Gov. Jay Inslee and his wife Trudi greet Hyogo Prefecture Gov. Toshizo Ido at a ceremony marking the sister state relationship between the two areas.

OLYMPIA -- Washington state officials will mark the 50th anniversary of a relationship with Japan's Hyogo prefecture with some pomp and circumstance around the capital today.

Gov. Jay Inslee will welcome Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido and members of the prefecture's assembly at the Temple of Justice this morning, and the two chief's of state will have lunch at the governor's mansion at noon while various business, education and cultural groups will have seminars around the Capitol Campus. They'll renew the sister-state relationship with a signilng ceremony  in the Senate Chambers, then attend a reception with food and entertainment from both locales.

Spokane's sister city, Nishinomiya, is located in Hyogo prefecture. So which came first, the sister city or the sister state?

The relationship between Nishinomiya and Spokane predates the Washington-Hyogo relationship by a couple years.

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