Mayor Victorino to Visit Japan and Korea in a Goodwill, Business Trip

Hiroso Tsukamoto of Sister City Fukuyama Japan, City of Roses engages the crowd with a grandiose Aloha! 96th Maui Fair parade (2018) as Mayor Victorino serves as the escort driver. PC: Wendy Osher

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino and First Lady Joycelyn Victorino leave today for an 11-day goodwill and economic development trip to Japan and Korea.

“This is an opportunity to promote Maui as a destination for visitors from Japan and Korea as well as improve business relationships and promote goodwill with our sister cities in Fukuyama, Japan, and Goyang City, South Korea,” Mayor Victorino said. “I also want to encourage student exchanges between the University of Hawaii Maui College and Meiji Gakuin and Toho universities. I look forward to learning more about the cultures of Japan and Korea and sharing our aloha spirit with them.”

Chief of Staff Deidre Tegarden will accompany Mayor Victorino and Mrs. Victorino and serve as an interpreter in Japan, where she lived for several years.

Mayor Victorino’s itinerary in Japan includes visiting the mayor of sister city Fukuyama, the city assembly chair and members of staff; attending a Rose Festival opening ceremony in Fukuyama; meeting officials at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo; and visiting the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum. In South Korea, Mayor Victorino will meet with the mayor of Goyang City, staff of the US Embassy and the country manager of Hawaiian Airlines.