L​ocal Leaders Gather for National Japan Day Celebration

Brookline residents Consul General Rokuichiro Michii and his wife, Ikuko with Police Commissioner William G. Gross, President & CEO of Joslin Diabetes Center Dr. Peter Amenta, and Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe

More than 300 guests gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Crossing to honor the 85th birthday of the Japanese Emperor. The Consulate-General of Japan in Boston hosted this grand celebration, inviting influential members of the New England community including senior representatives from the state legislature as well as local business, civic, academic, medical, and cultural leaders. The reception, emceed by esteemed Japanese-American sports and news broadcaster Naoko Funayama, is an opportunity to bring groups together to discover commonalities and highlight a successful year of relations between Boston and Japan.

The event featured special cultural touches including a traditional tea ceremony, intricate Japanese floral arrangements created by members of the Boston chapter of Ikebana International, a stunning kimono worn by the Consul General’s wife, Ikuko Michii, and an expert performance of the US and Japanese national anthems by renowned Berklee College of music Professor Tiger Okoshi.

Other notable guests included Boston’s Police Commissioner William G. Gross, Representatives Keiko Orrall, Donald Wong and Denise Provost, Dr. Peter Amenta of Joslin Diabetes Center, Assistant Secretary of Business Development and International Trade in Massachusetts Nam Pham, and John MacNeil, President of the New England Motion Picture and Television Producers Association.

Brookline resident Yuka Nakamura (left) with Mimi Morimura

Chiyuki and Hiro Kobata of Brookline