When dignitaries from Japan were greeted with smiles and lei yesterday at Lihu’e Airport, little was said about the incident two weeks ago in which a surfacing U.S. Navy submarine struck and sank a Japanese fishing/training vessel off O’ahu. “Not
When dignitaries from Japan were greeted with smiles and lei yesterday at Lihu’e Airport, little was said about the incident two weeks ago in which a surfacing U.S. Navy submarine struck and sank a Japanese fishing/training vessel off O’ahu.
“Not a word was mentioned. The level of intensity right now is pretty apparent to everybody,” said Sue Kanoho, executive director of Kaua’i Visitors Bureau, who helped greet the group.
“Feelings are hurt right now. They really want their sons back physically,” said Kanoho, who yesterday was trying to answer questions she’d want answered if she were in the shoes of a mother of one of the missing Japanese men.
The Visitors Bureau and Kaua’i County each donated $1,000 last week to families of victims of the incident.
“I feel that, in honor of our relationships and in honor of the partnerships that we have, it’s the right thing to do,” Kanoho said of the donation. “By us trying to show our support and whatever we can do, hopefully that will limit any chasms that may come as a result of this accident.”
First Hawaiian Bank, led by chairman Walter Dods, also set up a fund for families of the missing Japanese fishermen and students. Dods is also chairman of the Japan-Hawai’i Economic Council, which fosters open communication between the country and the state.
The fact that the Kaua’i visitors from the Gujyo region in central Japan did not cancel their trip is a sign to officials that there won’t be a falloff in numbers of Japanese visitors coming to the state and island.
“I don’t see it (the incident) being an issue for us long-term,” Kanoho said. “I do see that it’s our way of showing our compassion and our support to them the way they’ve shown to us.
“And that’s what’s important right now, is to show that we really care. It was a very unfortunate accident, and it will take a long time to heal that wound. At the same time, I don’t see that tourism will be affected.”
Few in the visitor industry expect the incident will mean smaller numbers of Japanese visitors to Hawai’i or Kaua’i.
“We’ve had no indication of that yet,” said Gary Baldwin, Kaua’i member of the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, which funds promotional efforts. The HTA will discuss potential impacts on Japanese arrivals to the state as a result of the Ehime Maru-USS Greeneville incident in a board meeting on O’ahu this Friday.
Just as the Kaua’i people remember help from Japan in the aftermath of Hurricanes ‘Iwa (1982) and ‘Iniki (1992), the Japanese still fondly recall help sent from Kaua’i to victims of a deadly earthquake that rocked Kobe.
“We have a strong partnership with Japan, and it’s something that needs to be honored long-term no matter the things that come and go in between,” Kanoho said. “It’s something that we need to protect and preserve and make sure is healthy.”
Kanoho will make three trips to Japan this year, because face-to-face business and pleasure meetings are invaluable to all concerned, she said.
“It’s a nurturing relationship that needs attention every year, and various trips, and that’s why (Mayor Maryanne Kusaka) comes and goes back and forth,” Kanoho explained.
In 1999, Kusaka and members of the Kaua’i visitor industry traveled to Gujyo-Hachiman for an official visit with mayors from the area. This week’s trip to Kaua’i is the reciprocal visit, and included in the party that arrived yesterday are several leaders of tourism promotional organizations in the Gujyo-Hachiman and Meiho areas.
The purpose of the tour is to bring together again the people of Gujyo and Kaua’i for cultural and educational exchanges supported by government, tourism bureaus and private sector.
The group dines tonight at the Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club with 23 Kauaians prominent in government and business, and will visit the Fern Grotto, Waimea Canyon, Spouting Horn and Kaua’i Coconut Beach Resort lu’au during their stay.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
