. : JASH hosts Miyakonojo Society for Beach Cleanup and Picnic

On Saturday, June 7, Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) hosted members of the visiting Miyakonojo Japan-America Society and participated in a Waikiki Beach cleanup and a picnic at Kakaako Park. Early that morning, about 40 JASH staff and members joined Miyakonojo Society President Dr. Toshisuke Matsuura and his members at Duke Kahanamoku statue at Waikiki Beach to team with the Waikiki Improvement Association’s Ohana Work Force to walk the beaches of Waikiki and pick up trash. The Miyakonojo Society has been coming to Honolulu for 12 consecutive years to provide this community service to the City and County of Honolulu and the people of Hawaii. The Hilton Hawaiian Village prepared a continental breakfast for the many volunteers who came, which numbered in the several hundreds. JASH Directors Peter Schall, Mike Leineweber, Dan Dinnell, and Takashi Yamaoka as well as several APCC Junior Ambassadors and their families also lent their support by attending the event.

JASH staff and members comb the beach for trash

Following the beach cleanup, Miyakonojo guests were taken to Kakaako Waterfront Park to first clean the Ehime Maru Memorial and then to Ala Moana Boulevard to watch the 92nd annual King Kamehameha Celebration Parade. Following the parade, the JASH staff cooked up a BBQ lunch for all participants. As one attendee noted, “Seeing our members from Hawaii meet and get to know their counterparts in Japan is a wonderful opportunity to see how we are carrying out the mission of promoting friendships between the peoples of Japan and Hawaii.”

Past JASH President Okawa and members of the Japan-America Society of Miyakonojo

. : Hilton Hawaiian Village Hosts Hawaii 5:01 Reception

On Friday, June 6, the Hilton Hawaiian Village (HHV) Resort & Spa hosted JASH members and guests at a Hawaii 5:01 reception. The Rainbow Suite that overlooks the newly renovated lagoon was a great venue for welcoming our friends from the America-Japan Society of Miyakonojo, Society members, and other guests, and reconnecting with familiar faces. This is the 12th year in a row that Miyakonojo Society President Dr. Toshisuke Matsuura and his fellow members have come to Honolulu to participate in the Waikiki Beach Cleanup, which was held the following day. During the evening, attendees were treated to an array of delicious foods prepared by the resort’s chefs. Open bars were also provided and live Hawaiian music filled the air throughout the evening.

HHV Director of Guest Services Bert Momotomi welcomes 5:01 crowd

The event also saw the introduction of the eight Asian-Pacific Children’s Convention Junior Ambassadors who performed a hula. They will travel to Fukuoka next month to attend a global youth camp and enjoy home stays with Japanese host families.

Located on Waikiki’s widest stretch of beach, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort & Spa features lush tropical gardens, waterfalls, exotic wildlife, and priceless artwork. As Waikiki’s only true resort, the HHV offers guests the “Village Experience”: a perfect blend of luxurious accommodations, over 20 restaurants and lounges, shopping, recreational and cultural activities, nightly entertainment and more. Hawaii 5:01 is a networking program for our Society’s corporate and life members to meet new friends, renew acquaintances, and introduce potential members to the Society.

2008 APCC Junior Ambassadors perform the hula for gathered crowd at Hilton Hawaiian Village 5:01

Mahalo to the Hilton Hotels Corporation in Hawaii for once again hosting a wonderful reception. HHV has continued to sponsor a Hawaii 5:01 networking reception for the members and guests of JASH for 12 consecutive years.

. : Dr. Robert Orr, former President, Boeing Japan, Speaks to Community on “Japan and the U.S. Elections, Concerns of a Key Ally”

On May 27, 2008, Honolulu hosted Dr. Robert “Skipp” Orr, former President of Boeing Japan, current Chairman of the Panasonic Foundation in the U.S., and Vice Chairman of the National Association of Japan-America Societies. The Japan-America Society of Hawaii cosponsored this event with the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the East West Center, Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, and Pacific Forum CSIS. Over a luncheon held at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii’s Manoa Grand Ballroom, Dr. Orr talked about how various components of Japanese society (political, business, military and ordinary citizens) view the upcoming elections. Dr. Orr had just spent time in Japan visiting various cities on a U.S. Embassy sponsored program to discuss the elections. Weaving history with personal insights gained through 23 years of experience in Japan both as an academic and in the business world, Dr. Orr first gave a fascinating review of how Japan viewed U.S. electio ns since they began monitoring them at the turn of the 20th Century with the campaign of Theodore Roosevelt. Dr. Orr kept the audience spellbound with his detailed account of U.S. and Japanese figures set in historical context, showing how the Japanese perspectives of the U.S. election process greatly influenced their actions in both pre-war and post-war years, leading up to today. He ended the talk with his own personal insights as an advisor to the current Obama campaign on how the Japanese society views U.S. candidates and what it would mean to the Japanese if a candidate were successfully elected. The audience, including Pacific Command Foreign Policy Advisor Ambassador Gene Christy, EWC’s Director of East-West Seminars Ambassador Ray Burghardt, and Consul Yoshitaka Yamada and Vice Consul Kuniko Nakamura of the Japanese Consulate kept Dr. Orr engaged during a lively question and answer period.

Dr. Orr responds to a question and makes a point to the captivated audience

. : Summer Interns for Ehime Prefecture International Center Selected

Tragic events can sometimes be the genesis for developing long-lasting benefits if caring individuals with vision step up to make them such. So it was the case for the accident involving the Japanese Fisheries High School training ship Ehime Maru and the submarine USS Greenville in 2001. On that fateful day, four students, two teachers and three crewmembers perished in the accident. The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) stepped in quickly to provide comfort to bereaved family members and set about with the Ehime Prefecture Government to look for ways to build good will between the people of Hawaii and Ehime. JASH established a sister school program between Uwajima City, homeport of the Ehime Maru, and a Hawaii middle school. The Ehime Prefecture government proposed a summer internship program for University of Hawaii students at its International Center in the prefecture seat of Matsuyama. Funded entirely by Ehime Prefecture, the program selects two UH students for 89 days of internship at the International Center. The interns become part of the Center’s staff, assisting with daily activities, including teaching the staff about Hawaii culture and business practices. The interns also participate in a Hawaii Culture Day and spend one week at an English language camp teaching English to Japanese students in another program developed by the Center. Ms. Noriko Omori is the project lead at EPIC, and the program has entered its third year.

JASH cosponsors this internship program with the UH Center for Japanese Studies. Candidates make formal applications and are then evaluated through interviews to assess their suitability for the internship, which includes an assessment of their contribution to enhancing relations between US and Japan and requisite Japanese language skills necessary to be productive during their internship. Shaun Kindred, majoring in Japanese Language and Kevin Duffy, majoring in Peace Studies and Asian Studies were selected as this year’s interns. The students will depart this summer for this wonderful opportunity for practical work experience and immersion in cross-cultural communications.

. : JASH Establishes Sister Society Relationship with Tama Tokyo Society

The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) opened a new era of enhancing the U.S.-Japan relationship with the formal signing of a sister society agreement with the America-Japan Society of Tama Tokyo. Established on 1 October 2007, the Tama Tokyo Society is the newest America-Japan Society. The close personal relationship between its Executive Director Mr. Shoichi Suzuki and JASH President Ed Hawkins allowed negotiations for the sister society relationship to proceed quickly, culminating in the signing ceremony in Honolulu on 17 March 2008 at the Pacific Club.

JASH Chair Allen Uyeda and Tama Tokyo Society Chair Izumi Iwasaki exchange signed agreement while donning respective Society’s happi coats while a member of the Tama Tokyo Society witnesses.

Both Societies agreed to strengthen and deepen ties between the people of Japan and Hawaii and to advance national, state, prefecture, city, cultural, business, social, diplomatic, commercial, travel, education, communications, and other forms of relations. Quoting from the formal agreement, “the Societies agree to exchange bulletins, newsletters, membership directories and other information regularly; exchange information related to their respective activities and report this information to their members; discuss and consider joining together in pursuing various projects that will facilitate achievement of shared purpose; and discuss adopting exchange, travel, education, and similar programs involving Society members as well as children and youth from their respective areas.” JASH Chair Allen Uyeda signed on behalf of JASH and Mr. Izumi Iwasaki for the Chairman of Tama Tokyo Society. In attendance to mark the occasion and lend support were Consul General Toshio Kunikata of the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu and Mrs. Hiroko Kunikata. JASH Director and Sister Society Committee Chair Dr. Michael Leineweber and JASH Director David Asanuma also attended from JASH. Mr. Shoichi Suzuki plus five other members of the Tama Tokyo Society also attended the signing ceremony. A cake cutting ceremony and a gift exchange followed.

JASH President Ed Hawkins reads the formal sister society agreement as Allen Uyeda and Izumi Iwasaki witness. Consul General Kunikata looks on.

. : JASH Co-sponsors Honolulu Festival seminar on Joseph Heco

“The First Citizen: Joseph Heco and the Opening of U.S.-Japan Relations” was the subject of a seminar the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) co-sponsored this year with the Honolulu Festival Foundation on Saturday, March 15th at the Hawaii Convention Center. Held during the annual Honolulu Festival, the seminar is an experts-panel on a subject relating to U.S.-Japan relations. This year, the focus was on Joseph Heco, born Hikozo Hamada in 1837 in Hyogo Prefecture, who was influential in the opening of U.S.-Japan relations in the 1850s and became the first citizen of Japanese descent. Heco’s is a fascinating story of being shipwrecked, rescued by an American ship, taken to America to be educated, and returning to Japan to be the interpreter for the first American minister to Japan, Townsend Harris. What made the seminar so alive with history was the participation of direct descendants of those who knew Heco: Colonel George Mercer Brooke III, U.S. Marine Corps (Retir ed), lecturer in history at Virginia Military Institute and great-grandson of Lieutenant John Mercer Brooke who befriended Heco and offered to bring him back to Japan in 1859 on Brooke’s survey ship; Dwight Damon, great-great-grandson of Reverend Samuel Chenery Damon, Honolulu’s seamen’s chaplain from 1842 to 1885, who personally met Heco and subsequently wrote about his stops in Hawaii. Panel member Dr. Samuel Mukaida, President of Joseph Heco Society of Hawaii, an organization dedicated to the study of Heco and his connection to Hawaii, began the seminar with a history of Heco’s incredible journey. Dr. Gay Michiko Satsuma, Director of the University of Hawaii’s Center for Japanese Studies, moderated the seminar.

Mr. Hawkins, JASH President (far right), poses before the seminar with panel members Dr. Satsuma, Dr. Mukaida (front row); Col. Brooke, Mr. Damon (back row)

The seminar was well attended, and the lively question and answer period following the individual presentations indicated that the audience enjoyed the stories and learned a lot about Hawaii’s link with this important period on the beginnings of U.S.-Japan relations.

The seminar was also co-sponsored with the Joseph Heco Society of Hawaii, Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu, and The Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership.

Panelist Dr. Mukaida relates the personal journey of Joseph Heco (Hikozo Hamada) as other panel members listen.

. : Myron B. Thompson Academy Conducts Cultural Exchange with Tadotsu HS

Kagawa Prefecture’s Tadotsu Fisheries High School visited Honolulu in the Kagawa Maru training ship during the week of February 25th. During its visit, students of Tadotsu HS conducted a cultural exchange with Myron B. Thompson Academy, a Hawaii public charter school. While Tadotsu and other fisheries high schools from Japan visit Honolulu regularly, the cultural exchange with Myron B. Thompson Academy resulted from a request made by the principal of Tadotsu HS Mr. Keijiro Shinoda to the Japan-America Society of Hawaii for assistance in setting up a cultural exchange program with a school in Honolulu during the ship’s port call. Because Tadotsu is moving to distant learning technology for its students, Myron B. Thompson Academy, well established with distant learning classrooms, seemed ideal for the cultural exchange. With the support of Myron B. Thompson’s principal Diana Oshiro, the cultural exchange program with Tadotsu HS students was planned to occur during Kagawa M aru’s next port call in Honolulu.

Students and staff from Tadotsu HS and Myron B. Thompson Academy engaged in several days of cultural programs, which included sharing crafts and dance from respective cultures, including the hula. The program included a visit to the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s voyaging canoe Hokule’a and hiking in the surrounding mountains, capped off with a sports activity day at Manoa Valley District Park. Students and staff from both schools were delighted with the cultural exchange and voiced strong support to continue this interaction. Future exchanges during Kagawa Maru’s Honolulu port call are being planned.

Students and staff of Myron B. Thompson Academy and Kagawa Prefecture’s Tadotsu Fisheries High School at Manoa Valley District Park (Myron B. Thompson Principal Diana Oshiro and Tadotsu HS Vice Principal Tadashi Imagawa joined the festivities)

. : JASH Collaborates with ICFA to bring Multi-Cultural Program to Hawaii

February 14th was a true international culture day for students at Stevenson Middle School. Under the sponsorship of Hawaii-based International Cultural and Friendship Association (ICFA), two groups of youth from Japan and China gave cultural performances to the assembled student body, teachers, and staff. The Japanese visitors performed on Taiko drums and the Chinese visitors from Shanghai conducted a demonstration of Paper Cutting Art. The performance joined youths of Japan and China in showcasing traditional arts to Hawaii’s students. The enthusiastic cheers following the performances showed that the students truly appreciated the event.

Under its motto “Connecting people to people and nation to nation,” the mission of ICFA is to promote mutual understanding of other cultures and contribute to world peace by deepening bonds of friendship and trust. The mission of the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) is to promote understanding and friendship between the peoples of Japan and the United States through the special and unique perspective of Hawaii, so it was natural to collaborate in bringing this program to Hawaii. JASH hopes to continue to collaborate with the ICFA to bring these programs to Hawaii’s public schools. That weekend, the visiting Japanese and Chinese youth were given a special tour of the Arizona Memorial that was arranged by the Arizona Memorial Museum Association so the visitors could get a better perspective of a key event in the region’s shared history.

ICFA staff Yuhi Yamasaki (far left) introduces the joint Japanese and Chinese cultural youth delegation to assembled students at Stevenson Middle School.

. : JASH holds Japan Wizards 2008

On Saturday, February 9th, the Japan-America Society of Hawaii held its annual Japan Wizards Academic Team Competition at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel on Oahu. This year, 37 teams from 22 high schools across the islands participated. Due to the generous donation of tickets from Aloha Airlines, 11 neighbor island teams from Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai were able to participate. Teams of three students were tested on an extensive range of topics about Japan and the U.S.-Japan relationship that included arts and culture, daily life, economics, politics and government, history, geography, transportation, sports, language, and pop culture. Five teams--three private and two public schools--won all-expense paid trips to Japan. Top winning schools were King Kekaulike High School (Maui), Hawaii Preparatory Academy (Hawaii), University Laboratory School, Punahou School, and Saint Francis School (Oahu).

Winners of the Japan Trip pose with special guests Vice Consul Kuniko Nakamura of the Japanese Consulate, Takashi Sugi and David Asanuma of JTB, Jean Rolles, JASH Board of Directors, and Edwin Hawkins, President, JASH.

The Japan Wizards Competition is held to motivate students throughout Hawaii to develop lifelong skills in research, teamwork, personal responsibility and operating under pressure. They compete for top prizes of trips to Japan that reinforce what the students have learned in the classroom and in studying for the competition. This year, winning team members will visit high tech companies and environmental management centers in Japan to learn how the Japanese use high tech solutions to solve society’s problems. Local Hawaii companies donated prizes and giveaways. Nearly 90 community volunteers, including JASH members, college students and business professionals helped with the various tasks including time keeping, scoring, judging, and activity center operation. During the break in the competition, students enjoyed various games and demonstrations in the activity center, including a traditional dance by the Nakasone Dance Academy and a Kendo demonstration by the Kenyukai Kendo Group.

Students view a Kendo demonstration performed by the Kenyukai Kendo Group in the Activity Center.

Generous grants from the Atherton Family Foundation, Frear Eleemosynary Trust, The Freeman Foundation, The Friends of Hawaii Charities, Hawaii Hotel Industry Foundation, JTB Goodwill Foundation, James Campbell Company LLC, and Kosasa Family Foundation allowed JASH to bring this educational program to Hawaii’s youth.

. : JASH holds New Year Reception at Japanese Consulate

It had rained for most of the week, but January 24th dawned as a beautiful day in paradise. On that day, the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) held its annual New Year Reception, this time hosted by the Japanese Consulate. Consul General Toshio Kunikata and Mrs. Kunikata graciously opened their home to JASH members and friends, and were on hand to greet and extend their wishes to the attendees. The Consulate provided drinks for everyone and the food was catered by JASH member Dwayne Kawamoto and Nieman Marcus’ Mariposa Restaurant. After a brief welcome by Chair Allen Uyeda and co-host Consul General Kunikata, Congresswoman Hirono offered her congratulatory remarks followed by a message from the Mayor Mufi Hannemann delivered by Managing Director City & County of Honolulu Wayne Hashiro. On hand as special guests in addition to Mrs. Kathy Hashiro were Honorable Barbara Marshall, Chair of the Honolulu City Council and her husband Cliff Ziems; Lieutenant General John G oodman, Commander U.S. Marine Forces Pacific and his wife Gayle Goodman; Lieutenant General Chip Utterback, Commander 13th Air Force and his wife Sandy Utterback; Rear Admiral Sally Brice-O’Hara, Commander 14th Coast Guard District; Clayton Fujie, Deputy Superintendent of the Hawaii State Department of Education; and Wendy Abe, President of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Miyakonojo Japan-America Society’s President Dr. Toshisuke Matsuura and new JASH member Mr. & Mrs. Hideo Nakatani came from Japan to attend the event. Also on hand were 2007 Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention Junior Ambassador Lauren Wedemeyer and her mother Carrie Wedemeyer. The evening concluded with the traditional Kagamiwari breaking of the ceremonial sake barrel and toasting the new year of the Rat.

New JASH Chair Allen Uyeda is joined by Lieutenant General John Goodman (Commander, US Marine Forces Pacific), Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, and Consul General Kunikata performing the traditional Kagamiwari ceremony ushering in the new year.

. : Airbus Japan CEO Addresses JASH

Mr. Glenn Fukushima, President & CEO of Airbus Japan and former USTR official addressed members and guests of the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) on January 10th at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Mr. Fukushima’s topic was “Domestic and International Challenges Facing Japan in 2008,” a timely discussion based on recent political and economic situation in Japan. Mr. Fukushima also recently returned from the 51st annual general meeting of the Association of Asian Pacific Airlines in Bangkok and shared his perspectives from that meeting, including the future of aviation in the Asia-Pacific region and its effect on business, air travel and tourism .