MOSES LAKE — The ties between Moses Lake and Japan were highlighted Monday as Japan’s consul-general for the region paid a visit to Moses Lake.

Makoto Iyori, who assumed the post of consul-general in October, spoke to an informal gathering at the Moses Lake Civic Center Monday morning about the connection between his country and Moses Lake.

“I assumed this post in October last year,” Iyori said. “I’ve learned that Japan and Moses Lake have a long history. Japan Airlines started training here at the Moses Lake airport (from) 1968 until 2009 … Also, Moses Lake and Yonezawa have a long history (as) sister cities.”

There are 38 sister-city relationships between Washington and Japan, Iyori noted. There are also about 20 Japanese students in Big Bend’s Japanese Agricultural Training Program. The Northwest has a long history of ties with Japan, he added; the first Japanese consulate in the region was established in Tacoma in 1895, then moved to Seattle in 1901.

Iyori has been in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1989, according to the consulate’s website. He has served in the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as a stint in Washington D.C.

Iyori also served for about a year and a half at the Okinawa Liaison Office, which maintains the sometimes uneasy relations between Okinawan natives, the Japanese government and the U.S. forces stationed in Okinawa.

“(Whenever) some US military person did something wrong. I was in the position to be protested by the locals,” he said.

This is not, however, Iyori’s first visit to the Northwest, he said.

“The first was back in 1986, when I was a university student,” he said. “My father stayed at the UW dormitory for five months and I visited him there. Washington state has changed a lot since then. It was kind of a Boeing town. But now (there is) Amazon, Microsoft, Costco and many startups, not only in (information technology) but the life sciences, the space industry. So I’m excited; almost every week I learn something about nuclear fusion, hydrogen energy (or) bio-medicine.”

Iyori is looking forward to more visits to eastern Washington, he said. He plans to visit Spokane and Walla Walla in the spring and summer.

“Because I am a big fan of wine,” he said.

The Seattle consulate-general serves Japanese nationals across Washington, North Idaho and Montana, according to its website. There are about 17,000 Japanese citizens living in the region, not counting tourists. 

“We’re both fairly new in our positions,” said Moses Lake Mayor Dustin Swartz, who took office in January. “So we’re excited to bring some change together.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Moses Lake Mayor Dustin Swartz, right, presents Japanese Consul-General Makoto Iyori with a basket of Washington goodies, including wine, of which Iyori said he’s an aficionado.