[New Year's Greetings] Mayor of Hokuryu Town, Yasuhiro Sasaki

January 1, 2026 ㊗️

New Year's Greetings
Mayor of Hokuryu Town, Yasuhiro Sasaki

Happy New Year.
We hope that you are all in good health and welcoming the New Year.

I feel that last year was a year in which Hokuryu Town regained its unique character in each season. A new "Regional Revitalization Project" has been launched to further enhance this unique character. This project also marked the start of town development, with the agricultural cooperative, chamber of commerce, land improvement district, agricultural committee, and town hall all coming together to create policies that will enable the agriculture, commerce, and construction industries, which have driven the town's history, culture, and lifestyle for 134 years, to thrive.

The assembly also held discussions about the future based on the past and present. At the center of these discussions were children, women, young people, and people from outside the community who are involved in revitalizing the area. And they were closely watched over by many senior members of the assembly.

Last year, Sunflower Village decided to charge a parking fee for the first time. This decision was made out of two factors: fears that it could undermine the original purpose of the Sunflower Village, which began with volunteers, and the desire to alleviate as much of a burden on the future as possible. As a result, I believe the feelings of the townspeople for their town were conveyed to visitors. Visitors paid their parking fees with words like, "Thank you for letting the beautiful flowers bloom," and "This put a smile on my face." Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to all the townspeople. "Creating a town that shines even if it is small" means taking on the challenges that larger municipalities cannot achieve. Beyond this, we will continue to work toward "creating a hometown of the heart."

We will continue to promote measures to resolve many issues. These include promoting multi-purpose facilities such as schools, measures to accommodate all generations including children and the elderly, measures to revitalize commerce, a vision for the future of agriculture, a project to revitalize the Himawari Village, and improving the appeal of Hokuryu Onsen. We will take on challenges, seeing them as opportunities.

We are currently working on compiling the budget for fiscal year 2026. We aim to complete the budget by the end of January. Please feel free to send in any opinions or ideas you may have.

Please feel free to talk to any town hall staff member, anywhere. We will also visit you at neighborhood association meetings throughout the year, so please feel free to ask. The town's budget belongs to the townspeople. Thank you for your cooperation.

[To the children]

Your future is full of possibilities.
You can do anything.
The stage is the sunflower town "Hokuryu."
Please color it in your own color.
I want to see the smile on your face at that moment.

I hope this year will be filled with smiles, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year.

[Quoted from Hokuryu Public Relations, January 2026 issue, No. 725]

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