Friday, December 9, 2022
On December 8 (Fri.) from 09:15, the "Induction Ceremony for Mr. Ryoji Kikura as an Honorary Town Citizen" was held prior to the fourth regular meeting of the Hokuryu Town Council in 2022. Mr. Ryoji Kikura (age 83) is the fifth person to be made an honorary citizen of Hokuryu Town, and the first in 31 years.
Ceremony to induct Ryoji Kikura as an honorary town citizen
The coronation ceremony was scheduled for Sunday, November 27, but was postponed to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
In the presence of Hokuryu Town Council members and town hall staff, Mayor Yutaka Sano presented him with the title of "Honorary Town Citizen of Hokuryu Town" and presented him with the Honorary Town Citizen Emblem and a lump sum for distinguished service.
Greetings from Ryoji Kikura
I am still in good health, so I will continue to tell many people about Hokuryu Town, which protects food, life, food, the environment, and livelihood in "Food is Life. Thank you very much," said Ryoji Kikura emphatically.
commemorative photograph
Greeting from the founder's representative: Mayor Yutaka Sano
We are pleased to share with you a message from Mayor Yutaka Sano as a representative of the promoters of the "Induction Ceremony and Celebration Party for Ryoji Kikura as an Honorary Town Citizen".
With the recommendation of the Agricultural Cooperative Association and the consent of the heads of various agricultural organizations, we nominated Mr. Ryoji Kikura as an honorary town resident at the 3rd regular session of the 2022 Diet, which was unanimously approved with the understanding of all members of the Diet.
To date, there have been four honorary residents of Hokuryu Town.
Mr. Mitsuo Goto, Mr. Asao Murakami, Mr. Sakuzo Matsubara, and Mr. Shoichi Mori became honorary residents in October 1971, and Mr. Kikura became the fifth in June 1991.
Ryoji Kikura has been involved in a wide range of activities, including firefighting and youth groups, community service activities, and athletic promotion through athletics, while working in his family's agricultural business upon graduation from high school, He received the award at the young age of 30.
In 1973, he became a director of the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative Association, and he has been engaged in natural farming without using any herbicides, chemical fertilizers, or pesticides to control pests. In 1991, he assumed the position of President of the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative Association.
Mr. Kikura's agricultural efforts stimulated young farmers, and in 1988, at the suggestion of the agricultural cooperative youth club, the town, the improvement district, and the agricultural committee each issued a declaration declaring safe food production that protects the lives and health of the people, and in 1990, the town, the improvement district, and the agricultural committee each issued a declaration.
Since then, based on the philosophy that "food is life," the company has worked to create agricultural and farming communities that aim to enrich people's minds and bodies through farming and agricultural cooperative activities. This practice has permeated the cooperative's membership, and the basis of production has become the commitment to clean agriculture.
The town was also actively involved in consumer exchanges, and made efforts to market Hokuryu rice by designating 100% of its rice as a production area.
These efforts have built the foundation of the current Hokuryu Sunflower Rice, and in 2017 (2017), it was awarded the grand prize in the collective organization category of the 46th Japan Agricultural Awards, and "Hokuryu Sunflower Rice" has received high praise both within and outside of Hokkaido for its distinctive rice production, and has also become a popular return gift for hometown tax payments It is also popular as a tax return gift for hometowns.
Mr. Kikura has been advocating the need for a wide-area merger since he became the head of the cooperative, and as a result, the "Kita Sorachi Agricultural Cooperative" was established in February 2000 by eight agricultural cooperatives in Kita Sorachi, and he became the Representative Director and Senior Managing Director. He retired in April 2007.
After retiring from the board of directors of an agricultural cooperative, he is still active as a "farmer" and as an auditor of the "Hokkaido Organic Farming Research Association.
We hope that you and your wife will relax your shoulders a little, and we look forward to your continued support and guidance.
I would like to congratulate you today," said Mayor Sano.
Founder of the "Honorary Town Citizen Induction Ceremony and Celebration Party for Ryoji Kikura
- Founder Representative:Yutaka Sano, Mayor of Hokuryu Town
- Founder : Yasuhiro Sasaki, Chairman of the Hokuryu Town Council
- Initiator : Hirokuni Kitakiyo, Hokuryu District Representative Director, Kitasorachi Agricultural Cooperative
- Founder : Masahito Fujii, Chairman of Commerce and Industry, Hokuryu Town
- Founder : Shigeki Mizutani, Chairman of Agricultural Committee, Hokuryu Town
- Founder : Junichi Fukase, Chairman of the Hokuryu-cho Land Improvement District
Ryoji Kikura's "Honorary Town Citizen of Hokuryu Town," a glorious title awarded to the fifth person in the history of the town!
We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations. Congratulations to all of you.
With boundless love, gratitude and prayers for Ryoji Kikura's honorable and brilliant achievements in preserving and passing on the Hokuryu spirit of "Food is Life".
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◇ Photography and Editing: Noboru Terauchi Reporting and Writing: Ikuko Terauchi
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