The Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Hidehiko Yuzaki, along with a 14-member contingent, will visit Hawai’i Island in May to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the East Hawai’i Hiroshima Kenjin Kai.

As part of the festivities, the County of Hawai’i has scheduled a Commemorative Tree Planting Ceremony at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, at Lili’uokalani Gardens in Hilo.

The Mayor’s Office and the Department of Parks and Recreation are handling arrangements for this event. A tent and chairs will designate the ceremony site.

A black pine has been chosen for the tree planting ceremony.

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“This tree planting ceremony will help foster our Sister State relationship with Hiroshima Prefecture,” said Mayor Harry Kim, noting that Hilo has many descendants of people from that region in western Japan.

Governor Yuzaki made his first visit to the Big Island in 2010, soon after he was first elected, and last visited the island in 2012.

Following his visit to Hilo, the governor will attend the Japan-Hawaii Economic Summit at the Mauna Lani Bay Resort.

County Council Chair Valerie Poindexter; Mayor Kim; and Thomas Goya, president of the East Hawaii Hiroshima Kenjin Kai; will join Governor Yuzaki in the tree planting ceremony.

All council members are invited to attend. Participants are asked to be at the site by 8:30 a.m. ahead of the formal opening of the ceremony at 9 a.m.