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総領事のヒューストン通信 |
タルサ・グローバル・アライアンスの月例理事会での挨拶
2010年3月1日
在ヒューストン日本国総領事 大澤勉
Good evening. My name is Tsutomu Osawa, and I currently serve as the Consul-General of Japan at Houston. Texas and Oklahoma are under my jurisdiction. It is a great pleasure for me to appear here today before the esteemed members of the Tulsa Global Alliance (TGA) Board. This is my first time visiting Tulsa, and I am grateful for the rich itinerary which the TGA has prepared for me.
First, I would like to speak briefly about Japan-U.S. relations. Last year we saw the inauguration of new administrations in both countries, which marked the commencement of a new Japan-U.S. partnership. In Japan, the Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide victory in a historic general election, enabling Mr. Yukio Hatoyama to assume the office of prime minister in September. Only seven days after Prime Minister Hatoyama took office, he met with President Obama in New York. About two months later, President Obama visited Japan and met with Prime Minister Hatoyama again. During their meetings, the two leaders, stressing the crucial nature of the Japan-U.S. relationship, agreed to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and widen the scope of cooperation to tackle various challenges in the region and international community. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. Security Alliance. Our two governments are now working together to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and make 2010 a year in which we reaffirm and further augment our healthy relationship.
The change in leadership has not affected the excellent quality of our bilateral relations, due to the solid grassroots connections which undergird them. This has certainly been the case in Japan-Oklahoma relations. The relations between the people of Japan and the people of the State of Oklahoma continue to blossom through cultural, educational, and commercial exchanges that stem from various sister-city relationships. At the Emperor’s Birthday Reception on December 11th last year, Secretary of State Susan Savage presented us with a proclamation celebrating the “20th Anniversary of His Majesty’s Ascension to the Throne” signed by Governor Brad Henry in recognition of the wonderful relationship between Japan and Oklahoma. We are deeply grateful for this great honor.
Among many sister-city relationships, the thriving relationship between Tulsa and Utsunomiya gives us a model. I sincerely appreciate the hard work Tulsa has devoted to preserving this relationship. TGA has invested great effort in promoting heartfelt exchanges between the two cities. Since the establishment of the sister-city relationship in 1992, Tulsa and Utsunomiya have developed a warm friendship through continuous exchanges of middle school students and citizens. Last year, Utsunomiya sent its 13th group of students to Tulsa, bringing the total number of Japanese junior high school students who have stayed here to 332. Many students from Tulsa have also traveled to and stayed in Utsunomiya, learning much about Japanese culture and sharing their knowledge of American culture.
It is precisely through such activities that Americans and Japanese learn about the unique characteristics of each other’s cultures. The more we learn how we are different, the more we realize how similar we are. We share common values of democracy, freedom of speech, and human rights. We are the largest advanced economies and we have both the will and capacity to successfully manage the world economy. The long-running home stay program represents a major investment in the future of both of our countries, which will pay dividends in the form of future leaders who will further augment the Japan-U.S. relationship.
I hope that you, the members of the Tulsa Global Alliance Board, will continue to take the initiative in bringing our countries even closer together through the sister-city relationship. I earnestly wish to provide the assistance necessary to further cultural, economic, and educational exchanges which will strengthen relations at the grass roots level between our two countries.
Thank you very much for giving me a chance to address you today.