Jim Plump, executive director of JCIDC, was among an Indiana delegation that welcomed Koji Tomita, Japanese Ambassador to the United States, to Indianapolis over Memorial Day weekend.

Plump, who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Japan America Society of Indiana (JASI), joined several others from the JASI board in greeting Tomita for a luncheon, which also included Kenichi Okada, Consul-General of Japan in Chicago.

It was the first visit of Tomita outside of Washington, DC since his arrival in the U.S. in January 2021. He succeeded Shinsuke Sugiyama, who visited Seymour during his first year as Ambassador in 2018.

Tomita previously served as minister at the Japanese Embassy in Washington and also headed the Foreign Ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau, working with the administration of then-President Barack Obama.

Prior to the luncheon, Ambassador Tomita visited with 2-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, and later in the day met with Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

Among those attending the luncheon at the Columbia Club were Theresa Kulczak, executive director of JASI, Harold Gutzwiller, manager of economic development at Hoosier Energy, and Larry Ingraham, president of Ingraham & Associates.