Emperor’s Birthday Party Remarks

December 14, 2011

Yoshi Kamo

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Good Evening! It is indeed a blessing to us all that we are having a beautiful Hawaii evening with a not too dry and not too wet comfort. It is my honor and privilege to welcome you to this annual event in celebration of the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. His Majesty’s birthday falls on December 23, 1933 and he will turn 78 this year. He is the symbol of the Japanese people and Japanese identity. His Majesty has been to Hawaii 6 times before. It seems Hawaii is his second home. May His Majesty live long!

This year has seen many events. The Honolulu APEC is certainly one of them, but to us Japanese, the Great East Japan Earthquake predominates. While the triple woes of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster gripped Japan in unprecedented sorrows and difficulties, we saw many human dramas played out and new friendships built.

Many nations of the world lent their hand in helping Japan. Among them, the United States and Hawaii stood out as her best friends. We are most grateful for what you have given to us in time of need and trial. Thanks to your encouragement and support, the stricken areas in Tohoku are now gradually recovering from the catastrophe. The Japanese government, for its part, fully commits itself to rebuilding Tohoku. It may take years but we have determination and new hope for the future.

By the way, Japan has been back in business and tourism. Please come to Japan and enjoy the world class service and Mother Nature’s gift of onsen. After this summer, Japanese tourists are flocking to Hawaii. I want to see the opposite flow of tourists. Moreover, it is not a wild idea to see U.S. businessmen flocking to Japan to do business there. You may have concern about the aftermath of the nuclear accident in Fukushima. Radioactive contamination is now being controlled better to the extent that normalcy has returned to the Tohoku region, let alone the rest of Japan, except for some neighboring areas of the crippled nuclear plant site.

I said that Hawaii stood out in helping us. In appreciation of your support, we decided to dedicate this year’s Emperor’s Birthday Party to Hawaii and the United States. So let me explain how we will send our message of appreciation to Hawaii this evening. Now take out your program and look at it. We have just heard the beautiful rendition of our national anthems by our tenor, Rev. Yamamura which reverberated across Nuuanu valley. I usually enjoy speaking, but tonight I will restrain myself to minimum, for we have several other speakers. I have invited Admiral Walsh to speak for us this evening. He saw the tragedy and heard touching stories as he commanded Operation Tomodachi to rescue Japan by providing emergency relief and humanitarian assistance, together with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. He is Japan’s friend and benefactor.

There are other Japan’s benefactors, of course. The outpouring of sympathy and support in Hawaii for the victims and survivors in the stricken areas was just phenomenal. As luck would have it, we had most talented and dedicated people who took initiatives and pains in organizing the goodwill of Hawaii in a most credible and effective way. Thanks to them, Hawaii’s Aloha spirit took the form of state-wide fundraising activities and grass-roots exchanges. To express my respect and appreciation, I would like to present the Consul General’s Commendation Awards to the representatives of three innovative fundraising campaigns for Japan.

We are most fortunate to have Governor Abercrombie and Lt. Governor Schatz with us here this evening. They came to see me the day after the earthquake to express their condolence. The State of Hawaii has been at the center in bringing us closer between Hawaii and Japan. This evening, Governor Abercrombie is going to lead cheers for us. Mayor Carlisle and Mayor Kenoi did their best respectively to support Japan and made lots of friendships between their municipalities and their Japanese counterparts.

Japanese food, anyone? Yes, we are promoting the Japanese food and products at this reception. We have plenty of Japanese sake from the Tohoku region. I am most thankful to the Kokusai Sake-Kai for making available to us some of the best sake from Tohoku. We have also shochu, sort of Japanese vodka, and Japanese beer for your enjoyment. You are cordially invited to enjoy the array of authentic Japanese culinary delights of sushi, tempura and yakitori. Don’t forget to try Hawaii grown abalones as well. They are freshly brought here this morning from the aquaculture ponds run by a Japanese company in the Big Island.  

You are going to be entertained by ukulele performance by Herb. Ota, Jr. He conducted a concert tour in Tohoku after the tsunami to comfort the local people there. Mr. Naoki Nitta will educate us on the allure of Tohoku as our travel destination. You can easily throw away your worry about the weak dollar by taking advantage of big discounts that the Tohoku tourism industry is ready to offer.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have to hurry up to go on next. It is my honor to introduce to you our guest speaker, Admiral Patrick Walsh. He is now one of the most well spoken and frequently quoted Americans in Japan. He helped Japan to respond to one of the most difficult challenges caused by the once-in-centuries great natural disaster. We were much impressed by the strength of U.S. military and benefit of U.S.-Japan Alliance. Through his engagement in Operation Tomodachi, Admiral Walsh well exemplified American heroism and professionalism. He got out the message to the peoples of Japan and the rest of the world that America is truly capable and dependable. He serves as the current Pacific Fleet commander, of course, but he is also known for a good father, a helping husband, a razor-sharp PhD, a former Blue Angel, and a happy Texan.  

I was designated as an Honorary Texan back in 2007 by Texas Governor Rick Perry. This is because I served Japan’s Consul General to Houston for 3 years, but more importantly, he recognized my effort to try to observe and practice the “Ladies first” etiquette. Luckily, now I am in Hawaii. It is so easy to forget about that laudable Texas custom in a tropical paradise where I could be so easily distracted. However, let me try to be a good Honorary Texan once again by placing Mrs. Walsh first before I call upon her husband for his remarks.

Andy, please come forward. Ladies and gentlemen! If you look at your program, you will see Mrs. Andy Walsh is listed on the honorees roster. I would like to explain why she is there. She made herself an Angel to Japanese children. She was so nice to care for orphans in Tohoku by donating sports equipment to two orphanages in Miyagi and Iwate, hardest hit prefectures in Tohoku. Her compassion and networking skills brought this heart warming project to fruition.

Now let me present her the Letter of Commendation.

(c) Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu
1742 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817 USA
Tel: 808-543-3111