President of the Hokkaido Club of Hawaii, which celebrated its 45th anniversary
“I spent 18 years growing up in Hokkaido, and next year it will be 18 years since I moved to Hawaii. Hokkaido and Hawaii, where I have spent half of my life each, have established a friendship agreement. I couldn’t be happier.” He gave this greeting at the ceremony held on the 8th in Honolulu to commemorate the friendship agreement between Hokkaido and the State of Hawaii in the United States.
The Hokkaido Club of Hawaii was established in 1972 with the purpose of fostering friendships among people from Hokkaido living on the island of Oahu. With about 120 members, Kanzo Nara was appointed president in 2015.
His father is Japanese, and his mother is American. He grew up in places like Otaru and Monbetsu. After dropping out of high school in Sapporo, he worked part-time day and night to save up for relocation expenses and enrolled in a state university in Hawaii. After graduating, he worked for a travel agency in Honolulu while attending the University of Hawaii and founded an IT company in 2006. His web design company caters to both Japanese and American businesses, offering services in both Japanese and English. He also opened Hawaii’s first IT vocational school.
With his business on track, he participated in the Hokkaido Club of Hawaii as a volunteer to “connect with his hometown.” He worked on creating the official website and establishing it as a non-profit organization. The friendship agreement ceremony also celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Hokkaido Club of Hawaii, and he was busy preparing for the event.
In October last year, his first son, Imagine, was born with his wife, who is from Kanagawa Prefecture. He hopes that in the future, his son will experience Hokkaido’s contrasting winter and receive an education in Japan. “The friendship agreement is the start of a new relationship. I want the Hokkaido Club of Hawaii to continue being a bridge connecting Hokkaido, Hawaii, and the Pacific.” Nara, 35, passionately expresses his thoughts. (Tatsuya Takenaka)