U.S.-Japan Council of the Japanese American National Museum, who had been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to introduce Japanese American leaders to Japan through the Japanese American Leadership Delegation. Hirano Inouye is now the President of USJC. In 2012, the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) was created to support the administration of the TOMODACHI Initiative. In 2013, U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) became a Public Interest Corporation ("Koeki Zaidan Hojin"). President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe praised the work of the U.S.-Japan Council in supporting the U.S.-Japan relationship in a Joint Statement issued during their April 2014 Summit. The Joint Statement particularly
Public holidays in Japan Public holidays in Japan Prior to Japan's adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the dates of holidays were based on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thus, New Year's Day, for example, was celebrated at the beginning of spring, as it is in modern China, Korea and Vietnam. Japan has 16 national, government-recognized holidays. The national holidays in 2018 are as follows. <nowiki>*</nowiki> When a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. The national holidays in 2019 are as follows. <nowiki>*</nowiki> When a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. In addition