With approval by Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Kunshan became a sister city of Tatebayashi, Japan on January 24, 2006 and the two cities signed an official agreement on May 16, 2006.

Tatebayashi is an industrial and commercial city located about 100 km north of Tokyo in southeastern Gunma Prefecture in the Kantō region of central Japan. It was founded as a result of a merger between the town of Tatebayashi and seven villages in 1921. Covering an area of 60.97 sq km, the city has an estimated population of 77,000 (including 1,900 foreign urban residents).

Well-known for its cultural richness, the city is the birthplace of many famous personalities, including scholar Ikuta Yorozu (1801-1837), writer Katai Tayama (1872-1930), industrialist Hidesaburō Shōda (1903-1999), nihonga painter Komuro Suiun (1874-1945), Japan's first female astronaut Chiaki Mukai and ceramic ocarina player Sojiro.

Most businesses in Tatebayashi are small and medium-sized, operating in the sectors of food, electric appliances, metal processing and logistics. The city is also a major producer of cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes and strawberries that are mostly supplied to the Greater Tokyo Area.