WASHINGTON, D.C.  Japan-America Society of Washington DC President Ryan Shaffer has announced that United States Senator Bill Hagerty has agreed to serve in the role of Honorary Chairman of the Society.  Senator Hagerty joins The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta and The Honorable John V. Roos in the role. Japan’s Ambassador Tomita Koji serves as the Society’s Honorary Patron.

Senator Hagerty commented: “As the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and now a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am pleased to support Japan-America Society of Washington DC, and in particular their National Japan Bowl and Sakura Matsuri. The relationship between the U.S. and Japan is based upon shared values, and is central to the security and prosperity of the entire Indo-Pacific region. The incredible work of Japan-America Society helps to further sustain this important and enduring alliance.”

Ambassador James P. Zumwalt, Chairman of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, remarked: “I am pleased to welcome Senator Hagerty to the Society. As a United States Senator who has also served as our country’s Ambassador to Japan, Senator Hagerty is one of our country’s foremost stewards of the United States-Japan relationship. His support for the Society will enhance our efforts to expand the people-to people ties between our two nations that form the bedrock of our important relationship.”

United States Senator Bill Hagerty was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020 and is currently serving his first term representing the state of Tennessee. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Senator Hagerty served as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, the world’s third largest economy and America’s closest ally in the region. Senator Hagerty will attend the Society’s 35th U.S.-Japan Capital Gala as a featured guest on October 20, 2021.

About the Japan-America Society of Washington DC

The Japan-America Society of Washington DC is a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in the US capital of Washington, DC, which fosters the grassroots relationship between the United States and Japan as well as its citizens. The Society promotes this friendship through more than 70 annual programs and events from cultural activities such as the Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, the nation’s largest one-day celebration of Japanese culture, to educational events such as the National Japan Bowl, an annual Japanese language competition.

Press Contacts

For more information, please contact the Japan-America Society of Washington DC at [email protected].