George Ishiyama (1914–2003) was a Japanese-American businessman who was president of Alaska Pulp Corporation (APC) in

Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...

between 1983 and 2003.

Early life and education

Ishiyama was born and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and completed a bachelor's degree in economics from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

in 1936.

Career

He and his family were interned during World War II at camps in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...

. However, because Ishiyama determined ways to improve camps operations he was assigned to work in Washington, D.C., with the Department of Interior which had charge of the camps. After the war, Ishiyama traveled to

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 ...

to assist in its rebuilding, and to assist in mutual understanding between the United States and Japan. This became a constant theme of his life. Ishiyama first established himself as a businessman in Japan, and in 1960, he arranged for the sale of

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

from the Phillips/Marathon plant on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

to Japan. This contract enabled the plant to be built. In the 1970s, Ishiyama was a key leader in reclaiming and developing Tokyo Bay. In 1976, Ishiyama arranged for a high level trade mission to Alaska headed up by Toshio Doko, then the head of Japan's most powerful business group, the Keidenren. In 1982, Ishiyama took the lead in attempting to arrange for the export of Alaska oil to Japan. In 1983, Ishiyama became President of Alaska Pulp Corporation.

Awards

In 1991, Ishiyama was awarded a Medal of Honor for his contributions to the promotion of mutual understanding and business relationships between Japan, by Japan's

Ministry of International Trade and Industry The was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Japan from 1949 to 2001. The MITI was one of the most powerful government agencies in Japan and, at the height of its influence, effectively ran much of Japanese industri ...

Legacy

*In honor of his contributions to the City of Wrangell, a street was named after him. *On February 22, 2003, Alaskan Governor

Frank Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as t ...

announced the creation of a state holiday (''George Ishiyama Day'')

References

External links

Tribute by Gov. Frank Murkowski

One of George's Act of Kindness is highlighted in "The Story" by NPR on May 29, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishiyama, George 1914 births 2003 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople Japanese-American internees American people of Japanese descent Businesspeople from Los Angeles 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople