--- title: HR 45. Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; 51st anniversary; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr45 cite_as: HR 45, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr45 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr45.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr45/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69483 date: 2025-01-17 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/hr44.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr46.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr45.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 45 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-01-17 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Matthew Gambill - Michelle Au - Bruce Williamson - Yasmin Neal - Trey Kelley - Josh Bonner text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR45/2025 upstream_id: 1929197 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia-Japan relations - international trade - ceremonial resolution - sister cities - cultural exchange --- # HR 45. Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; 51st anniversary; recognize ## Text House Resolution 45 By: Representatives Gambill of the 15th, Au of the 50th, Williamson of the 112th, Neal of the 79th, Kelley of the 16th, and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing the 51st 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 51 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 $7.65 billion in import and export trade; and WHEREAS, there are 514 Japan affiliated offices (not including retail locations) now located in Georgia, employing 38,290 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, the 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021 due to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, Americus, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dublin, Gainesville, 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; the State of Georgia has a sister-state relationship with the 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, 13 Georgia institutes of higher education have Japanese language programs, and since 1987, 573 Georgians have participated in Japan's Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) program; and WHEREAS, more than 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 51st 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 51st anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and commends its role in building economic and cultural ties between Georgia and Japan. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives honors the 51st anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. It recounts the history of the relationship between Georgia and Japan, including trade figures, business investment, sister-city relationships, and educational exchanges. The resolution does not change any law. It formally states that the House recognizes the anniversary and commends the Consulate-General's efforts to strengthen cultural, educational, political, and economic ties between Georgia and Japan. It also directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. ### What it does - Formally recognizes the 51st anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta on behalf of the Georgia House of Representatives. - Commends the Consulate-General's efforts to strengthen cultural, educational, political, and economic ties between Georgia and Japan. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. - Creates no new law, funding, or regulatory requirement, since it is a ceremonial resolution rather than a bill amending Georgia statute. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and generally recognizes Japanese affiliated businesses, students, sister cities, and communities in Georgia connected to Japan through trade and cultural exchange. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal force and changes no Georgia law, but it serves as an official statement of goodwill highlighting the economic and cultural relationship between Georgia and Japan, including business investment, trade, and educational exchange programs. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe the history and scope of Georgia-Japan ties, including $7.65 billion in trade and 514 Japan affiliated offices employing 38,290 people in Georgia. - The resolved clause states that the House recognizes the anniversary and commends the Consulate-General's efforts on cultural, educational, political, and economic ties. - The final clause directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make a copy of the resolution available to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-01-17) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-01-17) - Sponsors: Matthew Gambill, Michelle Au, Bruce Williamson, Yasmin Neal, Trey Kelley, Josh Bonner - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69483 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr45.md?full=1