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Causes: International, Promotion of International Understanding
Mission: To be a catalyst for vibrant, lasting interaction between the people of north texas and japan, impacting lives in a spirit of enduring friendship and trust.
Programs: The dallas/sendai program supports the dallas/sendai international friendship cities relationship and provides opportunities for exchange between dallas-area residents and the people of sendai, japan. We manage the relationship in cooperation with the city of dallas. (1) as part of the annual dallas-sendai young ambassadors in summer 2016, 6 high school students from dallas and 1 chaperone spent a week in sendai, interacted with japanese teenagers, stayed with host families, and learned about local history and culture. (2) a team of 2 runners represented dallas in the annual sendai international half marathon in may. (3) to mark the 20th anniversary year of the dallas-sendai relationship, a delegation from the city of sendai led by vice mayor akira fujimoto visited dallas and met with dallas mayor mike rawlings. (people served: 250)
business speaker programs feature experts on topics of interest to the international business community, specifically about current economic and political issues in u. S. -japan relations and their impact in north texas. (1) we collaborated with jetro houston and the dallas regional chamber on a technology seminar in october. (2) the annual japan update symposium in february featured joseph m. Young of the u. S. Department of state, dr. Haruo iguchi of kwansei gakuin university, and 3 panel members from american airlines, texas central partners, and jetro houston. The theme was "u. S. -japan relations under the new u. S. Administration. " (3) in march, grant newsham from the japan forum for strategic studies presented a talk on the u. S. -japan security alliance at southern methodist university. (people served: 250)
cultural programs educate the public about japanese culture and provide opportunities for meaningful interaction between american and japanese people. We held 10 social and cultural programs during the year. Major annual events include the autumn otsukimi moon viewing event and the mochitsuki new year's celebration in january. In addition, we presented japan-america friendship night with the texas rangers, a "taste of japan" restaurant series, bonenkai year-end celebration, and co-presented a multidisciplinary program on the novel "the tale of genji" with the dallas institute on humanities and culture. "(people served: 5,000)