Stockton and Shimizu became sister cities on March 9th 1959. Shimuzu was merged  into Shizuoka city in April 2005 becoming Shimizu ward of Shizuoka City. Since then the Sister City relationship has been administered under the Shizuoka City government.

Shimuzu ward of Shizuoka City is about an hour west of Tokyo by Bullet Train.  Shizuoka prefecture is just on the other side of Mount Fuji from Tokyo.  Mount Fuji dominates the view,.  The view of Mount Fuji across the port of Shimizu is one of the most famous views of the mountain. The Port of Shimizu is also home to a thriving fishing industry and recently started hosting cruise ships.  The area has many national parks and points of historical interest.  Due to its location along Suruga Bay and the Tokaido (the main road from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto) the area has played a large part in Japanese history.

The Tokugawa Shogunate (1603 - 1868) was originally based in this area. The events of the fictional “Shogun” story also took place here; there was a real “Blackthorne” named Will Adams who became advisor and retainer to the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Shimizu and Stockton have had student and teacher exchanges since they began their relationship.  High school student exchanges have been going on for more than 40 years.  A biannual teacher exchange has been going on since the 1990s.