Members of the Consulate General of Japan visit Auburn for global lecture

Anna Gramberg, senior counsel to Auburn President Steven Leath, invited members of the Consulate General of Japan to Auburn on Tuesday to visit with students, faculty and administrators.

“We’re trying to represent Auburn in every area in its best light as well as bring the opportunity to our students,” Gramberg said.

Deputy Consul General Yutaka Nakamura gave a presentation to Gramberg’s global fluency class. Nakamura gave an account of his work in the ministry of foreign affairs in Pacific and West African countries before moving to Atlanta.

“Normally (the guest speakers) focus more on their country,” Gramberg said. “But, in this case, he had all this experience from these two African countries, so I thought it gave us an interesting insight.”

Nakamura discussed the exchange of cultures and emphasized its importance within his speech.

“Most people study Japan the easy way, through anime, but if you’re a university student, you read books or Google,” Nakamura said. “The most important thing to help learn about a country and its people is to be there, to understand it, takes time.”

Nakamura said the most shocking and different aspect of America compared to other countries was how diverse it is.

“In Japan, we almost only contain Japanese people, but in the United States, people are from everywhere and there is opportunity for everyone,” said Japanese Consul General for Takashi Shinozuka who is based in Atlanta.

This was Shinozuka's second time visiting Auburn.

Shinozuka compared his experiences of his work in other countries to him serving his first assignment in America.

“United States is completely different than other countries because 70 years ago we were in war, but now we are the strongest allies in the world,” Shinozuka said. “For most of (the) Japanese, America is great because it is good and this is what I have been able to learn in the two years I have been here.”

Shinozuka said the way many Japanese get their idea of Alabama is through hearing about Helen Keller and Forrest Gump for the younger generation. Shinozuka said Alabama is a very exciting place for him especially with how invested he is Toyota and Mazda.

Honorary Consul General and Auburn graduate Mark Jackson and Consul of the Consulate Tomoko Ohyama attended the lecture as well.

Being a resident of Alabama, Jackson discussed the economic impact that Japan has on Alabama. Jackson said there are 144 Japanese-owned businesses in Alabama which employ 22,000 Alabamians.

Toyota recently announced they will be investing $1.6 billion in the state.

After visiting with the class, the dignitaries had a luncheon with students and faculty from different backgrounds including Japanese citizens, representatives from study abroad, Honor’s College and graduate schools.

Students and faculty were able to talk and ask questions to the dignitaries while they ate a Japanese lunch.

Gramberg said she was pleased with how the day as a whole went and how the students engaged with the dignitaries.

“Our guests from Japan were really impressed with the students and the campus,” Gramberg said. “I thought the students did a good job asking questions, being responsive (and) being polite. They made an extremely good impression on our visitors.”