Congratulations to USJC Senior Vice President Kaz Maniwa (JALD ’00) for receiving the 2019 Foreign Minister’s Commendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On November 13, a reception was held at the residence of Consul General in San Francisco Tomochika Uyama, who presented the award.
The reception was attended by roughly 85 of Kaz’s family and friends, including Dr. Daniel I. Okimoto (Co-Chair of the Silicon Valley Japan Platform and Member of the USJC Board of Councilors) and David Kenji Chang (USJC Board Member), who offered congratulatory remarks, and Allen Okamoto (Member of the USJC Legacy Council), who gave a toast.
Kaz remarked, “For all the people here tonight, whether I have known you all my life or we have become friends more recently, we all share similar values – you are honest, humble, smart, fun. You are not driven solely by acquiring wealth but the duty to serve and build our community. You have compassion for your fellow man and are always generous to others, and you are outraged by injustice in our society. So even though we do not always articulate these values, there is an implicit understanding between us: you are here tonight because you represent these values that are important to me.”
Many USJC members, Emerging Leaders Program alumni and staff attended the festivities.