Mr. Hirofumi Takinami, a member of the House of Councillors (the upper house of Japan’s National Diet) and a native of Fukui, visited Rutgers on May 1, 2026. Former and future Fukui City International Cultural Ambassadors Noah Hartwick ('23) and Nigel Thurston ('26) met with him at Kusakabe Taro’s grave in Willow Grove Cemetery, then gave him a tour of the campus. Mr. Takinami also visited Professor Haruko Wakabayashi’s class, “Asia-Pacific in Cross-Cultural Perspective,” where he engaged students in a discussion on current political and diplomatic issues surrounding U.S.–Japan relations.
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