St. Paul and Nagasaki, the first sister cities between the United States and Japan, are celebrating their 70th anniversary of supporting grassroots exchange, including Seigo Masubuchi’s initiative to bring shochu to Minnesota via the St. Paul Saints.
The first sister city relationship between the United States and Japan, signed in 1955, came just 10 years after the end of World War II amid bitter opposition between the former enemies. The partnership was forged as an effort to “heal the wounds of war in both directions,” as Chris Rossow, former president of the St. Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Committee, told the Pioneer Press. Despite initial opposition at the partnership’s inception, with many, such as Rossow’s own mother, seeing Japan as “still the enemy,” the sister city initiative has since succeeded in fostering positive relations. Takayuki Miyanishi, Rossow’s counterpart in Japan, highlighted to the Pioneer Press “friendship and understanding” as the "essential” focus of the relationship. The visionaries who conceived the partnership 70 years ago certainly had the right goal in mind, as the sister city partnership has flourished with frequent exchanges of both gifts as well as educational and official delegations between the cities.
The partnership has focused on building cultural and interpersonal ties that have successfully sustained the friendship for three quarters of a century. Projects in support of further friendship and mutual understanding are still in the works today, even outside of the official sister city committees. In an interview with East-West Center Young Professional Tommis Meyer, Mr. Seigo Masubuchi detailed his personal involvement with the St. Paul Saints, the city’s minor league baseball team. After settling in at the University of Minnesota in the mid-1990s as an international student from Japan, Masubuchi found himself contacted by the Japanese press seeking his assistance in connecting with Michael Veeck, owner of the Saints. Veeck had been pursuing innovative strategies to make the Saints the most famous independent baseball team in the United States, efforts that Japanese media were keen to learn more about. Now working as the Saints’ Director of International Development, Masubuchi’s work extends beyond press relations to include player exchanges from Japan as well as visits to study the city’s stadium.
Baseball’s role in the sister city relationship encompasses more than just media and player exchanges. According to Masubuchi, Tetsuro Jitozono, a businessman from Sasebo, Nagasaki, was inspired during a visit to St. Paul as part of a sister city delegation to establish his own baseball team. This team, the Nagasaki Saints, was active from 2008 to 2010 and sported the same logo and even a twin mascot to match the St. Paul Saints.
Though the Nagasaki Saints may no longer play ball, Jitozono and Masubuchi’s efforts to support exchanges have persisted. During his travels to St. Paul, Jitozono often brought bottles of shochu, a Japanese liquor, as gifts. Not to be confused with the Korean soju, Shochu is made from a variety of bases such as yams, rice, and more. Since 2003, shochu has sold more in Japan than sake, its globally popular counterpart. To Jitozono’s surprise, despite its popularity in Japan, few people in the United States knew about the Japanese liquor. Jitozono began selling Shochu at St. Paul Saints baseball games in 2022 and began sponsoring Masubuchi’s singing segments. They also sell chu-hi, shochu mixed with soda water at concession stands throughout the park. Chu-hi offers more versatility due to its flexibility in flavoring via syrups and is also compliant with Minnesota’s strict liquor laws.
Since the partners began promoting shochu with the Saints, their efforts have expanded. While Jitozono provides the sponsorship, Masubuchi contributes to brand development and sales. In addition to his own singing segment, Masubuchi has run in-park marathons and promotes shochu at home games. The partners have adapted the shochu to Minnesota’s cold weather and local tastes as well by creating warm chu-hi drinks, such as spiked hot chocolate. Sales have expanded to partners in the St. Paul area and even to Joliet, a city southwest of Chicago, after the former St. Paul Saints owners and their partners acquired the Joliet Slammers in 2024. This year, Masubuchi and Jitozono are moving forward on a project to import and promote various shochu brands which have never been available in the US, and began testing samples from their two partner distilleries in Japan last month. The successful launch of this new product, along with a potential project to sell canned chu-hi in stores, is at the forefront of both entrepreneurs’ minds this year. Visit one of the St. Paul Saints’ or Joliet Slammers’ home games this season to try to shochu for yourself!
Tommis Meyer is a Spring 2025 Young Professional Intern at the East-West Center in Washington. Tommis is also in his final semester pursuing an undergraduate degree in Global International Relations at American University under its Joint Degree Program with Ritsumeikan University in Japan.