A documentary on the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, D-HI, sponsored by Nitto Tire, has been selected for inflight showing by All Nippon Airways and Hawaiian Airlines beginning on Oct. 1, 2013. Inouye served in the U.S. House of Representatives from August 1959 to January 1963 and in the U.S. Senate from January 1963 until his death in December 2012, at which time he became the highest ranking (Senate President Pro Tem) Asian-American politician and second-longest serving Senator in U.S. history.
Entitled “Journey to Washington,” the film follows the path of Sen. Inouye, a pioneer in the Japanese-American community who led a vibrant and tumultuous life. It includes interviews with the senator himself as well as people from across the nation whose lives he enriched and was produced by Fujisankei Communications International and made possible by Nitto Tire. The film received a very positive reception when it aired in the United States earlier this year on terrestrial TV stations in Los Angeles, New York and Hawaii and on the TV Japan cable network.
“As a Japanese company doing business in the U.S., we believe that it is very important to do our best to contribute and give back to the U.S. community,” said Tomo Mizutani, President of Nitto Tire U.S.A. “Senator Inouye was an exceptional role model and devoted supporter of the Japanese-American community, and he exemplified the highest values in a lifelong commitment to public service.”
“Journey to Washington” looks back at an extraordinary man who was born in the U.S. as a Japanese-American, witnessed Imperial Japan’s life-changing attack on Pearl Harbor, and experienced the pain of being labeled as an enemy alien despite his American citizenship. During WWII, Sen. Inouye joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to prove his loyalty to the United States along with many other second-generation Japanese-Americans, losing his right arm in combat. He went on to become the first Japanese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate.
Nitto Tire has achieved a positive position in the U.S. automotive market in terms of market awareness, product sales and customer engagement built on Nitto Tires advances in performance tire engineering, high quality standards, sponsorships in a range of motorsports activities, creative enthusiast community building strategies, and a reputation for out-of-the-box thinking. As just one gauge of that success, Nitto Tires U.S.A. has surpassed 4.5 million fans on Facebook to rank among the top social media communities among all Japanese companies.