Please join us on September 23rd for a luncheon program about America’s longest-sitting US Envoy to Japan and 19^th century American statesman, Ohio Congressman John Bingham.  Bingham laid the basis in his 12 years in Tokyo for more than a century of robust US-Japan engagement.  He was also the first in a long tradition of appointing top American political figures（大物) to the Embassy in Japan.  Prior to his posting, as a Congressman, Bingham was the main drafter of the celebrated 14 Amendment, which confirmed ex-slaves as citizens and gave them equal protection under the law, and also served as a prosecutor in the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson – two historical events with more than a little resonance in our current events.

Schedule:

Registration and lunch: 12 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Program: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Venue:

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Three Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, California

Prices: (including delicious Japanese lunch)

Member: $10 | Non-member: $20

*Seating is limited, so reserve your spot today!

Speaker:

Sam Kidder
Sam served in Japan twice in the US Embassy as a Foreign Commercial Officer and then later as the head of the American Chamber of Commerce, working with the eight US Ambassador to Japan from Mike Mansfield to Caroline Kennedy.  He is an expert on John Bingham and will talk about Bingham’s fascinating career, his historical role in advancing African American rights, his years in Japan marked by a growing love for the country, his sense of fairness in pushing to undo unequal treaties forced on Japan and the impact he left on a relationship that progressed from economic rival to wartime enemy to post-war ally.

Venue generously provided by: