Consul General Hiroshi Tajima Returns to Tokyo and Makes Sure the Deepened Japan-U.S. Relationship by Figures

New Consul General Jun Yanagi Arrives in Chicago

Outgoing Consul General Hiroshi Tajima (R) and Chairman Stephen N. Potter of the Japan America Society of Chicago make a toast for the future success of the Japan-U.S. relationship and the Japan-Midwest relationship.

Outgoing Consul General Hiroshi Tajima

   Consul General Hiroshi Tajima announced his return to Tokyo and held a farewell reception on August 4 at his official residence to thank many contributors in various fields such as business, culture, and education for their hard work to make deeper Japan-U.S. relationship.

    Consul General Tajima recalled, “Two years ago right after I first arrived here in Chicago, one of the first things people would tell me was to enjoy Midwest Nice,” and then, “Two years have passed since then, the people of the Midwest are truly warm and kindhearted,” he said.

    During his tenure, he made 60 business trips and participated in hundreds of meetings within the 10 states under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago. Those states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

   Consul General Tajima, who has represented the Japanese government, often spoke to introduce Japan at various conferences and universities. He said that made him to become greater understanding of Japan’s identification. Here are some figures which show how the Japan-U.S. relationship is so important.

Business and Trade

. The U.S. and Japan make up about 30% of the world’s economic activity across a wide range of industries.

. The U.S. is both Japan’s largest investor and source of investment.

. Japanese foreign direct investment in the U.S. has increased from $274 billion in 2011 to $690 billion in 2021.

. As of 2022, there are approximately 8,700 Japanese business facilities located throughout the U.S., and 18% or 1,566 facilities are located in the 10 Midwestern states under his jurisdiction.

. As of 2020, more than 930,000 jobs were created in the U.S. from investments made by Japanese companies. About 16% of the figure or 150,000 jobs were created in the 10 states in his jurisdiction.

. In spite of the vast distance between the two countries, the U.S. and Japan are the top partners each other.

. In 2022, the U.S. exported roughly $80 billion worth of goods to Japan. The top ten of the exported items come from the 10 states in his jurisdiction. Furthermore, the 10 Midwest states make up nearly 46% of all food products such as processed meats and grains exported from the U.S. to Japan.

Sister-city and Sister-state-prefecture Relationships

. There are 431 sister cities and 26 sister-state-prefecture affiliations between Japan and the U.S. The number of affiliations between the two countries is at the top of the world compared to the same numbers with other countries.

. The first sister-city relationship was established between Nagasaki City and Saint Paul in Minnesota in 1955.

. The first sister-state-prefecture relationship was established between Yamanashi Prefecture and the state of Iowa in 1960.

Japanese Gardens

. There are more than 200 Japanese gardens across the U.S., and 40 of them are located in the Midwest. Those gardens have been loved by local people as a venue for festivals and events.

Tourism

. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan was the largest source of travelers to the U.S. from the Indo-Pacific region.

. The U.S. is the most popular destination in the Western region for Japanese traveling abroad.

. More than half of the foreign travelers to Japan are people related to the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program, and most of them are Americans.

. The Consulate General Office in Chicago sends more than 100 JET participants to Japan every year. The number of participants is about 15% of the total participants who are recruited by the Consulate Offices or the Japanese Embassy across the U.S. The Chicago office has been the top recruiter among others for a decade. This summer, 90 JET participants departed from O’Hare Airport to Japan.

   Consul General said that although he presented those numbers, he was reminded of the people who he had met over the past two years and, “How deeply touched I am by everything I had experienced here.”

   One of the most valuable experiences for him was visiting Scottsbluff, the East edge of Nebraska where Japanese immigrants settled in the early 20th century and build a strong Japanese community and their legacy.

   The Japanese Hall has been long-standing there as a gathering place for the Japanese American community. He said the building will be reopened next year as a museum.

   At the end of his remarks, Consul General Tajima said, “I will treasure each of you what you have told me during this once-in-a-lifetime experience deep within my heart,” and hoped to keep in touch with everyone whom he had met.

   He also said he will make sure to inform incoming Consul General Jun Yanagi about what progress has been made with all the people who worked for the Japan-U.S. relationship.

Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group

   Special guest Leo Melamed said the U.S. and Japan have had a very special relationship, depended on each other, and Japan has been the strongest ally of the U.S. in the South East Asia. Melamed continued to say, “Consul General has a special role of strengthening the relationship between Japan and the U.S. at here in Chicago.”

   He talked about Chiune Sugihara, who had served in Lithuania as Vice Consul General from 1940 to 1941, determined to issue more than 2,000 transit visas to save Jewish people who were trapped in the country even though his decision was not approved by the Japanese Foreign Office, but he did it out of humanitarianism.

   Thanks to Sugihara’s transit visas, about 6,000 Jews could escape to the U.S. or other countries via Japan.

   Melamed is one of the young boys among the 6,000 Jews and was thinking of repaying Japan for the transit visas. “It was my role to do markets in Japan that strive today and have made Japan a very strong nation,” Melamed said.

   Mr. Tajima returned to Tokyo on August 15, and his new position hasn’t been announced.

   New Consul General Jun Yanagi is scheduled to arrive in Chicago on August 21.