Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 6, 1 June 1987 — Japanese Investors anā Hawaii Development [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Japanese Investors anā Hawaii Development

By Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i

Many of our people have a growing eoneem about the heavy Japanese investments now occurring in our islands. Aecording to the Sunday Ad-vertiser-Star Bulletin of April 19, 1987, over 3.5 billion dollars have been invested in these islands by Japan since last summer. It appears as though it is

not only the favorable yen situation causing this onslaught of investment; but also the higher cost of land in Japan. These foreign investors offer more than asking price for our Hawaiian 'aina, taking it out of loeal control forever. There is also eoneem because Japanese are buying already established hotels, pouring millions into them in improvements causing hotel rates to increase. Unions fear they will try to cut employee benefits to make up for the dollars spent on renovations. Statistics show hotel wages are subsistence level. This also means when you and your ohana go holo-holo to other islands and want a hotel room, the rates will sky rocket beyond our meager capacity to pay. Several months ago, Japanese-owned Royal Hawaiian Hotel tried to cut retirement benefits for employees. The nightly news showed old loeal Japanese retirees who had served the Royal Hawaiian clientele for years picketing against benefit reductions. Although there are many loeal Japanese in these islands (over 30 percent), there is an elitest attitude amongst the foreign Japanese investors. Our loeal born Japanese are from farmer stock. Many Japanese investors look with distain upon this fact. Even Wally Fujiyama has stated that "this type of snobbery has no basis". (Honolulu Advertiser April 21, 1987). Also, if you recall several months ago there was some eoneem in the media because President Nakasone of Japan made some comments about the inferiority of Blacks and Hispanics. Would Hawaiians be put in that same category? These racist stereotypes and elitest Japanese attitudes are not going to help perpetuate the Aloha Spirit in our islands. Many letters to the editor allude to a Japanese threat "gobbling" up these islands. Keiki o ka aina remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor and now we see an eeonomie and physical take over of our Hawaiian aina. It is foolish to allow so mueh control of our destiny to any foreign ownership. These investors care nothing about our aina or people except how mueh they ean make off us. Our Hawaiian Governor and the bankers weleome these investors with open arms. It is as though they prostitute our aina callously to the highest bidder; this greed is all consuming and running rampant. At our April 16 Board meeting, Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs were used for a press conference by the loeal and Japanese developers of West Beach in collusion with other locals involved in the project to announee a controversial settlement of the West Beach case. This document is called an "Aloha Agreement"l! This agreement was signed on January 22, in the Governor's office. Of the two (2) community people that signed this agreement, Eric Enos of Waianae and Liwai Kaawa, Kaawa stated to our Board that he had not even read the document or seen it before he signed it in the Governor's office. Special committees of experts were to be set up within 30 and 60 days of signing before construction started. At our EĪoard meeting, we were notified that these committees had not been set up. lt appears that certain agreement terms have been breached and land clearing has begun. Some of our trustees and our constituents are very distressed about the controversial agreement and the misconception of the community that OHA was a party to it. Although NHLC did represent the parties who signed the agreement, no OHA funds were used in this case. Native beneficiaries should report attorney misconduct and misrepresentation to the Disciplinary Council of the Hawaii State Bar Association. OHA funds should not be used to "rubber stamp" development. It is an unwholesome and untenable situation. The Japanese developers of West Beach are setting aside $250,000 for a catfish aquaculture project. This is not going to compensate for the destruction of that coast-

line and its fishing grounds whieh have fed many ohana for generations, and how many Hawaiians and locals even desire catfish compared to our loeal fish? There is also $125,000 to be allocated by the developers (not for jobs but) for a community development plan to guide the development of the Waianae Coastline. As Eric Enos leader of Waianae Land-Use Concerns Committee and President of the Waianae Alternative Community Development Plan, who is receiving the $125,000 stated in the Honolulu Advertiser, "we agreed not to fight". His Vice President, Hayden Burgess, former Trustee of OHA, is driving a new Buick and has a new office on Bishop Street, all a gift from the primary mediator of this unusual agreement Roshi Tenshin Tanoye, Archbishop of Dai Hon Zan Chozen-gi Temple in Kalihi Valley. So you see, the Japanese developers have been very busy spreading the kala around to get their project through. However, the $375,000 theyhave dished out to the Enos group is peanuts, upon inquiry, we learned that condos for West Beach are not now on the market, but $20 million per building are. So you see, it is always important to read between the lines what you see as being news. For things are not always what they may appear. In this case, a few will benefit at the expense of many and the 'aina. It should be understood that OHA had nothing to do with this "Aloha Agreement" and was being used as are others in the eommunity. Yet developer, Kenny Brown, stated at that board meeting and in the Honolulu Advertiser on April 17, 1987, that, "these kind of agreements should be arranged statewide". The Aloha Agreement did not provide for even a single low or moderate ineome housing unit to be built. We do not need this statewide. A statement has been sent to our OHA office signed by 19 well known residents of Waianae coastline denouncing Eric Enos and his "gang" for "selling out" at West Beach. Sunday's Honolulu Advertiser-Star Bulletin of April 26, 1987, contained an article entitled "Prince Phillip Links Environment to Tourism". Prince Phillip states, " . . . if there isn't a natural environment here, you won't get any tourists either . . . killing the goose . . . ". Is that what we are going to let these greedy loeal and foreign developers do to our 'aina? Our kamali'i deserve better! Several weeks ago, President Nakasone was asked about importing California rice to Japan, and he refused saying that would undermine Japan's self-sufficiency since they grow rice also. But it is supposed to be all right for Japan's investments in Hawaii to undermine our self-sufficiency. E ala! na moku Wake up! Our islands o ke kai liloloa, Are ebbing away, E moe loa nei While you sleep, Ma ka'e o ka peWe are on the edge of darkness Aloha Aina. Love the Land. Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono!