Our Bonenkai guests enjoyed a relaxing and festive evening at Heritage Hall at the Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church on December 8. The event featured delicious appetizers from Mei Japanese Restaurant, mochi from Cafe Mochiko, a performance of Japanese songs by the Sakura Ladies Chorus, and a trivia game featuring Japanese and American superhero-themed questions. (Thank you to Helen & Steve Rindsberg for creating this fun activity!)
The weather cooperated again this year, and we had a good turnout for our 29th Annual Golf Outing held at The Links @ Rising Star Casino & Resort on Saturday, July 24. Jumpei “JP” Okuda, PGA Golf Professional (and Links Manager) hosted us again this year and played “Beat the Pro” with our players. Thank you, JP! We are looking forward to seeing you again next year.
A special thank you to our event sponsors including Presenting Sponsor Toyota, Eagle Sponsors Kao USA, and Toyota Boshoku America, Beverage Sponsor Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Hole-in-One Sponsor Richter & Phillips, Hole Sponsors Bannockburn Global Forex, ThreeBond International, Blue and Company, USI Insurance, Cinter Technology, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, and Hasse & Nesbitt, and our Major Donors including Asahi Beer USA, Kao USA, P&G, Blue & Company, Cinter Technology, the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, and Rising Star Casino & Resort.
And thank you to all of the teams, individual players, and volunteers who supported the event! (Next year’s event is scheduled for July 23, so please save the date).
Photo Credits: David Bailey (JASGC Volunteer)
The Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati (JASGC) held their Annual Gala: A Celebration of Pioneers from Japan in Greater Cincinnati, on November 12th, 2020 at 6:00 pm EST. This hour-long event was held virtually (via Zoom), with guests attending from all around the world. JASGC was established in 1988 to foster business, social and cultural connections between the people of Japan and residents of Cincinnati. This Gala is one of the many ways they build these connections.
The event was hosted by Joe Dehner, the current JASGC president. It began with a beautiful tribute by Kiyoshi “Peter” Tanaka for his late father, Dr. Kinji Tanaka. He spoke of Dr. Tanaka’s amazing life achievements and how he helped establish several Japan-related organizations in Greater Cincinnati that continue to promote US-Japan relations decades later. Following Kiyoshi Tanaka was Tsutomu Nakagawa, Consul General of Japan in Detroit, who gave a heartfelt speech and toast to officially open the event.
The highlight of the evening included two key speakers, Shogo Akiyama of the Cincinnati Reds, and Yuya Kubo of FC Cincinnati. Both players arrived in Cincinnati in January 2020 as the first players from Japan to join their respective Cincinnati professional sports teams. The interactive interview featured questions from attendees. The players spoke about a wide range of topics including their sports experience in the US, adjusting to a new home life, and their favorite experiences so far living in Cincinnati. The players were reportedly happy to be included in this Gala and to share their perspectives. The event was well attended and was deemed a huge success for JASGC.
