Tuesday, February 18, 2025, 5:04AM |  17°
MENU
Advertisement
Shinichi Nishimiya, top, Japanese ambassador and consul general, visits a pre-kindergarten class during his visit to the Pittsburgh Japanese School on the Shady Side Academy Middle School campus in Fox Chapel. Mr. Nishimiya was in town to prepare for the G-20 summit.
1
MORE

Ambassador pays a visit to Japanese school

Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette

Ambassador pays a visit to Japanese school

Japan's consul general touring city in preparation for G-20 summit

Talk about pressure.

Rina Matsuda, 14, was in the midst of a one-on-one algebra lesson with her instructor yesterday at the Pittsburgh Japanese School when in walked Shinichi Nishimiya, a Japanese ambassador and consul general.

All of a sudden, Rina was reciting her mathematical computations in Japanese for a high-powered audience that included the ambassador and his entourage, along with officials of the school.

Advertisement

Mr. Nishimiya sat down beside Rina on the couch where she was working with teacher Satoshi Yamanaka.

Rina was "a little bit nervous," but that didn't stop her from successfully finishing her calculations. A solid performance given that it was the students' first day back at Japanese school after summer break.

Impressed with Rina's accomplishments, Mr. Nishimiya then moved onto other classrooms of students ranging in age from preschool to high school. In another classroom, fifth-graders Anna Ko and Yoshino Ko, who are not related, read aloud in Japanese for Mr. Nishimiya.

Mr. Nishimiya is one of two Japanese ambassadors to the United States. He is based in New York and the other ambassador is based in Washington, D.C.

Advertisement

Mr. Nishimiya said the purpose of his visit to Pittsburgh is to check out the facilities that will be used for the G-20 summit on Sept. 24 and 25 in preparation for his country's prime minister's participation in the summit.

But while in town, he was invited to take a tour of the Pittsburgh Japanese School, which operates on Sundays out of the Shady Side Academy Middle School in Fox Chapel. It was his first stop yesterday after arriving in Pittsburgh.

The school is designed to teach Japanese language, mathematics, social studies and culture to children from ages 4 to 18. It has 91 students and 12 teachers. The school's principal is appointed in Japan but the teachers, who are all Japanese, are hired locally.

The school was founded informally in 1977 by Japanese families who had moved to the United States but wanted to preserve their language and culture for their children, said Toshio Miki, the school's chairman of the board.

Most of the children who attend the school are Japanese and have parents who are working for Japanese companies in the area or at the universities and medical centers, said Dr. Miki, a research assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.

The school was officially established and registered as a nonprofit organization in 1993, when it moved to the campus of Fox Chapel Area High School. It moved to Shady Side Academy in July 2006.

It is one of three Japanese schools in the state and 88 in the United States.

The school gets 25 percent of its funding from the Japanese government and 15 percent from Japanese-owned corporations. The remaining 60 percent comes from tuition.

The children who attend the school do so in addition to attending their regular schools Monday through Friday during the school year. Rina is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Yesterday, Mr. Nishimiya said he was impressed with the program and noted that though it was not large in numbers, it was efficient and "blessed with good teachers."

The ambassador said he wanted to wanted to express "deep appreciation" to Shady Side Middle School for providing a home for the Japanese school.

While in Pittsburgh, Mr. Nishimiya said he hoped to visit several tourist sites such as the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh and Mount Washington.

He said his first view of the city -- when his car emerged from the Downtown side of the Fort Pitt Tunnels yesterday -- was "breathtaking" and that his initial opinion of Pittsburgh is that "it is a very beautiful, clean city."

First Published: August 31, 2009, 8:00 a.m.

RELATED
Comments Disabled For This Story
Partners
Advertisement
Sidequest on 44th in Lawrenceville on Dec. 27, 2024.
1
a&e
Canceled show finds ex-Misfits singer Michale Graves lashing out about being purged from Pittsburgh
The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal outside the headquarters in Washington, D.C.
2
opinion
Vanni Cappelli: The FBI purge could lead to another 9/11
Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith watch a receivers and defensive backs drill at Steelers Minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Thursday, June 13, 2024.
3
sports
Gerry Dulac: Next season’s major decisions loom this week for Mike Tomlin, Steelers staff
A small public audience listened as Pittsburgh Public Schools released final recommendations for its facilities utilization plan during the education committee meeting at the PPS Administration Building in Oakland on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.
4
news
Pittsburgh Public Schools considering reinstating virtual testimony following months of pushback
A protester waves a sign opposing Trump administration policies during a protest at the intersection of Murray and Forbes Avenues in Squirrel Hill Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
5
news
Presidents Day protest in Pittsburgh takes aim at Trump policies
Shinichi Nishimiya, top, Japanese ambassador and consul general, visits a pre-kindergarten class during his visit to the Pittsburgh Japanese School on the Shady Side Academy Middle School campus in Fox Chapel. Mr. Nishimiya was in town to prepare for the G-20 summit.  (Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette)
Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST local
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story