Chuo City and Sutherland Shire have had a sister city relationship since July 1991, which has influenced the cultural enrichment and exchange between both cities.

Chuo City Garden in Peace Park, Sutherland is named after the sister city, which opened in 1993.

Student Exchange Program

As part of the sister city relationship, Council supports a student exchange program between Chuo City, Tokyo and Sutherland Shire. The exchange program is open to high school students and is facilitated by the community based Sutherland-Chuo Committee.

The mutual exchange program sees students from Sutherland Shire and Chuo City travel to their Sister City and experience a home stay, attending a local school and visiting key cultural and tourism locations.

Students visiting Sutherland Shire

Japanese junior high school students from Chuo visit Sutherland Shire for a 8-night residence during July 2025. This includes:

  • a home-stay with a family in Sutherland Shire
  • attending a local high school, and
  • experiencing life in Australia.

Students visiting Japan

Sutherland Shire students visit Chuo, Tokyo, for around 15-18 days during September and October 2025 and is fully chaperoned. This includes:

  • a home-stay with a family in Chuo
  • attending a local high school for 3 days
  • a visit to Tokyo Disneyland
  • a tour of Tokyo
  • a visit to a local rural area
  • volunteering in community projects, and
  • experiencing Japanese cultural activities.

Find out more

More information

President: Joel Johnson
E: sutherland.chuo@gmail.com
M: 0438 015 962

Council’s PR and Media Administration Officer
E: AdminPR@ssc.nsw.gov.au
P: 02 9710 0513