--- title: SR 28. Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr28 cite_as: SR 28, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr28 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr28.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr28/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69441 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/sr27.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr29.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr28.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 28 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-01-17 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Kay Kirkpatrick - Blake Tillery - Elena Parent - Kim Jackson - Brian Strickland - Josh McLaurin - Michael Rhett text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR28/2025 upstream_id: 1926186 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia-Japan relations - Consulate-General of Japan - international trade - sister cities - legislative resolution --- # SR 28. Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta; recognize ## Text Senate Resolution 28 By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Tillery of the 19th, Parent of the 44th, Jackson of the 41st, Strickland of the 42nd 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 SENATE 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 Secretary of the Senate 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 Senate resolution recognizes the 51st anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and commends its role in building ties between Georgia and Japan. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia Senate, not a change to state law. It marks the 51st anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and lays out a history of economic, cultural, and educational ties between Georgia and Japan, including trade figures, sister-city relationships, and Japanese language education programs in Georgia schools. The resolution formally states that the Senate recognizes this anniversary and commends the Consulate-General's efforts to strengthen ties between the two places. It directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta as a keepsake or official acknowledgment. It does not create any new programs, funding, or legal requirements. ### What it does - Formally recognizes the 51st anniversary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta on behalf of the Georgia Senate. - Commends the Consulate-General's efforts to strengthen cultural, educational, political, and economic ties between Georgia and Japan. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and send a copy of the resolution to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. - Creates no new law, funding, or enforceable requirement, since it is a ceremonial resolution rather than a bill amending Georgia code. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta as the recipient of this recognition. It also references Georgia public school students, university Japanese language programs, sister cities, and Georgia businesses trading with Japan, though it imposes no obligations on any of them. ### Why it matters Because this is a ceremonial resolution rather than a law, it does not change anyone's rights or responsibilities. Its practical effect is symbolic: it puts the Georgia Senate on record honoring the diplomatic and economic relationship between Georgia and Japan and sends an official copy to the consulate. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses describe Georgia-Japan trade of $7.65 billion and 514 Japan-affiliated offices in Georgia employing 38,290 people. - It notes sister-city relationships between eight Georgia cities and Japanese cities, plus a sister-state tie with Kagoshima Prefecture and a sister-port tie with the Port of Shimizu. - It states nearly 1,000 Georgia public school students study Japanese and 13 Georgia colleges have Japanese language programs. - The resolving clause formally recognizes the anniversary and commends the Consulate-General. - A further resolving clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy to the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-01-17) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-01-17) - Sponsors: Kay Kirkpatrick, Blake Tillery, Elena Parent, Kim Jackson, Brian Strickland, Josh McLaurin, Michael Rhett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69441 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr28.md?full=1