COMMERCE HAS BEEN GOING STRONG
WE LEARNED ABOUT ITS HISTORY--
AND WHATS AHEAD FOR 2020.
WELCOME BACK TO
"LIVING 808."
THE JAPANESE CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE HAS BEEN GOING
STRONG FOR 10 YEARS.
WE LEARNED WHAT'S
AHEAD FOR 2020.
THE JAPANESE CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE CELEBRATES
ITS 128TH ANNIVERSARY IN
2020.
WE WERE ORGANIZED IN
1980 AND WE HAVE A VERY
INTERESTING STORY OF HOW
IT STARTED.
AT THIS POINT IN TIME
MANY OF THE IMMIGRANTS,
BUSINESS IMMIGRANTS HAD
THEIR STORES IN
CHINATOWN.
AT THAT TIME THE ENTIRE
CHINATOWN AREA BURNT
DOWN.
SO FROM THAT THE
JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS GOT
TOGETHER AND CREATED THE
CHAMBER.
AT THAT TIME IT WAS
CALLED THE HONOLULU
MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
THAT BECAME THE HONOLULU
JAPANESE CHAMBER AND
IT'S BEEN GROWING SINCE
THAT PERIOD AND WE HAVE
HAD MANY MILESTONES
THEREAFTER SUCH AS IN
1988 WE CREATED A
CULTURE CENTER OF
HAWAI'I.
THE PROPERTY THAT'S
JAPANESE CULTURE CENTER
IS S SITUATED, ONCE WAS
THE PROPERTY OF THE
JAPANESE CHAMBER AND WE
DEEDED OVER THE PROPERTY
TO CREATE THE CULTURE
CENTER AND PRESENTLY WE
ARE JUST A TENANT IN THE
FACILITIES THAT IS
BASICALLY NOW RUN BY THE
JAPANESE CULTURE CENTER.
ALL THE TENANTS IN THE
FACILITIES NOW ARE
PRETTY MUCH OTHER
JAPANESE RELATED
ORGANIZATIONS SO THE
CONCEPT WAS TO BUILD THE
CULTURE CENTER, GET AS
MANY OF THE JAPANESE
ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER
AND WORK TOGETHER TO
PROMOTE THE JAPANESE
PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE
THROUGHOUT HAWAI'I AND
HOPEFULLY THE WORLD.
TO CELEBRATE THE 100TH
ANNIVERSARY WHAT WE DID
WAS WE CON STRUCTURED
THE GATE WHERE FAS PASS
BY THE MOILIILI AREA,
IT'S SITUATED ON THE
PARK.
WE RAISED THE MAN AND WE
HAD IT BUILT HERE AND
THE MONEY PRIMARILY CAME
FROM HIROSHIMA
GOVERNMENT AND THE
HIROSHIMA CHAMBER, AND
WHAT'S INTERESTING WITH
THE STORY, IT'S THE
EXACT REPLICA OF THE
GATE THAT SITS OUT IN
HIROSHIMA.
IT'S A SCALED-DOWN MODEL
BUT IT WAS ALSO
INTERESTING IS IT'S MADE
UP OF PURE TITANIUM SO
IT WILL LAST A LIFETIME
AND WE PAINTED IT SO NOW
IT LOOKS AS THOUGH IT'S
A WOODEN STRUCTURE BUT
IT'S REALLY NOT.
AND WE ARE NOW
RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAIN
THE GATE AND WE'VE HAD
TO PAINT IT EVERY TEN
YEARS.
AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO
RAISE THE MONEY TO
MAINTAIN THAT GATE
DURING THIS PERIOD.
ONE OF THE KEY
BENEFITS THAT
DIFFERENTIATES OURS FROM
OTHER CHAMBERS IS WE
REALLY LIKE TO STRESS
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS.
SO WE HAVE A THEME B2 B.
WE HAVE ORIENTATION, WE
INTRODUCE THE DIFFERENT
PROGRAMS FOR THE
MEMBERS.
ALSO WE ENCOURAGE THEM
TO GET ACTIVE AND JOIN
DIFFERENT OF OUR
COMMITTEES THAT WE DO
HAVE, AND BY JOINING THE
COMMITTEES, THEY WILL
START NETWORKING,
MEETING OTHER MEMBERS,
AND THAT'S PROBABLY ONE
OF THE BIGGEST BENEFITS
IS THE RELATIONSHIPS,
AND AS YOU BUILD THESE
RELATIONSHIPS, WE HAVE
OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW
YOUR BUSINESS AND ALSO
OUR CHAMBER OFFERS SOME
OF THE MOST MEMBERS, SO
IF YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY,
REALTOR, YOU PRETTY MUCH
WILL FIND THEM AT OUR
CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP.
JOIN IS THE
RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU
GET AND IT ENDS UP BEING
A LIFETIME RELATIONSHIP.
YOU DO PROJECTS
TOGETHER.
WE END UP GOING OUT TO
DINNERS TOGETHER, WE
CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S
TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S SO IMPORTANT,
YOU KNOW.
IF YOU ARE NEED HELP,
THEY WILL COME OUT AND
SUPPORT YOU.
YOU DRIVE BY ALL THE
TIME.
THERE'S SO MUCH WATER
WORK AND CULTURAL
CONNECTIONS YOU CAN MAKE
THERE.
LIKE YOU SAID, IF YOU
NEED ANYTHING, A GREAT
NETWORKING SYSTEM.
IT'S A GREAT COMMUNITY
TO BE A PART OF.
THEY HOST SO MANY GREAT
EVENTS IN THAN COMMUNITY
AS WELL.
THAT'S SO AWESOME.