I live currently in a small town between Kyoto and Osaka. Nagoya, the third biggest city in Japan, is my hometown. It is famous for the 'Tokugawa' tradition, and I am deeply proud of that. If you may notice my origin of conservative character, it is because of this city. (Lily)
(http://nagoya.usconsulate.gov/wwwhn-acoverview.html)
Nagoya American Center
The Nagoya American Center is part of the American Consulate Nagoya (Public Affairs Section), responsible for carrying out U.S. Government public diplomacy activities in the four prefectures that make up the Chubu region. Our mission is to promote mutual understanding and friendship by providing the Japanese public with information on American foreign and security policy, U.S.-Japan trade and economic relations, American society, politics, and culture through a wide range of programs.
Our activities include interacting with local media and press, conducting lecture programs and seminars to help the Japanese public gain a better understanding of U.S. policy objectives and American society; maintaining close contact with academics, civic and local government leaders to keep them up-to-date on issues affecting U.S.-Japan relations; and working with cultural and educational leaders to promote exchange programs and the study of American society.
For reference services, please visit the U.S. Embassy Tokyo Online .
History of U.S. Consulate Nagoya
Sometime in 1912, one Reverend Kingsbury, a Methodist missionary, agreed to serve as Consular Agent in Nagoya. Rev. Kingsbury's main duty was the signing of consular invoices. From time to time, he would journey to Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture and spend a day there performing this duty.
On July 3, 1920, Consul Harry Franklin Hawley officially opened the American Consulate in Nagoya. It was a two-story building, located at 3-2 Nunoike-cho, Higashi Ward. It had been built by the City of Nagoya to serve as both office and residence for the American Consul. The building was used for over twenty years, and narrowly escaped destruction by bombing during the Second World War. Approximately a year before the outbreak of the war, on December 31, 1940, the Consulate was officially closed. Vice Consul C.H. Stephan remained until January 31, 1941 in order to finish all remaining official business.
Consular operations in Nagoya were not started again until well after the termination of the war. In March of 1949, a Foreign Service National (Japanese) was sent to Nagoya by the Yokohama Consular Office to take care of the clerical side of issuing consular invoices. Once or twice a month, an American consular officer would come down from Yokohama to sign invoices and perform limited citizenship services.
On March 1, 1950, the office was officially opened to the public, located in the Dai-ichi Hotel and known as the Nagoya American Consular Service. As the occupation was still underway, its official designation was Nagoya Division, Diplomatic Section, General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). Later that year, on August 21, the Nagoya Consular District was established, to include the prefectures of Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Shiga, Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama, and most of Nagano. On September 7, 1951, the office was moved to the second floor of the Nitto Building in Nakamura Ward.
On April 29, 1952, the Treaty of Peace between Japan and the Allied Powers came into effect. As a result, the title of the office became, once more, American Consulate, Nagoya. In June of that year, the Consulate again moved, this time to the second floor of the National City Bank of New York, located in Kuwana-cho, Naka Ward.
On December 12, 1958, year-long construction on an American Consulate building was completed, and the office was opened by U.S. Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II. This three-floor building was located at 6-1, Minami Sotobori-cho in Nagoya's Naka Ward, and remained the home of the Consulate until its closing in 1970. Upon closing, the office building, housing for consulate officers and families, and land was sold to the Government of Japan. In 1987 this land was purchased from the Ministry of Finance by the Aichi Prefectural Government and is now the site of the Aichi Prefectural Library, opened in April 1991.
Following the closure of the Consulate, Aichi Prefectural Government and Assembly provided for the office space of an American Commercial Information Office. This office, staffed by two Japanese Foreign Service National employees, remained in operation until February 1981.
After a sixteen-year absence, a U.S. consular presence was re-established in Nagoya through the opening of the Nagoya Representative Office of the U.S. Consulate General, Osaka-Kobe. In March 1986, an American officer was assigned to the Representative Office and lived in Nagoya while reporting to the Consulate General in Osaka. The officer was charged with following political and economic developments in the Tokai region of Aichi, Mie, and Gifu prefectures, while limited consular services were provided by visits of consular teams from Osaka.
On December 2, 1993, U.S. Ambassador Walter F. Mondale participated in the formal re-opening of the U.S. Consulate, Nagoya, located on the sixth floor of the SIS Nishiki Building in Naka Ward. Directed by a Principal Officer assigned by the U.S. Department of State, the Consulate also housed the office of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, which was established by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1991.
In March 2005, the Consulate, including the U.S. Commercial Service (formerly U.S. Foreign Commercial Service), moved to the site of the Nagoya American Center on the South floor of the Nagoya International Center (NIC) Building. Occupied by the Nagoya American Center, which conducts press and cultural exchange programs, since the opening of NIC in 1984, this one site now provides a conveniently accessible location for all visitors requiring any of the services provided by the U.S. Consulate, U.S. Commercial Service or Nagoya American Center. Consular services are still provided by visiting officers from Osaka.
Principal Officer Harry R. Sullivan
Harry Sullivan assumed duty as U.S. Consulate Nagoya’s Principal Officer in September 2011. Prior to coming to Nagoya, he spent August 2010 to June 2011 studying Japanese at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute’s Yokohama Language School.
From July 2007 to August 2010, Mr. Sullivan managed the U.S. American Presence Post in Lyon, France, covering the Rhone-Alpes, Burgundy, and Auvergne regions, with a population, GDP, and area similar to Austria. From July 2006 to July 2007, he managed energy, technology, and export control issues at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France.
Mr. Sullivan was the Economic Chief in the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, also in charge of Macau policy from 2003-2006. He was the Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, also covering affairs with Equatorial Guinea, from 2001-2003.
From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Sullivan returned to Washington for five years working on service and electronic commerce issues both in the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Department of State’s Economic Bureau, negotiating the electronic commerce portion of the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. He similarly worked on trade and macroeconomic issues with the European Union in the Department of State’s European Bureau.
During Mr. Sullivan’s first posting in Japan from 1994-1996, he helped negotiate the bilateral insurance agreement between Japan and the United States at the U.S. Embassy. He also worked on maritime services, export control, and sectoral trade issues.
Mr. Sullivan obtained a Masters of Business Administration and Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University. He interned at Sumitomo Corporation’s China Trading Division. After graduation, he worked as a Financial Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He also speaks Chinese, French, and Spanish and is married.
(End)
