Greetings!
I arrived in Miami on January 21st to assume the post of the Consul General of Japan in Miami. And I sincerely look forward to meeting and establishing friendships with many Floridians as well as Japanese residents throughout the Sunshine State.
While living in Japan, I was assigned to the Economic Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working for International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, UN), and also for the Latin American and Caribbean Bureau, participating in the negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreement with Mexico. Later, I was with the Foreign Press Center, a private institution that gives services to foreign media, and during this period, of course, I had the pleasure to work with the people of the American media. Just before I came here, I was in charge of the supervising the consular services abroad from Tokyo. Now, as the Consul General of Japan in Miami, I attach utmost importance to further strengthening already friendly relationship with the residents of Florida.
Before my arrival in Miami, I read many documents and books about the State of Florida to inform myself; I also conversed with people who knew Florida well. I was impressed to know that the GDP of the State of Florida is the 4th largest in the United States, following California, Texas, and New York. Florida’s economy, compared with the two emerging powers of Latin America, Brazil and Mexico, is half the size of Brazil, and is nearly the same level with Mexico.
I am very proud to be working in the State of Florida, a leading State with a bright future, but I also feel an immense responsibility as the Consul General here.
Last January 8th, the Honorable Seiji Maehara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, visited Florida to meet the Honorable Rick Scott, new Governor of Florida, just a few days after the Governor took office. They had a good conversation about the possible introduction of Japanese advanced systems into the High-Speed Rail Project in Florida, an invitation for Governor Scott to visit Japan, the promotion of trade investment cooperation between the firms of Japan and Florida as well as jointly promoting business in Latin American market from here. I would be happy if I could contribute to further developing the economic relations between Florida and Japan, as it was one of the main topics of conversation between Minister Maehara and Governor Scott.
As you may already know, we have 10 Sister-City relations between Japan and Florida. Orlando and Urayasu is one of them. At the beginning of January this year, I met Mr. Hideki Matsuzaki, the Mayor of Urayasu City. In our conversation, he pointed out that, on a visit to Orlando City, something that gave an impression on him was the homes for the elderly in Florida. He visited several care institutions for the aged, and noticed that no one was bedridden. He asked if there were any special institutions for the aged that accommodated bedridden people, but the answer to this question was that in Florida there is a law that prohibits the homes for the aged to keep the clients in bed. The homes for the aged pay attention to this respect, and they even have a beauty salon inside the institutions. Mr. Matsuzaki says he was very much impressed to see the elder people enjoying the stay and living happily.
Also, the mayor told me that the citizens of Urayasu were very socially conscious and that the volunteer members of various groups working for international exchange program were those who supported the sister city relationship between Urayasu and Orlando. They are the ones who do the planning and execution of the exchange programs. As many foreigners live in Urayasu, the city has a council of foreign residents. The city mayor admires that the members have good insight and have many proposals to make the city a better place to live. That’s what Mayor Matsuzaki enthusiastically told me. I was also very much impressed.
Urayasu, noted for its solid financial status, attracts 26 million people to the Disney Resort located in the city. But surprisingly, the revenue from the corporation tax, including the Disney Resort, is only 8% of the total revenue of the city. According to the Mayor, contrary to what many people assume, Urayasu is not a city sustained mostly by private companies, but a city where many excellent citizens sustain its financial base. I was so impressed to know that.
While I have been making courtesy calls to the state and local authorities, police institutions, business organizations and universities, I would also like to hear the good stories on your communities, like those of Urayasu City. So, if you do have stories like this, please share them with me.
I would be so happy to do my part in building a better relationship at the community level between Florida and Japan, and I am confident that with help from you, I will do my best.
Thank you.
Eiichi Kawahara
Consul General of Japan in Miami
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