116
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
REQUESTING TOKYU CORPORATION, IN MAKING ITS DECISION TO SELL OR
   CLOSE SHIROKIYA DEPARTMENT STORES IN HAWAII, TO CONSIDER THE
   FORTY-YEAR HISTORY OF SHIROKIYA DEPARTMENT STORES IN HAWAII
   AND THE DEDICATED PATRONAGE OF HAWAII'S RESIDENTS. 


 1       WHEREAS, Shirokiya Department Stores (Shirokiya) was
 2   founded in 1662, in Tokyo, Japan, and is one of the most famous
 3   department stores in that country; and
 4   
 5       WHEREAS, when Shirokiya opened its Ala Moana store in 1959,
 6   it was its first branch store outside of Japan; and 
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, Shirokiya's forty-year history in the State has
 9   touched generations of Hawaii's residents, bringing to the
10   people of Hawaii a multitude of goods and food products
11   reflective of the Japanese culture; and 
12   
13       WHEREAS, while the recent surge of Southeast Asian
14   immigration to the State has resulted in numerous stores and
15   markets emerging that offer an abundance of Asian goods and
16   products, none provides a selection as diverse as that which is
17   found in a Shirokiya store; and
18   
19       WHEREAS, Shirokiya offers both the tourist and resident
20   community in Hawaii a true taste of Japan; and
21   
22       WHEREAS, Shirokiya has frequently highlighted the products
23   of a single prefecture in Japan, adding to the cultural
24   understanding between East and West, and enhancing Hawaii's
25   position as the cultural "crossroads of the Pacific"; and
26   
27       WHEREAS, the recent announcement of the sale and
28   concomitant closing of the Shirokiya stores in Hawaii has
29   surprised and disappointed the people of Hawaii; and 
30   
31       WHEREAS, as tourism and Hawaii's economy are on an upswing,
32   the decision to close Shirokiya stores in Hawaii may be
33   premature; now, therefore,
34   
35       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
36   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
37   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that Tokyu Corporation, in
38   making its decision to sell or close Shirokiya Department
39   Stores in Hawaii, is urged to consider:
40   

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       (1)  The forty years of aloha and goodwill that Hawaii's
 2            residents and Shirokiya have had for each other;
 3   
 4       (2)  The dedicated patronage of Hawaii's residents to
 5            Shirokiya Department Stores; and 
 6   
 7       (3)  The positive outlook for Hawaii's economy;
 8   
 9       and
10   
11       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
12   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board
13   of Directors of Tokyu Corporation.
14 
15 
16 
17                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________