2025 -- H 6150

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CELEBRATING THE 171ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. -- JAPAN TREATY OF PEACE

AND AMITY

     Introduced By: Representatives Kennedy, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale,
Edwards, Kazarian, Azzinaro, Abney, Carson, and Phillips

     Date Introduced: April 01, 2025

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Both the State of Rhode Island and Japan take pride in their rich connection

to the sea and their maritime history, with the former embracing its moniker as the Ocean State;

and

     WHEREAS, In addition to the long maritime tradition, the historical importance of

Rhode Island’s shipwrights and the ship-building industry – and consequently the significance of

these to the United States Navy – is exemplified in the history of Newport; and

     WHEREAS, The personage of Commodore Matthew Perry, raised in the aforementioned

maritime culture of Newport, through his service in the United States Navy and in his role in the

1854 signing of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity, is a significant representative of

Rhode Island’s impact in United States-Japan relations and in world history; and

     WHEREAS, This year honors the 171st Anniversary of the signing of the aforementioned

treaty which is the first ever treaty of Japan with another state, and which became a trigger for the

opening and modernization of Japan; and

     WHEREAS, In commemoration in part of Commodore Perry’s actions leading to the

establishment of formal Japan-U.S. diplomatic relations, the Newport-Shimoda sister city

relationship was established in 1958, and is honored in various activities promoting this

friendship; and

     WHEREAS, LeBaron Colt, a Senator from Rhode Island and Chairman of the U.S.

Senate Committee on Immigration in 1924, vigorously opposed the discriminatory Immigration

and Nationality Act of 1924, which declared the Japanese and other Asians to be aliens ineligible

for citizenship; and

     WHEREAS, The Naval War College in Newport and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense

Force work closely together to promote national security and regional stability through shared

resources, strategies, and commitments; and

     WHEREAS, This year marks the 120th Anniversary of the Treaty of Portsmouth, which

ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, and recognizes the influence of Naval War College

President Alfred Thayer Mahan on Japanese naval officers and strategist Saneyuki Akiyama, who

played a central role in the war; and

     WHEREAS, Through festivities such as the annual Black Ships Festival by the Japan-

America Society of Rhode Island and the Cherry Blossom Princess Crowning Ceremony by the

Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, and the birthday celebration of Hachiko in Woonsocket,

Rhode Islanders continue to promote an appreciation of Japanese culture and a warm friendship

with Japan, while in Japan the annual Black Ships Festival in Shimoda, a sister city with

Newport, and Perry Festival in Yokosuka are celebrated with the participation of tens of

thousands of people; and

     WHEREAS, The Japanese community along with other communities has contributed to

fostering cultural richness and diversity in the State; and

     WHEREAS, Brown University and the University of Rhode Island have a thriving and

growing Japanese research and language studies program; and

     WHEREAS, The United States–Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of peace and prosperity

in the Indo-Pacific region; a relationship that is characterized by a mutual upholding of the values

of democracy, rule of law, and friendly trade; and

     WHEREAS, In February of 2025, President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister

ISHIBA Shigeru held their first official meeting in Washington, D.C., where they affirmed their

determination to pursue a new golden age for U.S.- Japan relations that upholds a free and open

Indo-Pacific; and

     WHEREAS, Japan has been the largest investor in the United States for five consecutive

years, creating nearly one million U.S. jobs and the Japanese private sector contributes to the

economic growth of Rhode Island through continued investment and the creation of employment

opportunities. Fifty-eight Japanese companies operate in this State and they comprise the second

highest number of foreign companies operating in Rhode Island. Japanese companies also employ

2,300 people in the State of Rhode Island. In 2023, Rhode Island’s exports to Japan totaled $182

million, primarily within the pharmaceutical and medical sectors; and

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     WHEREAS, The Japanese-American community in Rhode Island has continued to

maintain friendly relationships with Japan while simultaneously striving to realize a harmonious

multi-national society as part of the larger Asian-American community in Rhode Island; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

recognizes the 171st Anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity, and

declares March 31st – the date the treaty was signed in 1854 – as “Japan Day”, and honors the

steady friendship between the State of Rhode Island and Japan and wishes to further deepen and

promote cultural, economic, technological and people-to-people ties between the State and Japan;

and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the President of the United States Donald J.

Trump, Rhode Island’s federal elected officials, Senator Jack Reed, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse,

Congressman Seth Magaziner, and Congressman Gabe Amo, and the Honorable Seiichiro

Takahashi, Consul General of Japan in Boston.

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