About Us
2017/1/1
New Year's Greetings from Consul General Yasushi Misawa
2017 is upon us already, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy New Year!
Being that our local communities here in Hawaii fully embrace the culture and customs of Japan, I once again had the pleasure of welcoming the New Year in a very traditional Japanese way.
The past year was a very special one, as we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 8, the Consulate General of Japan and Navy Region Hawaii hosted a joint ceremony on Ford Island to pay tribute to all the lives, both American and Japanese, lost at Pearl Harbor. On December 27, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama came together at a ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial to pay their respects to the lives lost in the attack, and held their last bilateral meeting to affirm the alliance between Japan and the United States.
This visit, 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor and 71 years since the end of a war of significant tragedy, was a historic milestone symbolizing the strong bond that now exists between the two nations, a bond that showcases the power of reconciliation that transformed former adversaries into the closest of allies.
On January 20, as Mr. Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, a new chapter will begin in the history of the US-Japan relationship. Numerous exchange programs between Japan and Hawaii are already in the works. Governor Hiroshi Ogawa of Fukuoka Prefecture will be visiting Honolulu as well as the Big Island. On February 9, we are expecting many visitors from Ehime Prefecture and Uwajima to attend the memorial service to observe the 17th anniversary of the Ehime Maru incident, in which four students and five faculty members of the Ehime Prefectural Uwajima Fishery High School perished in 2001.
Besides Ehime and Fukuoka, Hawaii also has sister-state relations with Okinawa and Hiroshima, and this May, an official sister-state relationship will be signed with Hokkaido. Also in May, the Japan-Hawaii Economic Forum will be held on the island of Hawaii, attended by representatives of local government associations from all across Japan.
Next year, 2018, marks the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first 153 Japanese immigrants to Hawaii in 1868. This will present an excellent opportunity to reflect on the history of Nikkei immigration, and to seek new endeavors to strengthen Japan-Hawaii relations. The Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 will feature surfing, a sport that in of itself represents the islands, and karate, a martial art that has had a strong following in Hawaii for many years. I hope to be able to promote further exchange between Japan and Hawaii through these sports.
As for myself, moving forward, I pledge to continue to make every effort to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Hawaii. I would like to ask for your valuable opinions and suggestions, as well as your kind cooperation, in all future endeavors to realize this goal.
May 2017 bring you and your family good health, happiness, and prosperity!
January 2017
Consul General of Japan in Honolulu
Yasushi Misawa
Visit by Prime Minister Abe to Hawaii
https://www.mofa.go.jp/na/na1/us/page4e_000571.html
Being that our local communities here in Hawaii fully embrace the culture and customs of Japan, I once again had the pleasure of welcoming the New Year in a very traditional Japanese way.
The past year was a very special one, as we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 8, the Consulate General of Japan and Navy Region Hawaii hosted a joint ceremony on Ford Island to pay tribute to all the lives, both American and Japanese, lost at Pearl Harbor. On December 27, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama came together at a ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial to pay their respects to the lives lost in the attack, and held their last bilateral meeting to affirm the alliance between Japan and the United States.
This visit, 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor and 71 years since the end of a war of significant tragedy, was a historic milestone symbolizing the strong bond that now exists between the two nations, a bond that showcases the power of reconciliation that transformed former adversaries into the closest of allies.
On January 20, as Mr. Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, a new chapter will begin in the history of the US-Japan relationship. Numerous exchange programs between Japan and Hawaii are already in the works. Governor Hiroshi Ogawa of Fukuoka Prefecture will be visiting Honolulu as well as the Big Island. On February 9, we are expecting many visitors from Ehime Prefecture and Uwajima to attend the memorial service to observe the 17th anniversary of the Ehime Maru incident, in which four students and five faculty members of the Ehime Prefectural Uwajima Fishery High School perished in 2001.
Besides Ehime and Fukuoka, Hawaii also has sister-state relations with Okinawa and Hiroshima, and this May, an official sister-state relationship will be signed with Hokkaido. Also in May, the Japan-Hawaii Economic Forum will be held on the island of Hawaii, attended by representatives of local government associations from all across Japan.
Next year, 2018, marks the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first 153 Japanese immigrants to Hawaii in 1868. This will present an excellent opportunity to reflect on the history of Nikkei immigration, and to seek new endeavors to strengthen Japan-Hawaii relations. The Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 will feature surfing, a sport that in of itself represents the islands, and karate, a martial art that has had a strong following in Hawaii for many years. I hope to be able to promote further exchange between Japan and Hawaii through these sports.
As for myself, moving forward, I pledge to continue to make every effort to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Hawaii. I would like to ask for your valuable opinions and suggestions, as well as your kind cooperation, in all future endeavors to realize this goal.
May 2017 bring you and your family good health, happiness, and prosperity!
January 2017
Consul General of Japan in Honolulu
Yasushi Misawa
Visit by Prime Minister Abe to Hawaii
https://www.mofa.go.jp/na/na1/us/page4e_000571.html