“A Diplomat’s View on Hawaii and Japan”
Yoshi Kamo, Consul General of Japan

June 12, 2012

(Opening Remarks)

Thank you for having me today. Thank you Hiroko for your kind introduction! I am honored to have a chance to speak before the distinguished members of the Honolulu Rotary Club. I have been here as Japan’s Consul General for almost three years. But Consuls General are not magicians or standing comedians. If you expect me of entertainment of that sort, you will be disappointed. But obviously I am not a philosopher either. It is simply beyond my capacity to put things into philosophical perspectives. In fact I forgot this salient point when I registered the title of my talk today. I am afraid I will fail to live up to your expectations. My presentation will not give a handy overview and assessment of the current Hawaii-Japan relations nor Japanese diplomacy in Asia and the Pacific. Instead of entertainment, philosophy or diplomacy, I will speak on Japanese Americans in Hawaii and other people related to Japan. I will try to shed light on some historical facts pertaining to those who brought us closer in the context of our dynamic relations of the past 160 years and try to bring home to you what makes Hawaii so special to Japanese. With this game plan in mind, in my today’s talk, I will touch on specifically the following important players in the history of the Japan-Hawaii relations: (1) Japanese drifters in the mid 19^th century who came to Hawaii (2) Japanese immigrants to Hawaii (3) 2^nd generation Japanese-Americans (4) Friendship ambassadors in the post war era (5) Japanese tourists today.

1.    Drifters

In the mid 19^th century, Japanese came to Hawaii for the first time in history. The first visitors from Japan to Hawaii were Japanese sailors, fishermen or merchants who were caught in ship wreck in Japan’s coastal sea and were washed away into the Pacific Ocean. Many perished while drifting at sea but some lucky ones were rescued by American whaling ships and taken to Hawaii. They were the first Japanese who came to a foreign country. Some of them eventually went back to Japan and served as interpreters or wrote books on Hawaii or America. Commodore Mathew Perry sailed to Japan in 1853 and demanded for opening ports and trade. Under the pressure of his gunboat diplomacy, the Japanese samurai government decided to forgo their self-imposed insulation policy and opened their country to the rest of the world. If it had not been for these interpreters or returnees from Hawaii who learned English and observed the western civilization, Japan’s modern history might have taken a different tuck and ended up with a bigger mess at home, making it more difficult for her to steer in the rough seas of imperialism. In any case, opening up Japan to the outside world caused a seismic change in Japan, ending her feudal era ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate by establishing a modern constitutional monarchy. It may be said that Hawaii served as a cradle for Japan’s modernization.

2.    Japanese immigrants

As I said, first Japanese who landed on Hawaii were drifters from wrecked ships. The second wave of Japanese immigrants took place when the Tokugawa Shogunate was disbanded and taken over. The year 1868 saw the establishment of the new Meiji government in Japan and the old travel ban was scraped in practice, which sent some adventurous Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. But the full-fledged immigration began in 1885 when the two governments concluded the contracted labors agreement. This was the government-sponsored immigration arrangement that lasted until 1894. Under this legal framework, about 30,000 Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii and settled in various sugar cane plantations. This arrangement was made possible by King Kalakaua’s initiative and his diplomat Robert Irwin’s execution. This was the first overseas immigration that the Japanese government undertook and Hawaii was chosen as their first destination. The first Japanese consul came to Hawaii in 1885, accompanying the Japanese immigrants. He opened the consulate at the corner of Nuuanu and Kuakini in the following year. Since then, we have been sitting there to help and protect Japanese nationals in need in Hawaii.

The Japanese immigrants to Hawaii cemented the relations between Hawaii and Japan, of course, as they settled down in their adopted homeland and toiled for their future. King Kalakaua, by the way, left an interesting episode at the time of his visit to Japan. He visited Japan in 1881. He was the first foreign head of state ever visited Japan. When he first arrived in Japan he was greeted with the national anthem of his monarchy: Hawaii Ponoi. When he met with the Emperor of Japan, he proposed to his Japanese counterpart to form a military alliance between them to fend off American pressure and influence. To show his commitment and resolution, he even proposed for a royal marriage between a Japanese imperial family member and Princess Kaiulani. The Japanese Government did not respond to the proposal on the spot. After a year long deliberation, they declined the proposal in a most courteous fashion. It is futile to pose a hypothetical question, but if Japan had accepted his proposal, we might have seen a different history.  

3.    Second generation Japanese Americans

 Japanese immigrants continued to come to Hawaii until 1924 when they were explicitly banned. The relations between the U.S. and Japan got soured, which culminated in the Pacific war. This era saw another lead role player in the history of the Hawaii Japan relations. It was the second generation of the Japanese immigrants that pushed the era forward. The second generation  Japanese Americans were born to a difficult time, destined to fight against prejudice at home and enemies abroad to win honor and recognition. Much has been said their patriotism and sacrifice during the war. Since terms like the 100 battalion, 442 regimental combat team, and MIS sound familiar and their feat in the battlefields are common knowledge to us all, I don’t dwell on the subject in every detail, but let me share with you some stories which show how deeply their service and sacrifice changed America for the benefit of all people concerned; Japanese, Asians and other Americans.

(1) Naturalization Act

Until 60 years ago from now, Japanese immigrants were not able to become U.S. citizens. Until 60 years ago, U.S. immigration and citizenship policy had been implemented within the basic framework of the Naturalization Act of 1790. This regime lasted for 160 years until it was substantially changed in 1952. The 1870 amendment allowed African Americans to naturalize in addition to Caucasians but the other ethnic groups were not included. It was not until 1952 that all immigrants regardless of their ethnicity were allowed to naturalize. It was the Second Generation Japanese American soldiers, with all their valor and sacrifice, who were instrumental in bringing about this fundamental policy change with profound impact in the American democracy. This paved the way for the rise of Japanese Americans in business and politics and made Hawaii a harmonious multi-ethnic society.

(2) Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

In 1990, President Bush designated the month of May as the “Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month”. This cultural awareness month for Americans of Asia and the Pacific ancestry can date back to an initiative in U.S. Congress in the late seventies. The driving force of this campaign came from Mr. Frank J. Horton, Congressman from New York. Why is it that a white Republican from New York pursued the national recognition for Asians and Pacific Islanders? He served in Italy during the war and was immensely impressed by the heroic deeds by the 442 Nisei soldiers. His initiative was jointly followed up by Congressman Norman Mineta and eventually resulted in the declaration by President Jimmy Carter in establishing the Asia Pacific Heritage Week in 1978.

4.    Friendship Ambassadors in the post war era

After the war the U.S. and Japan have been successfully building cooperative relations as allies and remain solid as partners. In the implementation of the U.S. Japan security alliance, Hawaii carries a special importance, for the Pacific Command which serves as guardian of the security arrangement operates from Hawaii. It is this security arrangement that has been safeguarding security and stability in Asia and the Pacific for the past 70 years.

In addition to the growing confidence and trust at the government level between our two countries, we have seen grass roots exchanges steadily growing and advancing mutual understanding between us.

The rotary club is one of the key players in this field. Just like other social clubs of this nature, it intends to expand and deepen friendship among and beyond members of the club. Its cover is international and has been a strong messenger of goodwill and friendship to the world. I wish to pay respect to the Honolulu Rotary Club for their tireless effort in their most successful endeavors. Apart from the Rotary Club and other friendship organizations, I would like to make reference to contribution made by the following three groups in strengthening the friendly relations between the U.S. and Japan.

First is U.S. military service men and women stationed in Japan. Currently there are about 50,000 U.S. military service personnel operating throughout Japan. They familiarize themselves with Japan and Japanese people through their day to day activities and get to know them better from their hands on experiences. Korean, Vietnam and the Middle East wars sent many U.S. servicemen to Japan to stay for a while or longer. Many of them became acquainted with Japan and brought back fond memories, goodwill and friendship to the U.S. They may not realize how much they contribute to enhancing the good image of Japan in the States, but they really have done a good job.

In some cases, U.S. servicemen bring back home their Japanese brides or sweethearts. After the war, many Japanese wives went across the Pacific to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. You may say that Japanese women are more competitive than their male counterparts in the international human capital market. I may have a word or two on this hypothesis but it is nevertheless welcoming that they are serving as our de facto friendship ambassadors overseas. Neither U.S. servicemen nor Japanese wives are meant for advocating Japan in America. Their first and foremost interest lies elsewhere. But their presence in the U.S. makes a difference and contributes to our better mutual understanding.   

Third, in the past 20 years, JET participants have been playing important roles in cementing ties of friendship and understanding between the U.S. and Japan. JET stands for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Under this program, young people are sent as English teachers to classes in Japanese middle and high schools throughout the country for two to three years. While the Japanese students learn English, the English teachers from overseas learn Japanese people and their culture. They could be excellent friendship ambassadors too, serving for both Japan and the countries they come from.

5.    Japanese tourists

 When it comes to the human traffic that bridges Japan with Hawaii, we should not forget Japanese tourists coming to Hawaii. Tourism offers an excellent opportunity for people to people contacts to take place, grass roots understanding to deepen and friendship to flourish. Japanese tourists are not trouble makers. They use their hotel rooms neatly and enjoy shopping. Hawaii attracts them for various reasons; nature, culture, climate, sports, shopping, and safety, and so forth. One of the factors derives from the fact that there is a large Japanese American population in Hawaii, which lowers the psychological barrier considerably for ordinary foreigner-shy Japanese to visit and enjoy Hawaii. There is no place like Hawaii to us, with all its history and surviving Japanese culture. My hope is that we will continue to foster a wonderful relationship of a welcoming host and an appreciative guest.     

Last but not least, as Japan’s consul general, I would like you to visit my country. As many as 1.3 million Japanese come to Hawaii per year. From Hawaii we have more than 30,000 visitors to Japan. There should be more room for expanding these numbers. Japan is somewhat dull and pricy, you may say. But people of Hawaii are best positioned to appreciate and enjoy what we can offer to other peoples, thanks to your exposure and readiness to Japanese culture and heritage that still linger here. Japan may not be that exciting. It is a matured society in which you can expect what you get or what will happen. But our society is functioning and for that matter faring well. Without risking adventure, you can experience a different world at its best. Why don’t you indulge yourself in our state of the art service that you cannot find anywhere in the world but Japan?