Greetings from Consul General Yoshioka

Happy New Year! I look forward to a vibrant and successful 2025!

Looking back at last year, it certainly feels like there were a lot of visits to Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Idaho) from Japanese local government officials. PNW has 26 different Sister-city relationships with Japan and this year 30 local government officials came to PNW to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association, the 35th anniversary of the Oregon City-Tateshina Town relationship, and the 35th anniversary of the Forest Grove-NyuzenTown connection. Among them, 22 groups of junior high, high school, and university students stayed with American host families and had the meaningful experience of learning real English and experiencing American culture first-hand. I also attended several of the sister city meetings, and the atmosphere was very lively, with one of them featuring Japanese junior high school students giving an energetic performance of the Yosakoi dance. I hope that they will come back here again in the future as adults and become a bridge of understanding between Japan and PNW.
All of these visits reminded me of an old story about Yosuke Matsuoka, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs before the war. He studied in Portland while staying with a host family during his junior high school days and later became the first Japanese person to graduate from the University of Oregon School of Law, going on to become a successful politician. His host mother's grave still remains in Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland. In 1933, after he gave his famous speech in Geneva on the occasion of Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations, he stopped by Portland on his way back to Japan. He visited his former host mother's grave and presented her with a stone monument. The stone monument reads, "To the memory of Isabelle Dunbar Beveridge, raised by the loving hands of Yosuke Matsuoka in token of the lasting gratitude for the sympathy and gentile kindness of a woman who, next to his mother, shaped his mind and character. April 9, 1933." It is a moving memorial to the strong influence his host mother had on his life and shows how important his homestay experience in America as a junior high school student was.

Last year there were also many Japanese food and sake events. In March, our office held a Japanese seafood fair in Hillsborough featuring sea cucumbers, scallops, and other delicious products. In May, the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University, Kuze Fuku Inc., Sake One, and Zupan’s Markets sponsored a Japanese food and sake fair called "Kampai Japan 2." In August, the craft beer festival "Fuji to Hood," a collaboration between Japanese and Oregon breweries, was a huge hit. In addition, the mayors of Uwajima and Sapporo and the governor of Nagano, amongst other dignitaries, visited Portland, and product exhibitions were held for Ehime Prefecture, Sapporo City, Nagano Prefecture, and other locales across Japan. In December, following upon the recognition of Japanese cuisine, Japanese sake was also designated as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. I am a strong supporter of promoting Japanese cuisine and sake, which are excellent examples of Japan's soft power.

On a more personal note, last year, I was given many opportunities to experience the breathtaking beauty of nature and visit unforgettable places across the Pacific Northwest. In Oregon, I enjoyed hunting for cockle clams, visiting a blueberry farm, volunteering to harvest Pinot Noir grapes for wine, and searching for Matsutake mushrooms. In Idaho, I traveled to Boise, Moscow, Rupert, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Idaho National Laboratory, Twin Falls and Minidoka. The magnificent view of the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls left me in awe, and I even witnessed people parachuting from the bridge there.
At Minidoka, I visited the site of the former internment camp where more than 13,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated during World War II. Seeing the history of Japanese Americans firsthand was a deeply moving experience. The woman who guided me on a matsutake mushroom hunt, Amy, a third-generation Japanese American, told me that many years ago, before the war, her grandfather had also guided my predecessor on a matsutake trek, so I felt a mysterious connection with her. There are many Japanese Americans in PNW, and they still have a deep attachment to Japan and Japanese culture. I would very much like to see more opportunities for Japanese people and Japanese Americans to interact with each other.

Finally, the most important mission of our consulate is to provide high-quality consular services and ensure the safety of more than 8,000 Japanese people living in PNW. The public safety situation in PNW, which deteriorated significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been improving steadily since 2023, but I believe many people still have various concerns. If you do have concerns, or have any situation you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Thank you again for your support and I pray that 2025 will be a good year for us all.