JBSD Executive Director Harry Kawase

2024 will begin with arrival of Mr. Harry Kawase at the Japan Business Society of Detroit. Mr. Kawase is an experienced Japan-US automotive industry professional. After more than a decade at Toyoda Gosei in Japan, he came to Magna International in Troy in 2000, and after the last 10 years at Hutchinson in Auburn Hills, he is has left his position as Director of Business Development and Advisor to the CEO to be the Executive Director of the JBSD.

We look forward to working closely with him and always appreciate the support of the important Japan America Society member JBSD.

Mr. Shosaku Ueda’s service as the JBSD Executive Director and Japan America Society Board Member are greatly valued and we will miss him very much as he retires.

 

JAS Members' Holiday Dinner

The local Japan-US-Canadian business and cultural community celebrated the holiday season together at Meadow Brook Hall, the historic home of the famous Canadian Matilda Dodge, whose husband, John Dodge founded the Dodge auto manufacturer with his brother Horace Dodge. Consul General Yusuke Shindo and Mrs. Seiko Shindo are pictured with the Mayor of Novi, Justin Fischer and Melissa Fischer.

Sotatsu Talk at the DIA and Freer House 11.19.23

Click here to watch the Video on YouTube

“From the National Museum of Asian Art, Freer Gallery, Dr. Frank Feltens lectured at the DIA on the significance of Sotatsu's Waves of Matsushima. He retraced the footsteps of this celebrated masterpiece—from Kyoto, to Detroit, and finally landing in DC. In the very early 1900s, Charles Freer emerges as one of the first collectors of Japanese art beyond the shores of Japan, was one of the first to recognize Asian art as fine art. Later, with the support of President Teddy Roosevelt, Freer's collection became the foundation collection for the first art museum at the Smithsonian, that would later become the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Freer Gallery in 1923. Who would have thought that a rail car manufacturing guy from Detroit would possess such foresight? A heartfelt shoutout to the trailblazers at DIA, Wayne State University Freer House, NMAA, and the Japan American Society for bringing renewed attention to this incredible odyssey with roots here in Detroit!”

- Japan America Society Chair Derrick Redding

Derrick Redding Elected Chair of the Japan America Society

The Japan America Society of Michigan and Southwest Ontario is excited to announce our new Chair, Derrick Redding, CEO of Betterfrost Technologies.  Derrick’s accomplishments at Toyota, Tier 1 suppliers, and technology start-ups in the US, Japan, and Canada position him to lead the Society into its fourth decade of fostering friendship, cultural understanding, and business associations between the three cultures.

 

The 5:01 CLUB returns, sponsored by PwC

PwC hosted a networking reception on Friday, October 13th, at their Detroit office high above Woodward Avenue, with views of both Detroit and Canada. The Society introduced Derrick Redding as its newly elected Chair. The Japanese Consulate presented a lively and informative sake-tasting master class.

Japan Festival October 8, 2023 @ Novi High School, a Day of Japan-US Friendship

The JBSD and the JSD Women’s Club extended a day of Japan-US friendship to the Novi community offering Japanese calligraphy lessons, paper making, tea ceremony, drumming, shamisen, Japanese songs, flower arrangement, festival games, and toys!

The Festival was supported by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit, Shiga Prefecture, City of Novi, Novi Community School District and the Japan America Society.

INOAC USA, Inc. Vice Chairman Chuck Little Receives Consul General's Commendation

Consul General Shindo has recognized Chuck Little for his enthusiastic contributions to the Japan-America network of friendship and collaboration with a Certificate of Commendation. On the occasion, INOAC USA, Inc. welcomed guests for a celebration of Japan-US friendship and connoisseurship that included a piano concert by Yuta Sugano, sake tasting, and fine dining at the Longacre House in Farmington Hills.