About the PSSCA

The Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association (PSSCA) is located in beautiful Portland, Oregon, home to a vibrant and thriving Japanese community. One of the oldest sister city relationships in the U.S., PSSCA was established in 1959, just a few years after President Dwight Eisenhower introduced the U.S. Sister City Program to create an international atmosphere of understanding and respect among cities sharing similarities like population, industry or art.

Over more than sixty years, thousands of Portland children and adults have been exposed to Japanese culture through the events and affiliations of the Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association.

PSSCA is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit with a volunteer Board of Directors and no paid staff, dependent on community support through sponsors, members and donors. Tax-exempt donations can be made through this website.

New Logo: The symbol of star (Polaris) is found in many of Sapporo’s cultural sites such as Sapporo Clock Tower, Former Hokkaidō Government Office, and the old Sapporo Beer factory representing the development of Hokkaido. The bridge is inspired by Portland’s new pedestrian bridge, Tillikum (“people” in Chinook language) Crossing. The water below represents the Willamette river in Portland and Toyohira river in Sapporo. Combined together, this logo celebrates 60 years of sister city relationship (6 stars) and expresses PSSCA’s mission; bridging people between Portland and Sapporo to create a peaceful and sustainable world. In 2018, we held a logo design contest and the winning designer, Steven Llewellyn, is a visual artist and photographer in Portland. To see his other work, please visit his website at http://sirenarts.com

Original Logo

1959-2009

50th Anniversary Logo

2009-2019

New Logo

2019-current