Japanese girls set to arrive in New Castle Friday

Shinshiro, Japan, is the sister city of New Castle, Pa.

By LAURE CIOFFI

VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — It will be hot dogs, chili and watermelon for about a dozen Japanese high-schoolers visiting here this weekend.

The students are coming Friday for a cultural exchange from New Castle’s sister city Shinshiro, Japan. Shinshiro translates into New Castle in Japanese.

Mike Matis of New Castle, Pa., is coordinating the event in which the Shinshiro city government is paying to send the girls, ages 15 to 18, and two adult chaperones, here for the weekend.

The youngsters will stay with host families, most from the First Baptist Church in Neshannock Township.

Matis said they will be arriving Friday evening and will participate in a small ceremony at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, presenting New Castle Mayor Wayne Alexander with a small gift from Shinshiro’s mayor.

Alexander said he’s looking forward to the visit and even plans to host one of the adult chaperones over the weekend.

Matis said the Shinshiro government is sending the pupils to give them a slice of everyday American life.

The girls will spend Saturday with their host families doing a variety of activities and then attend a picnic in Pearson Park on Sunday.

They will leave Monday morning for a trip to Niagara Falls before returning to Japan.

World summit

Shinshiro, Japan, has been the driving force behind the International New Castle Summit of the World, held biannually in cities sharing the name New Castle. The group came together in the mid-1990s.

New Castle, Pa., and New Castle, Ind., hosted a delegation of international visitors in 2002 for a summit.

Since then the elected officials of New Castle, Pa., have not participated in the summit because of financial problems, but Matis, who participated early on as a citizen representative, continued his involvement.

He visited Shinshiro, Japan, last year, and officials talked of sending youngsters to the United States.

Matis was notified in the spring that the young women would be visiting.

He said they were chosen through an application process and the Shinshiro government is paying all their travel costs.

cioffi@vindy.com