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Senior DeMolay from Japan visits Saipan
Japanese businessman Jiro Chiba and his family are on Saipan for a short four-day vacation and are not regretting their trip one bit despite the island still recovering from Typhoon Souledor.
Japanese businessman and senior DeMolay Jiro Chiba, second from right, poses with, from left, masons Arnel Mitran and Bong Malasarte, senior DeMolay Mark Rabago, and mason Joel Subang at the Costa Terrace restaurant of Aqua Resort Club. (Contributed Photo)
While on island, Chiba visited popular tourist spots like Banzai Cliff, Suicide Cliff, Bird Island Lookout, and Last Command Post. He also found time to connect with fellow senior DeMolay Mark Rabago and masons of Emon Lodge No. 179 led by Bong Malasarte.
Chiba, who is chairman of his own company in Japan, said he very much enjoyed his vacation on Saipan despite the island still showing scars wrought by Soudelor. He said he’s been to many places in the world but he fell in love with Saipan’s natural beauty and pristine landscape. Unlike Hawaii, Saipan is not commercialized, he added.
Chiba, who stayed with his family at the executive suite of Aqua Resort Club, is a cancer survivor who speaks with the help of a talking aid attached to his throat after his pharynx was surgically removed some nine years ago.
He said he was very active in DeMolay in Japan. DeMolay is an international organization for young men ages 12 to 21. After 21, a member becomes a senior DeMolay.
DeMolay is considered part of the general “family” of Masonic and associated organizations, along with other youth groups such as Job’s Daughters and Rainbow.
Chiba said when he became a senior DeMolay he formed an organization of fellow senior members of the brotherhood to help advise the youth group in Japan.
Malasarte thanked Chiba and his family for visiting Saipan, while Rabago said he’s glad that a fellow senior DeMolay picked the island for his family’s vacation. Also meeting with Chiba were masons Joel Subang and Arnel Mitran.
Chiba came to Saipan with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law. They are set to leave Saipan this afternoon. He said he hopes to return to Saipan someday and experience the island once it is fully recovered. (Saipan Tribune)
