2020 Event

The 14th Big Ten Alumni Golf Tournament 2020 - Japan

The BIG 10 Conference Alumni Golf Tournament Japan 2020 was held at Ohtone Country Club on December 12th.  Totally 34 people including 4  golfers (pictured below from the left; Messrs. Komiyama, Ijiri, Brian, Negishi) of the Japan Minnesota Association participated in the event.

 

Our "Team Minnesota" won the fourth place. However, they could have won first place if the gross scores(actual stroke numbers) would have been used to calculate the winner. Two members from our Minesota team won awards, one for the Longest Drive Contest, and one for the Nearest to the Pin Contest respectively. 

 

The Champion cup went to the Alumni Team of Purdue University this year and will be the Big 10 golf organizer for the comming year. 

We, Big 10 Minnesota golf team menbers, are waiting for Mineesota related boys and girls to join and have fun with Big 10 golf!

Virtual Christmas Party on Dec. 6

The Japan Minnesota Association (JMA) had the Virtual Christmas Party on Dec. 6 (Japan Time) and Dec. 5 (CST), 2020.

 

The twenty-five alumni and friends from all over Japan and Minnesota were able to join this party. We also prepared for the food catering service as an option for the participants.

We started the Virtual Christmas Party at Noon on Sunday, December 6th in Japan (21:00 on Saturday, December 5th in Minnesota), and Dr. Takehito Kamata (wearing Santa claus hat) was the Master of Ceremony. Although there were technical problems on internet connection and online video conferencing, all participants had a fun time.

 

Ms. Audra Gerlach Ferrall (Director of International Alumni and Travel, UMAA) and Ms. Rio Saito (Executive Director, Japan America society of Minnesota) gave greeting speeches at the opening of the party, followed by an opening remark by JMA President Harumi Iwanami. Then, Mr. Akira Nakamura (Board Of Director, UMAA) proposed a toast (through the screen).

The participants introduced themselves after the toast. The oldest participant was Mr. Yokoyama (91 years old). The participants introduced themselves with (1) name, (2) current living city, and (3) favorite places in Minnesota, and we were able to learn about each person’s story effectively online. We named the Washington Avenue Bridge across the Mississippi River at the University of Minnesota, Minnehaha Falls, Stillwater, and other locations as our favorite places.

 

Mr. Hirokazu Yuihama presented a brief talk on stock market trends with a concluding statement with the possibility of the bull market in 2021.

JMA Vice President Kenichi Yamaguchi gave a closing remark at 13:00. The 2020 Virtual Christmas Party was a great success, and we look forward to upcoming JMA events soon.

We wish you a happy New Year.  

University of Minnesota Day of Service, Tokyo 2020

（As for the Day of Service pls refer to https://umnalumni.org）

 

The Japan Minnesota Association (JMA) participated in the 2020 Day of Service organized by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA) on September 19, 2020.  Under the Influence of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020, JMA collected food products from the JMA members for the Second Harvest Japan which is the only nationwide food bank in Japan.

 

Mr. Charles E. McJilton (CEO, Second Harvest Japan; an Alumnus of the University of Minnesota) established the Second Harvest Japan in March 2002, and he and his colleagues have improved food security for those in need and helped corporations deliver their food donations to those in need.  They have provided an alternative to destroying food that is safe for human consumption.  The Second Harvest Japan makes positive social impacts across communities, improves employee morale across organizations, and reduces the costs of disposal.

 

For the 2020 Day of Service, JMA collected approximately 45 kg (100 lb) of the donated food products from the 17 JMA members between September 6th and 18th.  On September 19, the three JMA members (Harumi Iwanami, Takehito Kamata, and Kota Mishina) brought the donated food products to the Second Harvest Japan which located in Asakusabashi, Tokyo.  Mr. McJilton appreciated our donations and said that the University of Minnesota t-shirts and the Flag of Minnesota reminded him of feeling homesick and his experience at the University of Minnesota.  The Second Harvest Japan will pass the donated food products to those in need.

 

JMA is grateful to hold this year’s Day of Service, and we thank for the following members who participated in the 2020 Day of Service.

Day of Service 2020 participants (donors) are: Naoichi Chino, Tadao Komiyama, Kunihiro Fujii, Kenichi Yamaguchi, Naoko & Tomonori Kaneko, Toshihide Arimura, Yoko Umeda, Richiko & Takehito Kamata, Isamu Kadekawa, Yasuo Fukuda, Ichiro Katsuki, Akira Nakamura, Koyo Minami, Kota Mishina, and Harumi Iwanami.

(By Takehito Kamata, Ph.D)

 

JMA(Japan Minnesota Association)@Zoom  Aug.30

On extremely hot Sunday morning on August 30, eighteen members of Japan Minnesota Association joined the first virtual event using ZOOM, in their own cool rooms.

 

At first, Ms. Iwanami, President of JMA, talked about significance of virtual events in an age of pandemic and introduced the following three speakers, who have strong ties with JMA. Dr. Yasuo Fukuda, Auditor of JMA, Dean and Professor, College of Risk Management, Nihon University, Dr. Takehiro Kamata, Active Member of JMA, Project Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Global Education and Discovery, and Mr. Akira Nakamura, Vice President of JMA and a member of Board Directors UMAA.

 

A common theme of their speeches is ‘On-line Education’. Firstly, Dr Fukuda explained how he and his university prepared for and conducted with on-line lessens. Secondly, Dr. Kamata informed us of the expansion of on-line classes in the USA, comparing with the current situation of educational institutes in Japan. Finally, Mr. Nakamura introduced a story of Japanese U of M student after the campus was closed in Spring. The contents of their speeches were full of meat, although they had only fifteen minutes for talks and Q&R sessions.

                                            

 

After the speeches, there was a time on introduction, for participants including two novices, to get to know each other. Finally, Mr. Yamaguchi, Vice President of JMA, wrapped up our fantastic time by his closing address.

June.20 12th Minnesota Youth Seminar(MYS)

On June 20(Sat), Minnesota youth online seminar was held using Zoom video.

The lecture this time was Mr. Mitazono of Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha. He talked about his carrier and variety work of past and his current job. It was very helpful information for our 

career consideration.  The attendee of this time seminar is 15.  

Mar. 29 (sun) : Cherry blossom party （Canceled due to Covid-19）

Jun. 28 (sun) : Summer party　（Canceled due to Covid-19）

Feb.15 11th Minnesota Youth Seminar(MYS)

11th Minnesota Youth Seminar ( Minnesota Career Month Seminar ) 
On the morning of February 15, 2020 (Saturday), the 11th Minnesota Youth Seminar was held at the satellite campus of Hiroshima University.
 
Mr. Minoru Nakamura of Shiseido's CPO (Chief People Officier) who he has shared his global career so far to attendees. With the cooperation of Mr. Minoru Nakamura, he explained his career and the circumstances of Shiseido. Many questions were raised from the participants even during the session, and they shared what Shiseido is aiming for in Japanese companies and what Mr. Nakamura is aiming for.
He shared his career in detail, including the events which were turning point (even though he wanted to be a police officer when he was a student).
As a message to the young professionals who participated, he summarized three things that he would have been particularly conscious of among his experiences.
Those were, "Choose where to play", "Think, Act and Win Globally", and "Be Agile / Constantly Evolve" In addition to these messages, "work can be challenging and stressful, but all your experience will be for professionalism".
After the session, Both Mr. Nakamura and participants had time to interact with each other while eating light meals, which was useful for thinking about future careers.
MYS ( Minnesota Career Month Seminar ) 
On the morning of February 15, 2020 (Saturday), the 11th Minnesota Youth Seminar was held at the satellite campus of Hiroshima University.
 
Mr. Minoru Nakamura of Shiseido's CPO (Chief People Officier) who he has shared his global career so far to attendees. With the cooperation of Mr. Minoru Nakamura, he explained his career and the circumstances of Shiseido. Many questions were raised from the participants even during the session, and they shared what Shiseido is aiming for in Japanese companies and what Mr. Nakamura is aiming for.
He shared his career in detail, including the events which were turning point (even though he wanted to be a police officer when he was a student).
As a message to the young professionals who participated, he summarized three things that he would have been particularly conscious of among his experiences.
Those were, "Choose where to play", "Think, Act and Win Globally", and "Be Agile / Constantly Evolve" In addition to these messages, "work can be challenging and stressful, but all your experience will be for professionalism".
After the session, Both Mr. Nakamura and participants had time to interact with each other while eating light meals, which was useful for thinking about future careers.