RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Fukuoka Prefecture is Kyushu's largest prefecture that is rich in culture, academia, and business; and

WHEREAS, the idea to establish the sister-state relationship originated with members of the Fukuoka City Chamber of Commerce and the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce at the 15^th Japan-American Conference of Mayors and Chamber of Commerce Presidents held in 1980; and

WHEREAS, in 1981, a sister-state-prefecture relationship was created between Hawaii and Fukuoka, which initiated an international air route connected directly to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, a significant ongoing affiliation has been established that promotes cultural and economic interchange, encourages goodwill and understanding, and strengthens the bonds of friendship between the people of Fukuoka and Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, annual sports contests and activities, business and industry conferences, and World Fukuoka Kenjin Kai conferences have attracted thousands of Fukuoka prefecture residents to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, mutual educational benefits are created when students from Fukuoka's Prefectural Fisheries High School visit Hawaii's high schools and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) sends a delegation to Fukuoka to discuss Hawaii's school excursion programs; and

WHEREAS, in the 1990s, Hawaii and Fukuoka entered into an exchange agreement, which assigned an official from Fukuoka to the Office of the Governor to study Hawaii's governmental structure, assist in Japanese-English translations, and assist the Legislature in protocol matters, while Fukuoka hosted an official from Hawaii in return; and

WHEREAS, there are plans for celebratory receptions in Fukuoka in connection with DBEDT's plans for a trade exposition in May 2006 and also in September 2006 to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fukuoka and Hawaii sister-state relationship; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature supports the planned celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fukuoka and Hawaii sister-state relationship in May and September 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the Fukuoka Prefecture, Governor of the State of Hawaii, Speaker and Vice Speaker of the Fukuoka Assembly, Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives, President of the Hawaii Senate, Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and President of Fukuoka Kenjin Kai, Hawaii Chapter.

Report Title:

25th Anniversary-Fukuoka/Hawaii Sister-State Relationship