Thursday, March 24, 2016 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles
(90020 zip code –address coordinates to follow upon RSVP)
Consul General of Japan, Harry H. Horinouchi, requests the pleasure of your company at a Reception honoring US Service Members who have been stationed in Japan–active, reserve and veteran.
We also invite you to bring a guest–perhaps a dependent or family member who joined you in Japan. We would appreciate this opportunity to share your experiences of your time in Japan, and to thank you for your contributions in support of the US-Japan Relationship and Alliance.
We will offer an evening of exquisite, freshly prepared Japanese cuisine, superb sakes and other refreshments, an entertaining cultural program, and networking & camaraderie with colleagues from both the US and Japan.
Please join this inaugural event of the “Service in Japan Alumni” project as the honored guest of Consul General Horinouchi, and enjoy the hospitality of his official residence in the beautiful Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles!
Invitees: Service Members (active, reserve & veteran) with time in Japan, and a guest.
RSVP: Ms. Emiko Mita (213) 617-6700 ext. 420
E.Mita@LS.MOFA.GO.JP
The “Service in Japan Alumni” Project of Southern California & Arizona
In the six decades of security cooperation between Japan and the United States, hundreds of thousands of Americans have worked closely with their friends and colleagues in Japan, and have played an important role in creating the vibrant and important partnership we enjoy today.
And from all accounts, the time spent assigned in Japan also ranks among the best experiences of many military careers.
This proposed “Service in Japan Alumni” project is an opportunity to express appreciation to individuals for the time, effort, risk and sacrifice associated with their work in Japan.
It will be established upon a foundation of three premises:
1. Honoring Service – Currently, about 80,000 US military & civilian professionals, and their dependents, are posted in Japan at any one moment. This will be an opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the dedication and effort given to mission while far away from home.
2. Building on Our Understanding – Japan and the US are very different places, yet America’s service members and their families learn to live and work in Japan seamlessly and with a positive spirit. The collective experience and goodwill of those who have served in Japan is something that enhances the mutual understanding between our nations in a very personal and natural way, and should be built upon.
3. Celebrating Friendship and Alliance – With plenty of time and experiences spent in Japan with Japanese friends and colleagues, perhaps nobody is better able to appreciate the importance of the US-Japan relationship to both nations, and to the world, than Japan’s US Service alumni. This will be an opportunity to celebrate these connections, informally exchange views on issues, and meet new faces as well.
Initiating the Project
The Consulate General of Japan, and other supporters, will be hosting a series of reception events to individually welcome and honor veterans and active personnel (and dependents) who have had the experience of being assigned to Japan. The first event will be hosted in the spring of 2016 in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, at the official residence of the Consul General of Japan.
Honored invitees will include veterans from the Los Angeles area and beyond, as well as active duty personnel and highly ranked officers from all branches in this region. Each invitee will be encouraged to bring a guest – perhaps a dependent who also experienced life in Japan.
Featured will be exquisite Japanese cuisine, a chance to taste premium Japanese sake varieties, an enjoyable cultural sampler, an exchange of views, good conversation & fellowship with both American and Japanese colleagues, alike.
We fully anticipate building upon these events in the future, both regionally and in terms of theme and scope, based upon feedback and continued cooperation from fine organizations such as yours.
