Join

We invite you to become a member of the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire. By becoming a member you support the efforts of the JASNH to sustain the relationship between New Hampshire and Japan and the Sister City agreement established in 1985 between the City of Portsmouth and Nichinan, birthplace of Jutaro Komura, lead diplomat at the 1905 peace conference that produced the Portsmouth Peace Treaty and earned President Theodore Roosevelt the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. One of the key initiatives of the Sister City alliance is the bond between Portsmouth High School and the Nichinan Gakuen Junior-Senior High School. Home stay visits by Portsmouth students in Nichinan and Nichinan students in Portsmouth have taken place almost annually in recent years.

JASNH is focused on the Treaty, its history, legacy of citizen diplomacy and the connections throughout New Hampshire that link the two. JASNH maintains Portsmouth Peace Treaty Living Memorial Cherry Trees in locations around the state that have historical connections with the Treaty and that celebrate citizen diplomacy. Each year those locations join Portsmouth in the ringing of bells at 3:47 pm on September 5th -- the moment the Treaty was signed.

JASNH also hosts the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forums which explore, through Japanese, Russian and American perspectives, the history of the Treaty of Portsmouth and it relevance to current issues involving the Northern Pacific region, and provides a platform for examining US international diplomacy in the "spirit of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty." 

Membership is offered at several levels:

• Individual -- Full range of membership benefits for one person. Annual dues, $25.
• Student -- Full range of membership benefits except member's voting privileges, for a full-time student (current ID from an accredited college or university must accompany application), $15.
• Family -- Full membership benefits for all family members in one household, $40.
• Business -- Full membership benefits for small businesses (under 25 employees), $100.
• Corporate -- Full membership benefits for businesses with 26 or more employees, $200.