Bill Text: HI SCR241 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Establishing A Sister-state Relationship Between The State Of Hawaii, United States Of America, And The Prefecture Of Yamaguchi, Japan.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-21 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-21-21. [SCR241 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-SCR241-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
241 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
ESTABLISHING A SISTER-STATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE OF HAWAII, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE PREFECTURE OF YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN.
WHEREAS, Hawaii has developed and maintained a rich heritage of international relations and cultural exchange since the days of the Hawaiian monarchy in the nineteenth century; and
WHEREAS, since 1981, the Legislature has instituted sister-state relationships as a means of asserting and promoting the State's active participation in international matters; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii currently maintains eighteen sister-state relationships, including relationships with five of Japan's forty-seven prefectures; and
WHEREAS, Yamaguchi is a prefecture in Japan's Chugoku region on the southwest side of Honshu Island; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii and the people of Yamaguchi share a long history and strong bond, beginning with the immigration of 10,424 contract laborers to Hawaii between 1885 and 1894 as kanyaku imin (government-sponsored immigrants) pursuant to the Hawaiian-Japanese Labor Convention of 1886; and
WHEREAS, since then, there have been continuous cultural exchanges between the people of Yamaguchi and the five Yamaguchi kenjinkai groups in Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, other exchanges include annual fisheries training off the coast of Hawaii by a Yamaguchi high school, the arrival of tour groups from Yamaguchi, and study abroad and academic exchanges with Kauai Community College; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 229-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Hawaii Sister-State Committee is tasked with evaluating and developing recommendations for the initiation of all sister-state relationships, and forwarding its recommendations to the Legislature for implementation, if it so chooses, by either adopting a concurrent resolution or by enacting session law to that effect; and
WHEREAS, this body believes that a sister-state relationship between Hawaii and Yamaguchi will be highly beneficial in expanding tourism, strengthening cultural bonds, and advancing common goals of international peace and brotherhood; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that a sister-state relationship between the State of Hawaii, United States of America, and the Prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan, is hereby established; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of State; Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.; Governor; Governor of the Prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan; Consul General of Japan in Hawaii; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; and Chairperson of the Hawaii Sister-State Committee.
Sister-State Relationship; Hawaii; Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
