Day 1
Lt. Governor Skillman delivers earthquake relief check to Motegi Mayor
TOCHIGI PREFECTURE, JAPAN - Lt. Governor Skillman delivered a check from students at Speedway High School to Mayor Tatsuya Koguchi of Motegi, Tochigi, Japan on Friday. Speedway students raised $2,500 for their sister city after the March earthquake that damaged more than 2,300 buildings.
"I'm very impressed by these students' generosity and concern for people a world away," Lt. Governor Skillman said. "I'm certain the Japanese people will be touched by the gesture as well."
In attendance for the check presentation was Mr. Tomikazu Fukuda, Governor of Tochigi Prefecture; Mayor Koguchi; and four students from Motegi Junior High School.
Speedway has a relationship with the city of Motegi in Japan that goes back nearly eight years. The cities were drawn together because of racing. Motegi is the site of "Twin Ring Motegi", a race track that began hosting Indy Racing League events in 2003.
Over the years, officials from the two cities have visited each other. In 2007 and 2009, Speedway Junior High students traveled to Motegi, staying with local families, attending school in Motegi, and meeting the mayor. Speedway has also hosted students from Motegi.
Photos from the check presentation
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Day 1 Photos
Blog: Travel Delays Not Slowing Us Down
Travel Delays Not Slowing Us Down
September 23, 2011
Every family trip is always good for a least one travel mishap. The start of our trade mission to Japan was no exception. As I was en route to the Indianapolis airport to embark on our journey, I received a phone call saying our flights were cancelled because of Typhoon Roke.
Unfortunately, I had to wait one more day before officially departing a day behind schedule. No worries, we have now officially made it and have actually been in Tokyo for 24 hours now and just finished up our first full day of business. There’s no rest for the weary on these trips.
We put in 10 full hours today, and it doesn’t slow down. My delegation of 30 Hoosiers brings mayors, economic development people, company officials, and state employees together for one common goal: jobs. I have said many times the biggest successes we have in our lives are due to our relationships. The Japanese culture is strong on relationship building and there’s no better way to do that than face to face interaction and a hand shake or in this case a bow.
Today, we took an hour-long bullet train ride, going approximately 200 mph, to Tochigi Prefecture. Tochigi is Indiana’s sister state. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Governor Fukuda at the Tamozawa Imperial Villa. It was stowed away in the mountainside among ancient trees and babbling brooks. It was extremely breathtaking. We even had to take our shoes off before entering.
While with the governor we held a private meeting to get to know one another and begin building the foundation for a strong relationship. We discussed Indiana’s strong business climate, and I let him know they have our support after last year’s earthquake and tsunami hit them hard. The governor was very thoughtful and caring. He even gave his sympathy for the State Fair tragedy. The Japanese are very formal, and after our meeting we enjoyed a traditional tea ceremony.
If you recall, last week before I left for Japan, I held a press conference at Speedway High School to collect a check for $2,500 to give to the city of Motegi, which is located in Tochigi Prefecture. After my meeting with the governor I had another meeting this time with Mayor Koguchi of Motegi and students from his school.
Speedway and Motegi have a sister city relationship and students from both cities have traveled to visit each other in their respective communities. Last year’s natural disasters stopped a new group of students traveling from Motegi to Speedway, so the students at Speedway raised the money to help out their friends. It was a special moment to see the look on their faces as they accepted the money for their town. It was a wow moment.
The governor and I met back up to have lunch and chat further about our states and the pride we share. He even took the time to show me around the Imperial Villa. It’s rich of tradition and ancient Japanese architecture dating back to the late 1800’s. Our group finished the day with a little more history as we toured the Toshogu Shrine. You may be familiar with the phrase, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” This started in Nikko City, which surrounds the shrine, and is depicted by a group of monkeys. The rest of the Toshogu Shrine was very historic as well. The woodwork is very intricate and the building temples have withstood hundreds of years, thus making them very authentic to the Japanese culture.
Needless to say, our delegation now has a richer understanding of the Japanese culture. I was also glad to spend time building friendships with both Governor Fukuda and Mayor Koguchi. It’s now time to get rested up. We’re heading to Ota City in the morning to visit our friends at Subaru.
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