Remarks by Consul General Kamo 
for the Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship Awards Ceremony

June 26, 2012
Official Residence

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen…

Good Morning!

I am very pleased to welcome you to the presentation of this year’s Crown Prince Akihio Scholarship Award.

This is indeed a most prestigious scholarship program, to which Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, have continued to lend their support and encouragement, since its establishment in 1959. I would, at this time, like to express my deep appreciation to the many individuals who have worked hard to maintain this program, and in doing so promoted the friendship between the United States and Japan, for the last nearly five-and-a-half decades.

Today, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Ms. Yukie Michelle Lloyd form Japan and Mr. Christopher Smith from Hawaii for being honored with these awards. With your impressive backgrounds, you are well qualified to take advantage of this opportunity to continue your studies and concentrate freely on your chosen fields of endeavor and, at the same time, to gain invaluable experience in another country, and most certainly deepen your understanding of another culture.

Let me offer you my very best wishes as you begin or have begun this newest chapter in your life, one which is sure to be filled with many exciting experiences and challenges. Once again , my heartiest congratulations to you both.

Thank you very much.