RECENT EVENTS

. : Tomodachi Committee Celebrates Hinamatsuri

On Tuesday, February 23, Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo and Mrs. Etsuko Kamo graciously opened their residence to the Japan-America Society of Hawaii’s Tomodachi Committee for the annual Hinamatsuri program in celebration of Girl’s Day. Traditionally held on March 3rd, hinamatsuri is marked by families praying for the good health, happiness and prosperity for their girls.

Upon entrance into the residence, guests enjoyed a beautiful 7-tiered hinaningyo display, a traditional Girl’s Day doll display. Guests were also treated to a brilliant musical performance by Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners Randall and Gay Hongo, along with Kamehameha Schools student and former Asian-Pacific Children’s Convention Junior Ambassador, boy soprano TX Tario. Randall and Gay entertained guests with their lovely renditions of both Hawaiian and traditional Japanese songs. TX joined Randall in renditions of contemporary songs as well as famous show tunes.

After the performance, Consul General & Mrs. Kamo invited guests to partake in special hinamatsuri refreshments prepared by their personal chef. Tomodachi Committee members also generously donated delicious items.

The Japan-America Society of Hawaii and the Tomodachi Committee would like to send a big mahalo to Consul General and Mrs. Kamo for hosting this special event. We would also like to thank Randall and Gay Hongo, and TX Tario for providing a memorable musical experience. Thank you also to the Tomodachi Committee members who generously donated refreshments and to Tomodachi Co-Chair Mrs. Kazuko Love for chairing this event.

(L)Tomodachi Committee Co-Chairs Mrs. Shizue Goldblatt and Mrs. Kazuko Love present an omiyage to Consul General Kamo and Mrs. Kamo. (R) JASH members and friends enjoyed the beautiful hinaningyo display.

. : Sharon Fukayama Selected as Akihito Scholar for 2010

University of Hawaii PhD candidate Sharon Fukayama has been awarded the prestigious Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship for academic year 2010. Ms. Fukayama was selected from a pool of 10 outstanding applicants. The scholarship provides $45,000 per year, which includes up to $15,000 allowance for tuition and one time round trip economy class airfare between Hawaii and Japan. Ms. Fukayama, majoring in Education, will be studying at Tokyo’s Keio University’s Graduate School of Human Relations collecting data on Japan’s educational system and teaching methods as her goal is establish a bilingual, bicultural school in Hawaii.

The CPASF annually provides scholarships to University of Hawaii graduate students for study in Japan, and graduate students in Japan for study at the University of Hawaii. The Scholarship was established to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Akihito to Michiko Shoda in 1959 to promote good relations between U.S. and Japan, and so far has provided scholarships to 131 scholars who are now serving around the world as “ambassadors of good will.” A unique aspect of the scholarship is that the scholars are given an audience with Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan at their Imperial Palace residence in Tokyo. Their Majesties have maintained a special relationship with the scholars, evidenced by their visit to Hawaii in July, 2009 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Scholarship during which they met with the scholar alumni who attended.

The scholarship is administered by the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH), and those interested in the scholarship are directed to the JASH website under “CPASF.”

. : Students Showcase Academic Talent at Japan Wizards Competition

Roosevelt High School got its redemption. After being edged out in a tiebreaker with Waipahu High School last year, the team from Roosevelt High School won second place in the Level B public school category in the Japan Wizards Statewide Academic Team Competition to earn a trip to Japan. Three other schools earned trips to Japan: Hanalani Schools (Level A private school category), McKinley High School (Level A public school category), and Punahou School (Level B private school category).

Held this year on February 20, 2010 at Kapiolani Community College near Diamond Head on Oahu, Japan Wizards is a challenging, fun-filled annual competition for Hawaii’s high school students. Japan Wizards helps motivate students throughout Hawaii to learn more about Japan and help them develop lifelong skills in research, teamwork, personal responsibility, and operating under pressure. Students spend the fall term preparing for the competition studying a wide range of topics including arts, culture and traditions, geography, history, food, contemporary Japan, literature, politics, government, sports, and of course, language. For 2010, a total of 135 students competed from 26 schools (including nine neighboring island schools – Hawaii, Maui, Kauai) composing 45 teams of three students each. The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) awarded plaques to the three top scoring teams from each level, Level A and Level B, which are based on the language capability of the students. In Level A, these were Hanalani Schools (1st place), Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama (2nd place) and McKinley High School (3rd place). The Level B winners were Punahou School (1st place), Roosevelt High School (2nd place), and King Kekaulike High School (3rd place). The top scoring public and private school in each level earn a trip to Japan in the summer of 2010. To allow more schools to compete and benefit, a school that wins a Japan trip cannot compete the following year.

(L) Students prepare for the start of competition; (R) Volunteers assist with check-in and Activity Center

During competition intervals, volunteers held various activities in the Activity Center to keep the students occupied and entertained, as well as teach them aspects of Japanese culture. These activities included Jeopardy-styled question and answer games, origami, Japanese writing and charter recognition games, and gyotaku fish printing. Members of the Oahu Ghost Tours also entertained the students with obake storytelling.

As in last year, Mrs. Ina Tateuchi of the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation, a major sponsor of the event, was there to present the Atsuhiko Tateuchi Memorial Award for Outstanding Scholarship, in honor of her late husband, to the top scoring team in the competition. This year Punahou School’s Level B team was the recipient of this prestigious award.

(L) Competition winners pose with JASH President, Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo, and other guests and attendees; (R) Students try out gyotaku fish printing in the Activity Center as demonstrated by Brandon Tengan

Also on hand were JASH Chair Mr. Allen Uyeda, President and CEO of First Insurance Company of Hawaii, JASH Director and Vice President of JTB Hawaii (another major sponsor) Mr. Keiichi Tsujino of JTB Goodwill Foundation, JASH Director and JTB Hawaii Community Relations Chair Mr. David Asanuma of JTB Goodwill Foundation, JASH Director and Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Vice President for Community Relations Ms. Jean Rolles, and JASH Vice Chair/Secretary and Principal of M5 Architecture LLC Dr. Mike Leineweber. The competition was also fortunate to have in attendance Japan’s Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo accompanied by his wife Etsuko Kamo who gave encouraging remarks to the students.

JASH would like to thank all the major sponsors, including ABC Stores and Kosasa Family Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Hawaii Hotel Industry, JTB Goodwill Foundation, The Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation, and The Freeman Foundation. JASH would also like to thank the faculty and staff at Kapiolani Community College for the generous use of their facilities and for their support of the competition. Finally, JASH would like to recognize the 70 volunteers and 30 contributors, without whose service and hard work, this competition would not have been possible.

. : Memorial Service takes place on Anniversary of the Ehime Maru Incident

Bereaved family members from Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture, gathered for a memorial service at the Ehime Maru Memorial at Kakaako Waterfront Park on February 9 to mark the anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Japanese Fisheries High School training ship Ehime Maru. Nine crew including four students died on that tragic day. The bereaved included the Mizuguchi, Nishida, and Segawa families. Also joining the service were Uwajima Mayor Hirohisa Ishibashi, the former Uwajima Fisheries High School Principal Mr. Kazumitsu Joko and family, Ehime-Hawaii Friendship Association members Mr. Chiaki Horie and Mr. Shuzo Seike, and two visitors from Ehime Prefecture International Center, Mr. Yuiichi Miyaue and Ms. Noriko Omori. The visitors presented wreaths on behalf of the Governor of Ehime Prefecture, the City of Uwajima, the Ehime-Hawaii Friendship Association, and the three visiting bereaved families. Wreaths were also presented on behalf of the Government of Japan by Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo, the Ehime Maru Memorial Association, and the United Stated Pacific Fleet.

Clockwise from top right: crew of Nippon Maru pay respects; Uwajima Mayor Ishibashi addresses those gathered; Consul General Kamo presents wreath; bereaved family members gather in a joint prayer.

The memorial service began with a short prayer by Reverend Seigoro Nishiwaki of Palolo Hongwanji. Precisely at 1:43 p.m. to coincide with the time of the accident, a moment of silence was observed. Following presentation of the wreaths, Mayor Ishibashi addressed the gathered crowd. In attendance were State Representative Ken Ito who is active with the Ehime-Hawaii Goodwill Baseball Tournament and several representatives of Nikkei organizations in Hawaii as well as friends of the bereaved families. Consul General Kamo hosted the family members and special guests for dinner at his residence that evening.

The Ehime Maru Memorial is maintained by the Ehime Maru Memorial Association which is associated with the Japan-America Society of Hawaii. The Association cares for the memorial, coordinates cleaning by community volunteers, and assists family members with the annual service.

Several joint initiatives to develop and perpetuate good will between the people of Hawaii and Ehime have resulted in the aftermath of this tragedy. The Ehime-Hawaii Goodwill Baseball Tournament initiated by Hawaii benefactor Mr. Seiji Naya and Ehime Prefecture Representative Junnosuke Kainou continues to exchange baseball teams annually to conduct matches. The Ehime Prefecture International Center annually provides three-month summer internships to two University of Hawaii students. Students are selected for this program through collaboration between UH’s Center for Japanese Studies and the Japan-America Society of Hawaii. Finally, a sister school program was initiated by the Japan-America Society of Hawaii between Hawaii’s Kawananakoa Middle School and Ehime’s Uwajima Minami Junior High School under a grant from the Freeman Foundation. These programs continue to this day.

. : Representatives of Ehime Prefecture International Center visit Hawaii

Officials from the Ehime Prefecture International Center (EPIC) visited Hawaii during the week of the Ehime Maru Memorial Service, held on February 9. Mr. Yuuichi Miyaue and Ms. Noriko Omori were in Hawaii to coordinate on the future of the summer internship EPIC provides to two University of Hawaii students in Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime Prefecture. Under an arrangement established four years ago, EPIC provides the entire cost of hosting two UH students for a three month summer internship in Matsuyama to teach Hawaiian culture to the people of Ehime and participate as a teacher at an English language camp. This is one of the good-will initiatives to bring the people of Hawaii and Ehime closer together following the tragic accident of the Uwajima Fisheries High School training ship Ehime Maru in 2001 that resulted in the loss of four students and five crewmembers. As the program is ending its first five years, the visitors were here to meet with the UH Center for Japanese Studies and JASH who assist with recruiting and selecting students for internship to discuss whether to continue the program and how to structure it (CJS and JASH fully support its continuance). Mr. Miyaue and Ms. Omori will return to EPIC and make a report to the Ehime Government.

(L) National Park Service Ranger Frank Middleton and Arizona Memorial Museum Association Education Director Paul Heintz with EPIC visitors Mr. Miyaue and Ms. Omori at the Arizona Memorial; (R) Mr. Miyaue and Ms. Omori present wreath at Ehime Maru Memorial.

During their brief stay, JASH President Ed Hawkins escorted the visitors for a special tour of the Arizona Memorial arranged by the Arizona Memorial Museum Association and the National Park Service, and to other historical places on Oahu. The visitors also attended the Ehime Maru Memorial Service held at Kakaako Waterfront Park, presenting a wreath on behalf of the Governor of Ehime Prefecture.

. : NHK Interviews JASH Member General Stackpole

On February 11, Okinawa’s office of the Japan Broadcasting Company (NHK) Reporter Mr. Masaki Suda interviewed JASH member Lieutenant General (USMC Retired) Henry “Hank” Stackpole in the JASH office. NHK is Japan’s public broadcasting station and is noted for its probing, expository documentaries on issues of importance around the world. Mr. Suda was on assignment to develop a story on the presence of U.S. Marines on Okinawa and the agreement between Japan and the United States to transfer 8,000 Marines and their families to Guam. The agreement also addresses the status of Futenma Air Base and the location of its replacement base.

General Stackpole is the former Commander of Marine Forces Pacific and the first Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. The General has served numerous tours of duty in the Pacific region, having himself commanded units in Okinawa, and has extensive experience in humanitarian relief operations as well. It is because of his vast experience that NHK interviewed him. Mr. Suda and the team are now off to Camp Pendleton in California to interview the U.S. Marines there.

L-R: NHK reporter assistant, Mr. Masaki Suda, General Stackpole, JASH President Hawkins, NHK camerawoman.