with seven total sister/friendship cities including São Paulo (Brazil), Chicago (USA), Shanghai (China), Melbourne (Australia), St. Petersburg (Russia), Milan (Italy), and Hamburg (Germany), and is broadly conducting various exchanges.
Every 5 years, commemorative exchanges, such as delegation visits, are held during the anniversary of a sister / friendship city affiliation to reaffirm closer relations.
The sister city affiliations also act as catalysts to stimulate exchanges of individual, organizational, and corporate-levels in respective fields, such as business, technology, education, culture, and sports. With the foundation firmly established upon involvement and cooperation ingrained to the citizen-level, the City of Osaka can confidently focus on maintaining prosperous relationships with our sister cities by building on the mutual understanding and trust.
- São Paulo (Brazil) October 27, 1969 / Sister City Affiliation
- Chicago (USA) November 9, 1973 / Partner City Affiliation
- Shanghai (China) April 18, 1974 / Friendship City Affiliation
- Melbourne (Australia) April 24, 1978 / Sister City Affiliation
- St. Petersburg (Russia) August 16, 1979 / Sister City Affiliation
- Milan (Italy) June 8, 1981 / Sister City Affiliation
- Hamburg (Germany) May 11, 1989 / Friendship City Affiliation
Friendship Cooperation Cities
The Friendship Cooperation City affiliations were first introduced in 1998 with the goal of exchanging ideas and information on a city-level in areas of common metropolitan agendas, such as sports promotion, culture, tourism and environmental challenges.
- Buenos Aires (Argentina) June 1, 1998 / Friendship Cooperation City Affiliation
- Budapest (Hungary) September 8, 1998 / Friendship Cooperation City Affiliation
- Busan (South Korea) May 21, 2008 / Friendship Cooperation City Affiliation
Business Partner Cities (BPC)
In 1988, the Business Partner Cities (BPC) affiliation was introduced to help facilitate greater economic exchanges between cities through the leadership of local governments. The BPC network is based mainly in the Asia-Pacific region and allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Osaka to explore potential business activities in the global market. This dynamic network aims on increasing private sector-level exchanges and advancement between all the affiliated cities.
| City (Country) | Date | Affiliation Partner |
| Hong Kong (China) | March 11 | Hong Kong Trade Development Council |
| Singapore | February 1, 1989 | Enterprise Singapore |
| Bangkok (Thailand) | June 16, 1989 | The Thai Chamber of Commerce |
| Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | August 10, 1989 | City of Kuala Lumpur |
| Manila (The Philippines) | October 27, 1989 | City of Manila |
| Jakarta (Indonesia) | April 13, 1990 | Jakarta Chamber of Commerce & Industry |
| Seoul (South Korea) | September 4, 1992 | The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry |
| Shanghai (China) | July 5, 1995 | Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce |
| Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) | May 27, 1997 | People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City |
| Mumbai (India) | May 12, 1998 | IMC Chamber of Commerce & Industry |
| Melbourne (Australia) | June 2, 1999 | City of Melbourne, Australian Industry Group |
| Tianjin (China) | June 15, 2004 | Tianjin Commission of Commerce |
| Auckland (New Zealand) | February 2, 2009 | Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce |
| Hamburg (Germany) | September 23, 2019 | Hamburg Chamber of Commerce |
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
The City of Osaka, according to its core policies, has decided on various exchange themes and is engaging in strategic exchanges with several cities overseas.
Agreement & Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Affiliated Cities
| City (Country) | Date | Content |
| Nanjing City (China) | July 2010 | Cooperation in tourism and environmental fields |
| Shenzhen City (China) | July 2010 | Exchanges in economic and environmental fields |
| Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) | July 2011 | Cooperation in the water and environmental sectors |
| Yangon City (Myanmar) | September 2014 | Cooperation in the urban infrastructure development |
| City of Nantes (France) | April 2017 | Friendship castle agreement |
| Melbourne (Australia) | March 2018 | Sister street agreement |
| Chicago (USA) | June 2018 | Sister street agreement |
| Quezon City (the Philippines) | August 2018 | Cooperation toward the realization of a low-carbon city |
| Dalian City (China) | January 2019 | Exchanges in economic and other fields |
Agreement & Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Affiliated Institutions
| Institution (Country) | Date | Content |
| Embassy of Denmark (Denmark) | June 2011 | Cooperation in robot technology, environment, energy, and design |
| Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA (Germany) | July 2010 | Cooperation in information exchange and joint public relations activities, joint workshops and symposia, and joint research and development projects |
Sister Ports / Friendship Ports
Since ancient times, Osaka has played a major role in cultural exchange and trade through the vigorous flow of transport from its ports to mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Presently, the Port of Osaka has affiliations with seven sister ports abroad, and is striving to carry out various exchange projects to exhibit international goodwill and foster prosperous relations.
- Port of San Francisco (USA)
- Port of Melbourne (Australia)
- Port of Le Havre (France)
- Port of Shanghai (China) (friendship port treaty)
- Port of Valparaiso (Chile)
- Port of Busan (Korea)
- Saigon Port (Vietnam)
Overseas Office
The City of Osaka has an overseas representative office tasked with strengthening the gathering and sharing of information and exchanges across fields such as business, culture, and tourism.
Osaka Shanghai Office (大阪政府上海事務所)
Osaka Shanghai Office (大阪政府上海事務所) 
- Area: China
- 住所:大阪国際経済上海事務所 中華人民共和国 200336 上海市延安西路2201号 上海国際貿易中心407室
Address: Room 407, Shanghai International Trade Center 2201 Yan An Road (West) Shanghai, China 200336 - Phone: ＋86-21-6275-1982
- FAX: ＋86-21-6275-1983
- E-mail: dabanshi@osakacity-sh.com
Creating and maintaining a living environment hospitable to residents of all nationalities
With eyes set on creating a welcoming environment that allows for foreign nationals to seamlessly transition into work-life in Osaka, the Osaka International House Foundation , an international exchange facility, is providing consultation and information to foreign nationals; realizing multicultural coexistence in society; facilitating citizen-level international exchange and understanding; disaster support for foreign residents; and fostering the education for leaders who will further globalization.
For the purpose of inspiring talent growth of individuals who will contribute to the globalization of Osaka, the center contributes by encouraging international students' participation in cooperative and exchange programs; connecting international students with career advancement opportunities and with local communities; as well as hosting entrepreneurship seminars for international students.
