Culture Crossroads S2020E11 - Host Town Tales: Mishima Village and Okinoerabu Island

This time we focus on 2 communities in southern Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture. Mishima Village was registered in 2018 as the host town of Guinea. Its ties with the West African nation began in 1994, when Mamady Keita, a player of the "djembe" hand drum, performed there. Keita had said he wanted to communicate with children in a Japanese village. He has since kept in touch with local kids. Mishima has a djembe school, and the drum is the village symbol. We cover this unique cultural exchange. People from the public and private sectors on Okinoerabu Island are tackling the issue of marine plastic waste. In 2019, the island became the host town of the Caribbean island nations of Dominica and Grenada. People from those countries visited Okinoerabu for an environmental meeting also attended by researchers studying the issue. Local schoolchildren impressed the experts with their study of microplastics.