Relationship with Asian and Pacific Islander community makes Tennessee a global leader | Opinion

On May 12, Gov. Bill Lee signed a proclamation in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, officially celebrating the contributions to Tennessee from the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community.

Tennessee has an extensive history of collaboration with the Asia-Pacific region and the API community. It helps to make Tennessee a leader in business, culture and international relations.

Did you know that Nashville alone is a sister city to three remarkable Asian cities?

Taiyuan is an ancient city with more than 2,500 years of history and is now considered one of the main manufacturing bases of China. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, renowned for its spicy cuisine, and home to China’s national symbol, the giant panda. Kamakura, the third city, is the 13th century capital of Japan and preeminent tourist destination for its traditional temples, architecture and festivals.

Chattanooga is sister cities with Gangneung, South Korea and Tono, Japan — just to name a few more.

Tennessee’s cities and towns stand tall next to these places, offering our own world-class music, food, business, culture and history. Tennessee is home to over 100,000 people who identify as Asian or Pacific Islander.

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Asia-Pacific companies have poured over $20 billion dollars of capital investment and created nearly 60,000 jobs in our state. In 2008, the Consulate of Japan for this region moved from New Orleans to Nashville, because Tennessee is so hospitable and special.

However, our relationship with Asia and the API community cannot be summarized by statistics alone. It is defined by our countless connections to API people and their culture.

Tennesseans embrace the API community and culture

These ties begin to form from a young age: making friends with an Asian classmate, trying something on an Asian menu for the first time, attending one of the many Asian festivals that Tennessee host s— such as the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival, reading a book by an API author in our public libraries and Zooming (or perhaps visiting) a counterpart across the ocean through one of the exchange programs offered by Sister Cities.

As adults, we continue to strengthen our relationships through joint ventures, sponsorships of non-profits like Sister Cities of Nashville, patronage of API-owned businesses, donations to affinity groups like Greater Nashville Chinese Association and Japan American Society of Tennessee friendships.

Cultural and economic exchange is not without its difficulties. Misunderstandings, even clashes, are inevitable in all healthy relationships. But Tennesseans overcome these challenges because of their embrace of learning, growth and volunteerism.

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Tennessee is the perfect place to start a business, raise a family and build a home. Tennessee is a trustworthy overseas partner—and a formidable competitor. Tennessee has character. Tennessee is on the world stage, because Tennesseans believes in the API community and the API community believes in Tennessee.

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So whether it is during the month of May or any other month of the year, we can join our fellow Tennesseans and observe Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month through the many opportunities we already have to connect.

Jin Yoshikawa is a Tennessee attorney based in Nashville with Butler Snow LLP. He is a member of the board of the Tennessee Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the diversity committee of the Nashville Bar Association. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How the API community contributed to Tennessee being a global leader