By: Charity Meier | Novi Note | Published November 24, 2025
NOVI — The city of Novi is currently looking into the possibility of a sister-city relationship with Nagahama in Japan.
“It’s similar to Novi in terms of size, and that’s a large part of it. They also don’t actively have a relationship with a community in Michigan,” City Manager Victor Cardenas said. “It’s like you’re at the school dance and you’re trying to figure out if you want to dance together or not.”
Mayor Justin Fischer and Cardenas recently visited the city, which is located within Michigan’s sister state of Shiga, during the Midwest Japan Conference, which was also attended by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“We have a very strong relationship with Japan. We have the most Japanese residents living and or residing in Novi for the whole state of Michigan,” said Cardenas.
Cardenas said that the sister city would benefit residents by further strengthening the city’s already strong relationship with and knowledge of Japan.
He said the city also hosts Japanese government officials for about a week each year. During their time here, Cardenas said, they show them how a typical Midwest city government runs.
“It’s just being able to provide that kind of environment where when they come here, they have the amenities of home that makes them feel at home when they are across the globe,” Cardenas said.
He said that he hopes through this process they can build a relationship where residents will have the opportunity to go to Nagahara to learn about Japanese culture and Nagahara residents will have the opportunity to come to Novi to learn about American culture.
“It is very important given the large presence of Japanese population as well as the 70-plus companies that call Novi home, “ Fischer said. “I think it is important for the leader of the city to have that in-home understanding of the culture.”
Fischer said that they were able to meet with local and government officials and encourage their businesses in Japan to consider Novi, as well as Oakland County and Michigan, as the premier places to go because of the diverse, hardworking workforce and the large auto industry.
Fischer and Cardenas said that they enjoyed the trip to Japan, particularly hearing from so many people who had heard of Novi or who had a connection with the city.
“We met with a lot of groups. It was interesting to hear them say to the governor or to County Executive (David) Coulter, ‘Oh yeah, I have visited Novi,’ or ‘I have family that has visited Novi’. So, it shows how well respected Novi is in Japan and how well known it is,” Fischer said. “It seemed like every time we turned around, they were talking about Novi.”
The relationship between Novi and Japan began in the late 1970s as a result of the expansion of companies within the auto industry, according to Cardenas.
“As those companies started to grow, the word kind of got out to come to Novi. I think it’s the safety, the security and the environment that has been built. The infrastructure of restaurants and grocery stores and the Japanese day school Ringo Kai. All of those things kind of play in together, in addition with our partners with the Japan America Society and with the Japanese Business Society, all of those things kind of just play into and build that support and builds the attraction for people to come in and work and live here,” Cardenas said.
Cardenas said that during their trip to Japan, they met people with connections to Novi everywhere they went.
Novi has an inactive sister-city relationship with Owani in Japan. Cardeans said that the relationship has not been active for a few decades because when the relationship was established, the two cities were both very small. Novi has since grown into a large city, but Owani has not; hence, the relationship became dormant.
Cardenas said there is no formal way to his knowledge of ending the relationship with Owani. He said to start a sister-city relationship, they usually start with a friendship agreement and then go on to a sister relationship. There is no set length of time to acquire the relationship, but both cities must be in agreement.
“Personally, I’d like to see us establish something within the year, but I can’t say there’s a typical length of time,” Fischer said.