U.S. Ambassador Caroline B. Kennedy Announces Six New Strategic Partner Companies to the TOMODACHI Initiative
On December 13, 2013, the TOMODACHI Initiative celebrated the continued partnership between the U.S. Embassy and the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC), at the first major TOMODACHI event since Caroline Kennedy has become the U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
The event also announced six new strategic partner companies joining the TOMODACHI Initiative representing over $6 million in donations: Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Metlife Alico Life Insurance K.K., Prudential Financial, Inc., Sumitomo Corporation, Suntory Holdings Limited and Toshiba Corporation. Through these corporate contributions, the TOMODACHI Initiative is creating unique new exchange programs; supporting and mentoring young female leaders; offering further support to our program alumni to allow them to continue their connections with the United States and with each other; supporting academic study abroad scholarships; launching scholarship programs at top music schools in the United States; and supporting education and collaboration in science and technology.
During the reception, which was held at Ambassador Kennedy’s residence, USJC President Irene Hirano Inouye thanked all the donors. “Two years ago, in this very room, we launched the TOMODACHI Initiative,” she noted in the main hall, and continued that she could not have imagined how much the initiative would have grown. “We are fortunate to have an incredible new partner,” she said of Ambassador Kennedy, “with her dedication to education and passion to support young people, she is the perfect Ambassador for TOMODACHI.”
“I am so grateful for the generous support of the new strategic partners,” Ambassador Kennedy said. “I look forward to working with all of you during my time as Ambassador to bring our nations even closer through the connections between our young people.”
“The mutual understanding between the American and Japanese ‘TOMODACHI Generation’ continues to deepen,” said Japanese Foreign Minister Fumihiko Kishida, who also delivered remarks at the event. He said that with the support of so many people from various fields, he believed the further development and success of TOMODACHI was guaranteed.
The program included a speech by Haruna Shiraiwa, a high school student from Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture. After participating in the TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program in 2012, Ms. Shiraiwa founded TOMOTRA, a company which provides tours to Iwaki to boost tourism to the area. Her remarks were followed by a performance by Reiko Watanabe, a violinist who graduated from The Julliard School, one of the schools receiving students supported by the newly-launched TOMODACHI Suntory Music Scholarship Fund.
Other notable reception guests included: Itsunori Onodera, Minister of Defense; Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister; Akitaka Saiki, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs; Former Ambassadors to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki, Ryozo Kato and Yoshio Okawara; Takuya Tasso, Governor of Iwate prefecture; Diet Members and the representatives of the six new strategic partners, as well as corporate leaders from Japanese and American TOMODACHI donor companies.
Prior to the event, Ambassador Kennedy also held a roundtable discussion with nine TOMODACHI program alumni who came from Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures for the event.
The reception was a true embodiment of the public-private partnership that is the TOMODACHI Initiative, serving as an occasion for TOMODACHI alumni, officials from both the U.S. and Japanese governments and representatives from American and Japanese companies to meet each other and deepen the U.S.-Japan relationship on a person-to-person level.
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TOMODACHI Roundtable
Before the announcement of the new commitments, a roundtable discussion took place at the Ambassador’s residence where TOMODACHI alumni from the Tohoku region met with U.S. Ambassador Caroline B. Kennedy and U.S.-Japan Council President Irene Hirano Inouye. During the roundtable, the students shared their background and experience while participating in the various TOMODACHI programs.
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