Annis Water Resources Institute hosts delegation from Japan

Grand Valley's Annis Water Resources Institute hosted a delegation of dignitaries and officials from Japan at the request of the office of Gov. Rick Snyder.

Alan Steinman, the Allen and Helen Hunting director of AWRI, accompanied nine officials from Japan, along with Jon Allan, director of the Office of the Great Lakes, on a tour of Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan.

The group took the tour on the W.G. Jackson, one of Grand Valley's large research vessels, and saw freshwater research that is being done in Muskegon Lake. The delegation from Japan represented Shiga Prefecture, which contains Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake. 

The delegation also included:

Ryuji Kawashima, chairperson of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly; Masato Mokuzawa, member of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly; Takuro Shibata, secretary of the chairperson; Chiemi Shibata, member of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly; Matsutaro Tanaka, member of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly; Chiyo Yamazaki, member of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly; Mashiko Sato, interpreter for the Shiga Prefectural Assembly; and Teruyuki Ueyama, director of the International Affairs Office, Shiga Prefectural Government.