在オクラホマ・シティ名誉総領事の就任式典 2007年3月2日
在ヒューストン日本国総領事 加茂佳彦
Governor Henry, Lieutenant Governor Askins, Secretary of State Savage, honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen:
It is my great pleasure to be here this evening on this special occasion to introduce and honor Mr. Lloyd T. Hardin, Jr., the newly appointed Honorary Consul General of Japan at Oklahoma City.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Honorable Governor Henry and to the State of Oklahoma for making this wonderful ceremony possible.
I would also like to thank Dr. Yoshi Sasaki, former Honorary Consul General of Japan, for his excellent service to the Japanese government and outstanding contributions to the friendly relationship between Japan and Oklahoma.
I am very pleased to see so many political, business, and academic leaders who have attended this ceremony to give a warm welcome to and show their enthusiastic support for Mr. Hardin in his new role.
It is also my honor to acknowledge with gratitude the presence here today of the other Honorary Consuls General to welcome Mr. Hardin into this distinguished corps.
Although most of you already know Mr. Hardin well, I would like to take a few moments to introduce him and highlight some of his accomplishments. Mr. Hardin is a native of Oklahoma and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Theory at the University of Oklahoma, after which he spent three years in the United States Marine Corps. Following his service in the military, he returned to Oklahoma where he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1977. His work has taken him across the country, and he is listed on the prestigious Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Hardin has traveled throughout the world, and is an active member of the community, serving on the Board of Directors of a number of different organizations throughout the state. Mr. Hardin is currently a vice-president, shareholder and director at the Oklahoma City law firm, Phillips McFall, where he practices, among other specialties, real estate law and international law.
This year is an especially important one for the state of Oklahoma, as it celebrates its one-hundredth anniversary of statehood. Since its entrance into the union on November 16th, 1907, Oklahoma and Japan have enjoyed a relationship that is very important for both sides economically, politically and culturally. Furthermore, Oklahoma and the Japanese prefecture of Kyoto established a sister-state relationship in 1985, and since then, the two states have developed an especially close and friendly partnership.
Oklahoma has recently experienced much growth and success thanks to the strong leadership of Governor Henry, and many major companies at home and abroad—including Japan—have increased their business interests here. In fact, seven major Japanese companies have branches in Oklahoma. All of these companies have enjoyed the warm welcome and hospitality of the Oklahoman people.
Today, we have with us distinguished senior elected officials who have visited Japan as representatives of this great state. Governor Henry, who went as an Oklahoma state delegation in 2004 , and Secretary of State Savage, who visited during her tenure as Mayor of the city of Tulsa in 1993. It is these kinds of exchanges which help keep the political friendship between Oklahoma and Japan so strong.
This relationship between Japan and Oklahoma, however, extends beyond a political and economic friendship. Last year, seven outstanding teachers from Oklahoma were selected as recipients of the Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship, and were given the opportunity to travel to Japan, to learn about the Japanese culture and education system through school visits, interacting with teachers, and homestays. In addition, many college students from Japan have come here and are diligently studying English at universities across the state, and a number of cultural exchange programs and events at the middle school and high school level have also been organized. I am very sure that these first-hand cultural exchange experiences further promote the friendly relationship that already exists between Japan and Oklahoma and also provides the citizens of both countries with precious opportunities to better understand each other.
Mr. Hardin encountered Japan for the first time in 1989 and has visited several times since then, enjoying its culture, history and food. I would say that he is one of the few Americans who highly respects Japanese culture and deeply understands Japanese traditional values. Mr. Hardin exemplifies those Japanese traditional values by being courteous, hard-working and humble. Mr. Hardin has also contributed to the further development of the relationship between Japan and Oklahoma through his political, business and cultural networks.
Although Mr. Hardin is more closely associated with Japan than most other attorneys in the state of Oklahoma, he is not the first and hopefully will not be the last. In 1946, Benjamin Bruce Blakeney, a native of Oklahoma and a graduate of Harvard University College of Law, was chosen by the US military as a member of the legal counsel representing the Japanese wartime leaders who were put on trial during the Tokyo Tribunal. As a member of the defense for the “enemy,” Blakeney was seen as unpatriotic and un-American, and was vilified by many of his contemporaries. However, Mr. Blakeney defended himself by saying that his defense of those on trial exemplified American patriotism, democracy and the fairness of American justice and law. Mr. Blakeney soon became a hero of the Japanese, and even today, he is admired there as a true professional who embodied American conscience and strength. While Mr. Hardin does not face the uphill battle his fellow Oklahoman did, he still serves an equally important role in enhancing the important relationship between Japan and his home state.
I am firmly certain that this relationship will continue to flourish under the guidance of the very intelligent and passionate Honorary Consul General Hardin. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen this important partnership between Japan and Oklahoma.
Congratulations, Mr. Hardin, and I wish you the best of luck as you take on this new role. Thank you.