MVA, lieutenant governor welcome Japanese athletes

Representatives from the Tottori Track and Field Association got another dose of island-style hospitality on Wednesday evening when the Marianas Visitors Authority hosted a dinner for them at the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Kili Café.

The mixture of athletes and regional representatives from the Tottori Prefecture in Japan were entertained by a singing quartet that filled the café with songs from the United States and Japan, were treated to a grand feast, and received plush Saipandas the night before they hit the track for their first full day of training.

Lt. Gov. Diego Benavente joined his wife, outgoing MVA managing director Vicky, in welcoming the delegation to the CNMI, but this was not the first time that the Benaventes hosted a Hamasaki on Saipan.

The last time this Hamasaki was on island was when his father brought him and the entire Hamasaki family to Saipan last Christmas. This time it was the elder Hamasaki’s son who made the trip for the goodwill mission.

“This has truly been the work of Hamasaki san. He’s our honorary tourist ambassador. For many years he’s visited us and supported us. He was the one who brought out the ground golf for the man’amko. He has always met with our leaders, he knows all of our previous governors and our current governor, he comes to visit and has all kinds of ways to exchange with the prefecture of Tottori,” said Diego.

The lieutenant governor explained that the Hamasakis have a history of coming to the CNMI in an effort to strengthen the bond between Tottori and the people of the Marianas, and that he expects that the tradition will continue well into the future.

“This is just another one of the things he continues to do for the CNMI and Saipan. He brought over this association of athletes that came to train on our brand new track and field facility. This is the first time they have been out here, but we hope that through that through this gentleman and his associates, that hopefully they will continue to support us by bringing over more of their athletes. Tonight they offered that they would like to see more of an exchange of athletes with their association,” said Diego.

The scholastic athletes made the most of Saipan’s year-round pleasant weather by sweating on the track from dawn to dusk yesterday in preparation for the coming season of sport in Japan. They will be at it again all day today.