The is

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's diplomatic facility in

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. It is located in Suite 3000 at 2 Houston Center, which is located at 900 Fannin Street in

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. The consulate serves Texas and

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. , the consul general is .

History

At one point the consulate was located in Suite 5300 and later Suite 2300 in the Wells Fargo Plaza (formerly the First Interstate Bank Plaza). For a decade ending in 1993 the consulate refused to pay "user fees" billed to the consulate by the City of Piney Point Village in the Greater Houston Area. The consul general residence is in Piney Point Village. The Japanese argued that this was a tax and that diplomatic facilities should not be taxed. In 1993 the city announced that the consulate owed the city around $14,000

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s. The Japanese argued that international agreements exempted consulate facilities from taxes, while Piney Point Village said the annual fees were for user services. James Baker, a Piney Point Village alderman, threatened to suspend garbage pickup services and expose the Japanese consulate to ridicule. In September of that year a

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

letter stated that consulates should pay legitimate user fees, and that consulates do not have to pay for fire and police services. The consulate paid almost $12,000, including $4,500 in interest, to the city. According to Vice-Consul Takaki Takinami originally the city charged $14,915.52 before changing the invoice and deducting police and fire costs. , who was the outgoing consul-general, agreed to pay $4,500 annually.Tolson, Mike.
Japanese consul coughs up Piney Point's fees
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. Wednesday December 15, 1993. Section A, Page 36. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.

Gallery

File:2HoustonCenterSign.JPG, 2 Houston Center, the location of the consulate File:Wells_Fargo_Bank_Plaza,_Houston,_from_base.jpg, Wells Fargo Plaza, the former location of the consulate

References

External links

Consulate-General of Japan in Houston

Consulate-General of Japan in Houston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Consulate-General Of Japan In Houston Asian-American culture in Houston

Japanese-American culture in Texas Japan–United States relations Downtown Houston

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links