About Us

The Massachusetts Hokkaido Association is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) membership organization dedicated to supporting the historic relationship between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Japan’s northern island prefecture of Hokkaido.                                                         

The Massachusetts Hokkaido Sister State Committee was formed in 1987.  Chaired by Dr. David Knapp, President of the University of Massachusetts, the statewide committee included members from throughout the Commonwealth who had strong interests in Japan and Hokkaido and in the initial relationship between Hokkaido and UMASS. The sister state relationship with Hokkaido became official at simultaneous signing ceremonies in 1990.  On behalf of Hokkaido, Governor Takahiro Yokomichi (*) signed document at the February Snow Festival in Sapporo.  Governor Michael Dukakis (**) signed the document in the Massachusetts State House.

In 1994, the name of our organization was changed to the Massachusetts Hokkaido Association.  The members of the Association include people who have grown up in Hokkaido or who have lived, studied, and worked in Hokkaido.

It has been the custom to celebrate the sister state relationship between Massachusetts and Hokkaido every five years. In 1995, Governor Tatsuya Hori and a Hokkaido delegation visited Boston.  The delegation brought the gift of a stone lantern which can be seen in the Columbia Point area of Boston located just across from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Governor Hori returned to Massachusetts with a delegation from Hokkaido in 2000 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the relationship.

The association encourages cultural, educational, scientific, and economic exchanges.  Within the sister state affiliation is the long relationship between the University of Massachusetts and Hokkaido University.  Also within the sister state relationship are two sister city relationships: Concord with Nanae and Springfield with Takikawa City.

Our counterpart organization is the Hokkaido Massachusetts Society in Sapporo.

Sue Root

Fernando Quezada

Co-Presidents  

(*) After serving three terms as Governor of Hokkaido (1983-1995), Takahiro Yokomichi left the Japan Socialist Party.  In 1996, he was elected as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan to represent Hokkaido District 1 in the House of Representatives of the Diet.  He was most recently reelected with 54% of the vote on August 30, 2009.

(**)  Michael Dukakis was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1974, in 1982, and in 1986.  He served an unprecedented total of three four year terms.  Since June of 1991, Governor Dukakis has been a visiting professor at Northeastern University's political science department and has also taught in the senior executive program for State and Local managers at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.