May 4, 2018

Dear 1998 Harris Public Policy School Alumni:

Hiro and Jo Takinami

Congratulations on the 20th anniversary alumni reunion! We are very glad to know that there will be such a wonderful event for the 1998 classmates to get together and make new memory. As some of you may know, Harris School is the place where we met, and we eventually got married in Tokyo 4 years later after the graduation. You can then imagine how special Harris School and Chicago mean to us, to which we have brought our kids fly all the way from Japan to visit Harris School twice and proudly said “this is where your Dad and Mom met!”

After serving in the Ministry of Finance for almost 20 years, Hirofumi (“Hiro”) decided to run for the national election, and he is now a member of the Upper House ( House of Councillors) in Japan, corresponding to a Senator in the US. Thanks to the rigorous training in the Harris School and the Ministry of Finance, Hiro has obtained profound experience and knowledge in the areas of economy and finance, and is now the Chief Director of the Committee on Economy and Industry in the House of Councillors.

After graduating from Harris School in 1998 and moving to Japan in Spring 1999, Chung-I（"Jo”） has worked in several US-owned investment management companies, including Citigroup Advisors and Fidelity Investment Japan, as well as the Financial Services Agency of Japan. Two years ago, Jo and the two kids have moved from Tokyo to Fukui Prefecture, the constituency of Hiro, where our two kids are attending the 9th grade and 2nd grade and she is now serving as an advisor to a local bank here.

We are extremely excited to learn that our former classmates are still catching up with each other and hearing about the event brings back a lot of memories! In fact, just last summer, we took a trip to Harris School with our kids, and couldn’t hold our breaths when we toured inside the building and greeted with many new faces. Although we are not able to join the 20th anniversary reunion, each of our former classmates has a special place in our hearts (Jo is very proud that she can still remember the names and faces of every classmates!), and we sincerely wish the reunion a great success, and all guests and participants a most rewarding and enjoyable time in Chicago.

Best regards,

Hirofumi TAKINAMI

Chung-I Hsu（Shiori TAKINAMI）