Arctic policy of the European Union in 1973 and Sweden and Finland in 1995). The European Union's application to become a “permanent observer” in the Arctic Council was blocked in 2009 by Canada in response to the European Union's ban on the importation of seal products. The Arctic is an area of growing strategic importance. The European Union supports the successful Arctic co-operation and in helping to meet the challenges that now confront the region. The European Union is the world's strongest proponent of greater international efforts to fight climate change. It has three (and if the accession of Iceland to the European Union occurs, potentially
Wakamiya Inari Shrine Wakamiya Inari Shrine Wakamiya Inari Shrine at Waipahu Cultural Garden in Waipahu, Hawaii, is the last surviving example of Inari Shrine architecture on Oahu. Unlike most Shinto shrines, which are unpainted, those dedicated to the fox deity Inari, the god of the harvest, are painted bright red. This shrine thus represents not just the religious heritage of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, but also their principal early roles as agricultural laborers on sugarcane and pineapple plantations. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 8 January 1980. The simple wood frame building measures 19 by 26 feet, with