U.S.-Japan Council Emerging Leaders Program Day at Angel Stadium


		
		
		

		
		
		
    

							
				
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Many thanks to Board Member (and ELP ’15) David Kenji Chang for the following article, and to Associate (and ELP ’14) Kira Teshima for providing the photos!





A boy admires his two-way Shohei Ohtani bobblehead (photo by Wyatt Conlon)





On August 12, alumni of the TOMODACHI Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) hosted a special Japanese Heritage Day at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California as rookie phenom Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels took on the Oakland Athletics.





USJC members with the jumbotron in the background (photo by Wyatt Conlon)





The event, a fundraiser in support of ELP alumni activities, sold over 1,200 tickets. Among those in attendance were Council Leaders, Associates and sponsors who traveled from as far as New York, Washington, DC, Hawaii and Japan to support the event.





Taiko performance (photo by Wyatt Conlon)





Guests braved the mid-day heat to receive a limited edition Ohtani bobblehead and enjoyed a lively performance by Koshin Taiko. USJC board members and ELP sponsors joined President Irene Hirano Inouye on the field to present the Angels Foundation with a donation during a special pre-game ceremony. The first pitch was then thrown on behalf of the ELP alumni by a local young cancer survivor selected through the My Wishlist Foundation. During pre-game activities, the U.S.-Japan Council name was emblazoned on screens throughout the stadium.





ELP alumni, including Josh Morey (back row, third from right), organized Japanese Heritage Day (photo by Wyatt Conlon)





Guests who gathered for the special occasion included Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles Akira Chiba (seventh from right), Mrs. Chiba (to the right of CG Chiba), and four Japanese parliamentarians who were in town for Nisei Week (Karen Makishima, third from left; Keisuke Suzuki, fourth from left; Seiji Kihara, fifth from left and Masaaki Taira, center)





Click here to see more photos.