Thank you, Mrs. Fryer, for your kind introduction. Good evening honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen: It is a great pleasure and honor to be here with you on this special occasion for the Japan-America Society of Houston.
It is less than one month since I arrived in Houston as Consul-General of Japan but I am already deeply impressed by the tremendous contributions and achievements of the society in promoting Japanese culture here and in strengthening the friendship between our two nations.
In this first month I have also witnessed the economic dynamism of this city. As Houston rises to the center of economic growth in the United States, business opportunities for Japanese companies will increase and economic ties between Japan and the U.S. will expand.
This summer, Chubu Electric Co. opened a local branch office and this month Osaka Gas will open theirs in Houston. It is certain more Japanese companies will follow suit.
Another indicator is the number of 1st to 9th graders attending the Houston Japanese Supplementary School. In 2009 it was 229. After four years that figure stands at 303 and if you multiply this number by ten that should be on average the number of Japanese businessmen and their family members living in our community. So they are increasing too.
With new growth in the business sector, an increase in culture and arts exchange is sure to follow. This trend provides the Japan-America Society of Houston the opportunity to build upon the present success and create more engaging programming so as to enhance its position even more in our community. I hope that we can work together to this end and I seek your Japanese and American support in our mutual goal to promote our bilateral exchange.
With this goal in focus, the presence of The Honorable J. Thomas Schieffer and The Honorable Minoru Makihara at tonight’s gala can be taken as a great sign for the Japan-America Society of Houston. Let us wish for the continued success and good health for these two leaders who guide and inspire us tonight to continue in our efforts to strengthen the Japan-U.S. relations and friendship. Thank you very much |
