Japan-America Society conducts regional ag tour

COLUMBIA BASIN — Exports to Japan, particularly within the Columbia Basin, got a closer look earlier this week.

On Tuesday, members of the Puget Sound-based Japan-American Society, devoted to improve and enhance ongoing trade, economic and cultural ties with Japan, participated in a day long agriculture tour.

Society members toured Ellensburg-based Anderson Hay, Quincy's ConAgra Foods and Moses Lake's National Frozen Foods to learn more about businesses which export to Japan. They also stopped for dinner in George's Cave B Winery.

Quincy farmer Blaine Hirai, a board member of the society and the Central Washington Japanese American League, arranged the tour.

"Japan's probably our best trading partner," Hirai said. "These are the closest farms to Japan in the United States. This is probably the richest irrigated farmland in the world, so it makes sense the Japanese and Americans are great trading partners."

Seattle-based Japan Consul General Kazuo Tanaka said it was his first agriculture tour in the Columbia Basin.

"This is a good opportunity to come, first of all, with the Japan-America Society, which has been I think doing a lot of good work in the Puget Sound area," he said. "But they are also interested in getting to know the ag industries in central Washington, which is my interest, too."

Tanaka said seeing is believing.

"We have a very good, close relationship between Japan and the United States, particularly with the state of Washington, but we know that closeness by figures and maybe pictures, but not the physical," he said. "The structure, we have never seen, so this is really eye-opening for me, and I realize how close we are, in terms of trade and also the personal friendships based on their connection."

Tanaka said the society is a connecting and information-sharing organization. He hoped to share the experience and information from the tour with other society members and his headquarters in Japan, which would benefit potential business, he said.