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, Texas, United States. It is located in Suite 3000 at 2 Houston Center, which is located at 900 Fannin Street in Downtown Houston. 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 dollars. 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 The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

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''. 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

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

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links