--- title: HR 1277. Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; 52nd anniversary; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1277 cite_as: HR 1277, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1277 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1277.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1277/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72996 date: 2026-02-06 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1276.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1278.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1277.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1277 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-02-06 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Matthew Gambill - Yasmin Neal - Josh Bonner - Trey Kelley - Miriam Paris - Martin Momtahan text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1277/2025 upstream_id: 2111547 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia-Japan relations - international trade - sister cities - ceremonial resolutions --- # HR 1277. Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; 52nd anniversary; recognize ## Text House Resolution 1277 By: Representatives Gambill of the 15th, Neal of the 79th, Bonner of the 73rd, Kelley of the 16th, Paris of the 142nd, and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing the 52nd anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta has strengthened the cultural, political, and economic ties between the Southeast United States and Japan and has worked to help and support Japanese citizens and companies in the Southeast; and WHEREAS, a long and steady friendship has grown between Georgia and Japan, as shown by the establishment of the Office of the State of Georgia in Japan 53 years ago; and WHEREAS, Georgia has become a model for welcoming Japanese companies to the Southeast, and the region has grown to become an indispensable part of the United States-Japan relationship; and WHEREAS, the Japanese community has thrived together with all other communities to make Georgia greater; and WHEREAS, current trade between Georgia and Japan is $8.33 billion in import and export trade; and WHEREAS, there are more than 700 Japan affiliated offices now located in Georgia, employing 40,000 people; and WHEREAS, the consulate-general created Japan Fest in 1986 and helped grow it into the largest Japanese cultural festival in the Southeast; and WHEREAS, Americus, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dublin, Macon, and Rome have sister-city relationships with cities in Japan, making Georgia the state with the highest number of Japanese sister cities in the Southeast, and this state also has a sister-state relationship with Kagoshima Prefecture; and the Port of Savannah has a sister-port relationship with the Port of Shimizu; and WHEREAS, nearly 1,000 Georgia public school students are studying the Japanese language, thirteen Georgia institutes of higher education have Japanese language programs, and from 1987-2025, 590 Georgians have participated in Japan's Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) program; and WHEREAS, over 25 members of the Georgia General Assembly and other Georgia officials were hosted in the autumn of 2019 on trips to Japan to meet with Japanese government, business, and cultural officials in order to promote a deeper understanding and to cement ties between Japan and Georgia. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize the 52nd anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and the long and steady friendship between this state and Japan and commend the efforts of the Consulate-General to strengthen cultural, educational, political, and economic ties between Georgia and Japan. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution recognizes the 52nd anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and commends its role in building cultural and economic ties between Georgia and Japan. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives honors the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta on its 52nd anniversary. It lists the long relationship between Georgia and Japan, including $8.33 billion in trade, more than 700 Japan-affiliated offices employing 40,000 people in Georgia, sister-city relationships between several Georgia cities and Japanese cities, and Japanese language programs in Georgia schools and colleges. The resolution does not create any new law, funding, or requirement. It formally states that the House recognizes the anniversary and commends the consulate's work, and it directs the Clerk of the House to send a copy of the resolution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. ### What it does - Formally recognizes the 52nd anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta on behalf of the Georgia House of Representatives. - Commends the consulate for its work strengthening cultural, educational, political, and economic ties between Georgia and Japan. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to send a copy of the resolution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. - Creates no new law, funding, or ongoing government obligation, since it is a ceremonial resolution rather than a bill. ### Who it affects This resolution mainly affects the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta, which receives the formal recognition, and does not impose duties on the general public. It also reflects on Georgia institutions with ties to Japan, including public schools, colleges with Japanese language programs, and cities with sister-city relationships. ### Why it matters Because this is a ceremonial resolution, it does not change any Georgia law or spend any money. Its practical effect is symbolic: it publicly acknowledges the economic and cultural relationship between Georgia and Japan and results in a copy being delivered to the consulate. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses describe the economic relationship, citing $8.33 billion in trade and over 700 Japan-affiliated offices employing 40,000 people in Georgia. - The whereas clauses also note sister-city ties between seven Georgia cities and Japanese cities, plus a state-level sister-state relationship with Kagoshima Prefecture. - The resolving clause states the House recognizes the anniversary and commends the consulate's efforts on cultural, educational, political, and economic ties. - The final clause directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide a copy of the resolution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-02-06) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-02-06) - Sponsors: Matthew Gambill, Yasmin Neal, Josh Bonner, Trey Kelley, Miriam Paris, Martin Momtahan - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72996 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1277.md?full=1