State Rep. Carter Celebrates Relationship with Japan, Named President of Shiga-Michigan Sister State Board
(Rebecca Phoenix, Feb. 23, 2022)
Pontiac, MI – Michigan House Representative Brenda Carter, who serves the Pontiac area, was recently named president of the Shiga-Michigan SisterState Board of Directors. This board facilitates the over 60 year relationship between Michigan and our Japanese sister state, Shiga.* The Representative talked with The Oakland County Times to discuss the future of this relationship and her role as president of the board.
Carter’s appointment as president comes after many years working with the board on projects, like the revival of the 2017 Kusatsu – Pontiac student exchange program. Her interests in Japan run even deeper, starting with a childhood desire to visit Kyoto and continuing through her present-day study of Japanese language and culture.
As part of the board she has visited her Japanese colleagues in Shiga and gained a deeper love and respect for Japanese culture and the sister-state relationship. Her time in Japan, as part of Dr. Fred Pearson’s Wayne State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies’s research, brought her to Hiroshima which cemented her commitment to international peace and cooperation between the U.S and Japan. Representative Carter hopes the upcoming year will strengthen our international relationship in the COVID age and facilitate an exchange of knowledge and students.
Representative Carter’s work reviving the Kusatsu-Pontiac student exchange resulted in long term connections for the Pontiac High School students and a following exchange of Kusatsu students to Pontiac. Both groups of students have found respect and admiration for each other’s countries, as well as lifelong friends. The exchange of these students reflects Carter’s goals around expanding educational opportunities for students in Pontiac, Michigan and international school programs.
“We as government can learn from the young people who can see past the bias and the historical issues between our two nations to join together….we can continue to bridge that gap by identifying similarities in each other’s cultures so we can move our civilizations forward,” Carter said.
Carter also praised the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) college program as the continuation of this valuable international education. She reaffirmed the importance of the sister-city relationships that allow these student exchange opportunities to flourish
Carter expressed hopes that more metro-Detroit (and Michigan atlarge) cities will join and expand the sister-city program. Expansion of the program would result in increased educational exchange opportunities in addition to environmental and economic cooperation. As two states whose heritage and economy are tied to the relationship with our waterways, environmental concerns have always been at the heart of the Michigan-Shiga relationship.
In a past meeting between Governor Witmer, Shiga delegates and Rep. Carter, plans for future environmental information exchanges were made. Michigan and Shiga both face issues with invasive species and look toward sharing research and expertise to aid in restoring and protecting Michigan’s Great Lakes and Shiga’s Lake Biwa ecosystems. This exchange bolsters Carter’s hope that Michigan and Shiga will continue to grow their international scientific partnership.
During the pandemic, delegation visits, public school exchange programs, and JCMU have been suspended while Japan’s borders are still closed. However, with both countries reaching vaccine milestones and the advent of different boosters and quarantine procedures, there are plans for a delegation visit later this fall. Representative Carter is excited to show long time colleagues, and friends from Shiga all that Michigan has to offer.
*The sister-city/sister-state program initially started in 1957 under the Eisenhower administration to strengthen international relations and has grown into a popular cultural, educational and economic international exchange. Michigan and Shiga, both known for their lakes, have celebrated over 50 years of this relationship.
For more information and updates visit https://michiganshiga.org/
Learn more about Representative Carter’s policy goals here http://www.brendajcarter.com/