Camacho visit seeks to enhance Saipan-Japan relations

Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho and Katori City Mayor Tomonori Ito tour Katori City and visit the Sawara Festival. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS)

Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho recently paid a goodwill visit to Japan where he met with officials of the KSKK International Youth Association of Japan, Katori City, and the Katori Shrine. Camacho also met with the Tokyo Tensuren Group which the Saipan Awaodori Team is under to show his support.

Camacho first met with KSKK director Hiroyuki Takada to talk about the upcoming student exchange program in July. The two officials also discussed arrangements for winter, spring, and summer exchange programs as well as allowing CNMI students to go to Japan in the fall. Both the mayor and director agreed to these arrangements as it allows students from the CNMI to travel to Japan and go through the full student exchange experience.

Camacho then met with Katori City officials, including Katori City Mayor Tomonori Ito. Among the items discussed were student and sports exchange programs to encourage more visits and bring in more Japanese visitors to Saipan. Farming techniques were also discussed as well, including programs such as sending professionals to Saipan to train CNMI youth. New farming techniques can be introduced to benefit local farmers and to teach valuable agricultural skills. The Saipan Awaodori Team also performed in front of 50 city hall staff and Katori middle school students who watched the performance virtually.

Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho poses with High Priest Takeshi Katori of the Katori Jingu Shrine in Katori City.

Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho poses with Katori City Mayor Tomonori Ito and the Saipan Awaodori Team at Katori City Hall.

Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho poses with the Tokyo Tensuiren Group and Saipan Awaodori Team.

Camacho also met with members of the Katori Shrine group, including High Priest Takeshi Katori and chief of staff Shingo Katori. They discussed the upcoming Katori ceremony and Japanese Festival to be held at the Saipan Katori Shrine in Sugar King Park this Oct. 28. Special tour packages for the dignitaries were also prepared, with welcoming statements from Camacho, the Marianas Visitors Authority, and the president of the Japanese Society of the CNMI. The mayor believes that festivities and events such as these will help boost Saipan’s popularity as a travel destination for Japanese tourists and allow the local community to become familiar with the Japanese culture and traditions.

The mayor also met with the Tokyo Tensuren group, to which the Saipan Awaodori Team belongs to show his support for local performers. The mayor met with director Yukihiro Iwanami and councilor Osamu Shimizu. The Saipan Awaodori dancers did a one-hour performance that allowed them to show off their prowess and represent Saipan and the CNMI.

Camacho hopes to rekindle and cultivate the valuable relationship between the CNMI and Japan, which has long been a reliable tourism market for the CNMI, especially during the previous economic booms. Recent years have seen a major shift away from Japan and the mayor hopes to restart that market.

“In the post-pandemic world, Japanese tourism may help reinvigorate the island’s faltering tourism industry. The mayor also recognizes the cultural and historical aspect of our long relationship with Japan, which dates back a century and will strive to maintain and continue that relationship to strengthen the bonds between our peoples and to preserve it for future generations,” said a statement from Camacho’s office. (PR)