The is

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's diplomatic facility in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located in Suite 3000 at 2 Houston Center, which is located at 900 Fannin Street in

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...

. The consulate serves Texas and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. the consul general is .

History

At one point the consulate was located in Suite 5300 and later Suite 2300 in the Wells Fargo Plaza (formerly the First Interstate Bank Plaza). For a decade ending in 1993 the consulate refused to pay "user fees" billed to the consulate by the City of Piney Point Village in the

Greater Houston Area Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

. The consul general residence is in Piney Point Village. The Japanese argued that this was a tax and that diplomatic facilities should not be taxed. In 1993 the city announced that the consulate owed the city around $14,000

United States dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

s. The Japanese argued that international agreements exempted consulate facilities from taxes, while Piney Point Village said the annual fees were for user services. James Baker, a Piney Point Village alderman, threatened to suspend garbage pickup services and expose the Japanese consulate to ridicule. In September of that year a U.S. State Department letter stated that consulates should pay legitimate user fees, and that consulates do not have to pay for fire and police services. The consulate paid almost $12,000, including $4,500 in interest, to the city. According to Vice-Consul Takaki Takinami originally the city charged $14,915.52 before changing the invoice and deducting police and fire costs. , who was the outgoing consul-general, agreed to pay $4,500 annually.Tolson, Mike.
Japanese consul coughs up Piney Point's fees
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Wednesday December 15, 1993. Section A, Page 36. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.

Gallery

File:2HoustonCenterSign.JPG, 2 Houston Center, the location of the consulate File:Wells_Fargo_Bank_Plaza,_Houston,_from_base.jpg, Wells Fargo Plaza, the former location of the consulate

References

External links

Consulate-General of Japan in Houston

Consulate-General of Japan in Houston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Consulate-General Of Japan In Houston Asian-American culture in Houston

Japanese-American culture in Texas Japan–United States relations Downtown Houston

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links