Mayor to spend a week promoting isle tourism in Japan
He also plans to tour transit systems and waste-to-energy sites
Mayor Mufi Hannemann is departing for Japan tomorrow at the best time to promote Honolulu because the economy is doing well, a Hannemann adviser says.
"The mayor's decision to go to Japan right now is just like the perfect timing. You have the captive audience with disposable income, healthy economy, and some of our competing destinations are a little unfriendly to the Japanese right now," said senior adviser Paul Yonamine, a businessman who has lived in Japan.
"This is a great time for Hawaii to pitch itself."
Hannemann arrives in Tokyo on Sunday and will spend the following week promoting tourism, touting the island's film industry and meeting with government and business dignitaries.
But Hannemann will also be going to learn from the Japanese.
"We also want to use that opportunity to visit the state-of-the-art rail transit systems that they have there, as well as visit the waste-to-energy sites and see what we can do to also learn from them in terms of their recycling efforts," Hannemann said.
Yonamine said Hawaii could do a better job at learning what the Japanese have to offer.
"Historically, Hawaii has done a very poor job in looking at technology that are available in Japan," said Yonamine, the son of Hawaii baseball great Wally Yonamine. "Japan is very close to Hawaii, not that far away from the U.S. mainland, yet we don't look at what Japan has to offer in transportation or waste."
Council Public Works Chairman Rod Tam will be joining Hannemann on the trip. Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz and Transportation Chairman Todd Apo will join the group later in the week after attending a seminar in Singapore.
Yonamine said this is Hannemann's first official visit to Japan that has not been cut short by an emergency. Having the City Council members, the mayor and the Royal Hawaiian Band in Japan at the same time enhances the presence of Hawaii in Japan, he said.
Hannemann will be meeting with the U.S. ambassador, the governor of Tokyo and airline, media, tourism and film representatives.
He will also visit three rail transit systems and tour the areas of solid-waste disposal systems. "I just want to see what Japan has done," he said.
The cost of the trip for Hannemann and aide Mark Matsunaga is $8,000. Yonamine is paying for his own expenses, while the councilmen will be paying for the trip from their Council contingency funds.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said there was nothing illegal about accepting a $9,263 anonymous donation to pay for a portion of the Royal Hawaiian Band's trip next week to Japan.
"If at any time we should discover that this donation is coming from a source that is highly questionable or illegal ... I'll have no hesitancy to say, 'Hey look ... the money should be returned,'" he said yesterday.
But Hannemann also criticized the nonprofit fund-raising group associated with the band, saying the city should reassess its relationship with Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band after that group backed out of paying for a portion of the band's trip. The anonymous donation was used to make up that money.
Hannemann's comments came a day after the City Council voted 8-1 to accept the anonymous donation. The mayor said that Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band was "foolish" when it refused to donate funds for the trip.
But Friends' President Ed Michelman said the group felt the trip was inappropriate. He said the organization believes the trip is more of a commercial venture because of the high admission being charged at two concerts and that the request for the funds did not follow city gift policies.
Hannemann dismisses question of accepting gift
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said there was nothing illegal about accepting a $9,263 anonymous donation to pay for a portion of the Royal Hawaiian Band's trip next week to Japan.
"If at any time we should discover that this donation is coming from a source that is highly questionable or illegal ... I'll have no hesitancy to say, 'Hey look ... the money should be returned,'" he said yesterday.
But Hannemann also criticized the nonprofit fund-raising group associated with the band, saying the city should reassess its relationship with Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band after that group backed out of paying for a portion of the band's trip. The anonymous donation was used to make up that money.
Hannemann's comments came a day after the City Council voted 8-1 to accept the anonymous donation. The mayor said that Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band was "foolish" when it refused to donate funds for the trip.
But Friends' President Ed Michelman said the group felt the trip was inappropriate. He said the organization believes the trip is more of a commercial venture because of the high admission being charged at two concerts and that the request for the funds did not follow city gift policies.
Star-Bulletin staff