By Ivan Posey, Co-Chair of the Alhambra Chamber’s International Business Committee
Earlier this year, members of The Alhambra Chamber of Commerce’s International Business
Committee, Including co-chairs Christopher Teng Balmaseda and Leech Tishman’s
Ivan Posey (Partner, Intellectual Property), along with Theodore Roper (Partner,
Corporate), and LaVonne D. Lawson (Counsel, Corporate, Trusts & Estates, Tax), and
paralegal Sheree Lee, visited Kirishima, Japan.
The visit to Kirishima, a friendship/sister city of Alhambra, was made at the
invitation of Kirishima Mayor Nakashige Shin’ichi, who extended the offer to Alhambra
Chamber board members during his visit to Los Angeles last year.
While in Kirishima, the delegation met with Mayor Nakashige, his cabinet and members
of the Kirishima Chamber of Commerce, at City Hall, where they were formally
welcomed during an official meet-and-greet. The Mayor’s office provided transportation,
a translator, and two staff members to guide the group throughout the visit,
accommodating family members who also visited with the delegation members. Guided
bus tours and delicious meals for the delegation and their families were included, which
fortunately occurred during the blooming of the sakura (cherry blossom) trees.
The team also met with members of the Kirishima Chamber of Commerce and visited
several local businesses, including a shochu distillery and a vinegar production
company. One of the site visits included a business owned by the President of the
Kirishima Chamber of Commerce who oversees a diverse portfolio of companies both
within and outside the region.
