Rhythm of Japan in ND: Celebrating the friendship of North Dakota and Japan

Doug Burgum took office as the 33rd governor of North Dakota on December 15, 2016. Doug brings a business leader’s approach to diversifying the economy, creating 21st-century jobs, and revitalizing our main streets.

Burgum’s small-town upbringing and agricultural roots laid the foundation for his shared values of respect for the past, gratitude for the present and inspiration for the future.

Driven by a strong belief in North Dakota’s people and a powerful dream, he returned to his home state and helped lead Great Plains Software from a small startup company in 1983 into an award-winning tech firm that employed thousands of team members from more than 220 cities across North Dakota.

Born August 1, 1956, Burgum grew up in Arthur, N.D. He has maintained his commitment and connection to his roots through family farm partnerships, by serving as a member for Arthur Companies, Inc., a diversified agribusiness company founded by his grandparents in 1906, and through a ranching partnership in the Badlands of western North Dakota.

Burgum graduated with a bachelor’s degree in university studies from North Dakota State University in 1978. He earned a master’s of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1980.

TAJIMA Hiroshi assumed his current position of Consul-General of Japan in Chicago in September 2021. The Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago serves in ten Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Mr. Tajima previously held the position of Deputy Assistant Minister / Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Bureau and Foreign Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan. He also acted as the Ambassador of Japan in charge of Economic Diplomacy and Senior Official of Japan for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989, Mr. Tajima has held numerous positions centering on national security, economic and consular policies. During 2008-2015, he was the Official Interpreter to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. Mr. Tajima’s previous overseas assignments include the Embassies of Japan in London and in Moscow as well as the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York.

Mr. Tajima received a B.A. in Economics from Keio University and an M.A. in Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Robert (Bob) Sinner serves as the President of SB&B Foods.

Bob has spent his entire life in North Dakota. After graduating from North Dakota State University with a degree in agricultural economics, Bob joined the family farming operation. Before SB&B actively pursued an expansion into international business, Bob served on the executive committee of the United Soybean Board and as chairman of its International Promotion Committee. In 1989, SB&B expanded by creating an international business to supply food-quality soybeans and later other food-grade commodities directly to food manufacturers globally. Japan has been a primary market with some unique success in the tofu industry. 

Performers:

Tsukasa Taiko is a program of Asian Improv aRts Midwest that offers taiko drum instruction, education, and performances. Its mission is to preserve, develop, and pass on the traditional concepts of Japanese art as a cultural legacy, while also expanding and evolving the art of taiko.

As an active performing group, Tsukasa Taiko presents over fifty shows a year, both locally and internationally. Tsukasa Taiko offers classes, workshops, lectures, and demonstrations designed to teach how to play taiko, as well as to advance the understanding of the cultural arts as a reflection of a community’s heritage and legacy. It works closely with schools, companies, and corporations to provide special performances and presentations on the history of taiko and Japanese music.

Tsukasa Taiko’s director, teachers, and staff are all dedicated professionals, recognized as world class, working artists. Director Tatsu Aoki is a world renowned, highly respected performing musician, composer, and recording artist, who works in traditionally based Japanese music as well as experimental and jazz idioms. Guest artist Noriko Sugiyama has returned to Chicago from Japan, having been granted a performing visa to work with Tsukasa Taiko. With its strong leadership and aesthetic vision, Tsukasa Taiko is positioned to further expand and advance Japanese art in Chicago, and to develop as a cultural beacon for the future.