New Consul-General Masashi Mizobuchi Arrives in Chicago

His Grandaunt’s Story Makes Closeness in the Japanese American Community

The Consul-General Masashi Mizobuchi (L) receives a book from CJAC Chair Robert Hashimoto on the 100 years of Japanese and Japanese Americans’ history in the Chicago area.

   The New Consul-General of Japan in Chicago, Masashi Mizobuchi, arrived in Chicago and assumed his new post on May 10, 2025. A welcome reception was held by the Chicago Japanese American Council (CJAC) at the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC), and 150 members of Japanese and Japanese American organizations under the CJAC welcomed Consul-General Mizobuchi.

The members of the Japanese and Japanese-American communities welcome the new Consul-General Masashi Mizobuchi at a reception held on May 15th. at the Japanese American Service Committee. (Photo credit: lacorporatephoto.com)

   At the beginning of the reception, JASC President Stacy Uchida Brown introduced the biography of Consul-General (CG) Mizobuchi as follows. He has worked on his assignments in the U.S. five times before Chicago, and this is his sixth stay and work in the U.S. He also has extensive experience in organizing international conferences in Japan.

・1988, CG Mizobuchi graduated from Keio University with a degree in the Faculty of Law and then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

・1991-1993, the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.

・1999-2002, as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, he served under three

prime ministers: Keizo Obuchi, Yoshiro Mori, and Junichiro Koizumi.

・2002-2005, Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles

・2007-2011, the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York

・2012-2014, Senior Policy Coordinator at the Foreign Policy Bureau in Tokyo. His assignments included overseeing all aspects of the Foreign Ministry’s policy on Africa, Central and South America, and on development assistance and global issues such as climate change.

・2016, Under Secretary-General for the 2016 G7 Ise-Shima Summit.

・2016-2020, Deputy Consul-General and Director of Political Affairs at the Consulate-General of Japan in New York. During this period, he served as Deputy Secretary-General for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit.

・2020-2022, Minister-Counsellor for Public Affairs, Director of the Japan Information and Culture Center at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.

・2023, Deputy Secretary-General for 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit

・2025, Consul-General of Japan in Chicago. Prior to Chicago, he was serving as Assistant Press Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo.

Greeting Remarks by CG Masashi Mizobuchi

Masashi Mizobuchi, the Consul-General of Japan in Chicago

   In his greeting remarks, CG Mizobuchi thanked all the members of the CJAC and the JA community for hosting a heartwarming welcome reception, as well as JASC’s offer to provide a venue for the event. He also expressed his impressions, “Chicago has been home to so many remarkable people. I’m truly honored to now live and work in such a great city.”

    CG Mizobuchi had lived and worked both on the west and east coasts for more than 16 years, and now he is a newcomer to Chicago, but he already knew that Chicago was something special. He said, “One thing that stands out is how the JA community organizations and Japan-related groups like the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago (JCCC), the Chicago Japanese Club (CJC), and the Japan America Society of Chicago work together under one umbrella. This kind of collaboration is unique to Chicago.” He continued that he heard Ambassador Shigeo Yamada in Washington, D.C. and other diplomats had admired Chicago’s unified model of the Japanese and JA community, “So it’s something we can all be proud of,” he said.

   CG Mizobuchi stated that the main mission of the Consulate-General of Japan is to support Japanese nationals and Japanese businesses as well as strengthen the Japan-U.S. relationship. He said, “To achieve this, it’s crucial that we make Japan more well-known and better understood here in the Midwest.” He continued that the Japanese and Japanese American communities were relatively small, and it was essential to work together. “We support our Japanese and American friends and all those who care about Japan to build strong relationships with local communities. That’s why the role of the CJAC is important,” he emphasized.

   Interestingly, CG Mizobuchi talked about his personal ties to the Japanese American community in the U.S.

   His grandaunt (older sister of his maternal grandfather) moved from Hiroshima, which is also CG’s hometown, to Honolulu and later to San Francisco before World War I. The grandaunt married a man, whom she had known in Hiroshima, and brought up children. During WWII, her family was sent to Jerome War Relocation Center in Arkansas and then moved to Tule Lake Segregation Center in California.

   In 1985, CG Mizobuchi met his grandaunt and aunt several times while studying at Stanford University as an exchange student. He had great opportunities to hear firsthand stories from his grandaunt.

   Then time passed, and both his grandaunt and her children died, but amazingly, CG Mizobuchi could meet a granddaughter of his grandaunt, Joy (his second cousin), at an occasion of the 2023 APEC Summit in San Francisco. It was the first time in 38 years since seeing her with his grandaunt.

   He said, “Now I’m in the Midwest. I look forward to making new friends and learning more from the Japanese American community here.”

   According to CG Mizobuchi, the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago has jurisdiction over 10 Midwestern states, and approximately 1,500 Japanese companies have established operations in the jurisdiction, creating 150,000 jobs. There are also more than 70 state-prefecture and sister-city partnerships with Japan, seven Japan-America Societies, and many organizations have dedicated to Japanese language education and cultural activities.

   He said, “As the Consul-General, I’ll do my best to support and strengthen these important ties between Japan and the U.S.”

Welcome Remarks by CJAC Chair Robert Hashimoto

Robert Hashimoto, Chair of the Chicago Japanese American Council

   CJAC Chair Robert Hashimoto welcomed CG Mizobuchi and said while Chicago is a unique city and has notable things such as the Cubs, the White Sox, and a variety of Chicago-style pizza, it also has many defied groups, ethnic diversity of different communities. “But we have one unified fact. That is this community. So, one of the unique unified things in Chicago is the Japanese community and the Chicago Japanese American Council,” he said.

    Hashimoto explained that under the CJAC, 12 not-for-profit organizations were working together, and each organization devoted to different fields from business, commerce, social services, cemetery, civil rights, history, art, culture, and more. “A common thread through the whole organization is the Japanese heritage, and we have Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans in this surrounding community,” he said, and talked about their activities.

   For example, “Mirrored Lives,” a program designed to bring Japanese nationals and JAs closer together through deeper understanding. The program provides a valuable opportunity to both groups, one was living in Japan and the other was in the U.S., by exchanging their hardships and experiences in the post-war era. “Mirrored Lives” started in January 2025 under the leadership taken by Michael Tanimura and Consul Sanae Kanno. (Presently, Consul Kanno works in the Consulate-General of Japan in Denver.)

   The 12 organizations under the CJAC have held annual events throughout the year. In February 2024, they took the role of hosting the 41st Lunar New Year Celebration of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago for the first time in 10 years and made a big success.

   Every February, they hold the Day of Remembrance, which commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Roosevelt interning JAs.

   Every Memorial Day, they organize a Memorial Service to pay tribute to community pioneers and fallen veterans.

   Every August, they hold a family picnic at the forest preserve area in Cook County. It is a good opportunity for Japanese nationals and JAs to share a potluck luncheon, talk with each other, and have a lot of fun.

   Before the boon picnic, the CJAC organizes a big event of the Japan Festival on July 19, 2025, in Skokie, and those 12 organizations will work hard to prepare things from A to Z.

   CJAC Chairman Hashimoto called for unity among the organizations and introduced each one.

The 12 organizations under the Chicago Japanese American Council:

・Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS)

・Chicago Japanese Club (CJC)

・Chicago Nisei Post 1183 American Legion

・Japanese Buddhist Federation

・Heiwa Terrace

・Japanese American Citizens League – Chicago Chapter (JACL)

・Japanese American Service Committee (JASC)

・Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Chicago (JCCC)

・Japanese Cultural Center (JCC)

・Japanese Mutual Aid Society of Chicago

・US-Japan Council Midwest

・Japan America Society of Chicago