Published: May 22, 2008 07:51 am            

Japanese delegation visits Berea

BEREA — At first, language can be somewhat of a barrier when citizens from Japan’s Yatsugatake region come to visit Madison County. But by the time the visitors prepare to venture home, the story is the same: Where words fail, smiles, bows and handshakes have spoken volumes about the strong bond of friendship between the two communities.

On Tuesday evening, a 15-member delegation from Hokuto, Japan arrived in Berea to commemorate the 21-year relationship between the residents of the Yatsugatake region and Madison County.

The delegation will be in Richmond and Berea until Saturday, and their trip will include visits to Keeneland Race Track, Buffalo Trace Distillery, the Richmond Area Arts Council, Berea College, Eastern Kentucky University, as well as a luncheon at Acres of Land Winery. The trip also will be highlighted by a dinner tonight at Arlington, hosted by EKU President Doug Whitlock.

The exchange program began in 1988 after then Eastern Kentucky University Professor Martha Conaway suggested that the cities of Kiyosato (a city in the Yatsugatake region) and Berea had much in common. Both are rural communities with strong roots in agriculture, and both have a vibrant arts and crafts industry. In 1990, the relationship was expanded to include Madison County and Richmond.

Every May, approximately 15 citizens and officials from Yatsugatake visit Madison County. In turn, a delegation of about 20 county residents sponsored by the Madison County International Committee (MCIC) visit Japan in the fall to pursue cultural exchange and to honor one Kentuckian who is revered for helping rebuild the Yatsugatake region after World War II.

The organization that sponsors the exchange, the American Committee (ACK) for the Kiyosato Education Experiment Project (KEEP), has since facilitated the trans-Pacific exchange of approximately 600 adult citizens from Madison and the Yatsugatake region since 1988. ACK also sponsors an exchange program between the two communities for middle school-aged youths.

Mayor Steve Connelly made the trip to Japan in 2003, along with Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson and Madison County Judge-Executive Kent Clark. Not only was the trip an interesting cultural exchange, it was also an enlightening glimpse in the way local government in Japan operates, Connelly said.

“For me it raises awareness about how other communities approach many common problems and issues “transportation, recycling, growth,” Connelly said. “More importantly, maybe it prompts Americans to give second thoughts to a lot of our practices. The more ways that we as a community have to establish relationships with other communities, that helps us to learn to resolve our own problems and disagreements here at home.”

Louisville resident Dr. Paul Rusch founded KEEP in 1945, an organization that developed social service programs to provide food, health and hope for the region’s youths.

As early as 1942, Rusch had anticipated that Japan would need rebuilding after World War II. That prompted him to do the unthinkable. He toured the United States, asking people to donate money to help a community in a nation that was then America’s sworn enemy.

Later, while serving on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff after World War II, Rusch advised MacArthur about helping Japan recover, and he helped restore the country’s infrastructure.

Rusch’s initiative brought hope and economic development to a region devastated by war. In addition to pioneering dairy farming in Japan and health and education reform in Yatsugatake, KEEP eventually expanded to promote international relations, environmental education and wilderness conservation.

Although Rusch passed away in 1979 at the age of 82, his legacy continues, transcending cultural and language barriers, and providing an enduring model for understanding people of other cultures, according to Berea resident Randy Osborne, who is on the board of directors of ACK.

“One of the goals of this kind of international relationship is to plant the seeds of understanding, goodwill and ultimately, peace,” Osborne said. “Unless we know other people, and try to communicate with them and understand them, we will never get to a position where we can live in peace.”

The delegation was scheduled to visit Richmond City Hall at 9 a.m. today, followed by a trip to the Madison County Courthouse at 10 a.m.

        

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