On Monday 12/12/22, JMSA supported the 115th JAA Gala Dinner held at the Harvard Club as a Bronze Sponsor. The hall was adorned with beautiful holiday decorations and the centerpiece was a 40 foot Christmas Tree. The event was a great way to kick start the holidays! In attendance were: Dr. Maki Kano-Lueckerath, President of JMSA, Dr. Kamal Ramani, Vice President of JMSA and his wife Neha Ramani, Dr. Robert Yanagisawa, immediate Past President, Dr. Makoto Iwahara, Past President of JMSA and Mrs. Michiko Iwahara, Ms. Lydia Horiguchi, JMSA Social Committee Chairperson, Dr. Alex Ky-Miyasaka, a new JMSA Board of Director,  Dr. Kenji Miyasaka and Mr. Yoshio Kano, Executive Secretary. In addition, we were very excited to have Dr. Tadashi Ishii, Dr. Takeshi Kanno and Dr. Michiaki Abe- organizers of the Tohoku Resident Exchange Program-join us at the Gala dinner. The doctors traveled all the way from Tohoku University Medical Center for a brief visit to NYC to discuss reinstating the JMSA-Tohoku Resident Exchange Program in 2023 with members of the JMSA executive committee. Mr. Koji Sato is the current President of the JAA. Mr. Sato with the Orient Corporation of America have been generous supporters of JMSA for the past several years.
Special congratulations to Mr. Gary Moriwaki, a past president of JAA and a current JMSA board of director who was honored with an Individual Community Leadership Award. He has been active in JAA since 1988 and in 1994 he started to provide free legal consultations at JAA, a program still in existence. For his many contributions to US-Japan relations and the Japanese community, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2019.  MUFG Bank, Ltd. was also honored with the Corporate Community Leadership Award. The awards were presented by Ms. Susan J. Onuma, JAA’s Honorary President as well as a current JMSA board of director.
JMSA wishes everyone a very safe, healthy and happy holiday season and all the best in the new year! Looking forward to seeing you at the next JMSA event in 2023.