Daniel Inouye: “on September 17, 2003, America lost one of its true Ambassadors of Friendship, Mr. Joji Konoshima, President and…”

“on September 17, 2003, America lost one of its true Ambassadors of Friendship, Mr. Joji Konoshima, President and co-founder of the U.S.-Asia Institute. Mr. Konoshima was well known at home and abroad for his efforts to promote understanding and dialog between the United States and East Asian nations. His career as an educator, labor organizer, political advisor, and diplomatic mentor spanned more than 40 years. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Mr. Konoshima immigrated with his family to the United States at the age of six years and settled in California. He was a student at the University of California, Berkeley, when he and his family were evacuated during World War II to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. After the war, he received a Bachelor of arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1953, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from New York University in 1960. Mr. Konoshima taught social studies and Japanese language in New York City, and was an adjunct assistant professor at New York University for more than a decade.”