Yuko Kishida, the wife of Japan’s prime minister, visited Chapel Hill High school on April 12 to honor Japanese teacher Yoshimi Aoyagi and speak with students in the school’s Japanese language program.
Kishida was visiting North Carolina with her husband, who toured Honda Aircraft’s production facility with Governor Roy Cooper while Kishida visited the school. In 2022, Aoyagi was recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for her excellence in teaching students about Japan and Japanese culture.
Kishida and other dignitaries visited Aoyagi’s first-period class.
The event proved to be very impactful to students, in particular junior Kyle Agano, an AP Japanese Language & Culture student, who said he will remember the visit for the rest of his life. Agano, who is half Japanese and lived in Japan for seven years, said the experience “reinforced the fact that I’m still Japanese and that will always matter.”
Once Kishida arrived, students greeted her and delivered a presentation about Japanese culture before asking questions with the help of a translator.
“[Mrs. Kishida] talked to us very casually, which I think everyone appreciated, and I think the interpreter did a great job of matching her energy,” Agano said.
Freshman Aili Shaw, who is enrolled in Japanese I, said she was struck by Kishida’s sincerity.
“Her responses were really nice and thoughtful, and I liked how genuine her responses were to our simple questions,” Shaw said of Kishida.
Aoyagi praised her students and noted the importance of face-to-face interactions that offer speaking opportunities for students—something that can be overlooked with technology’s increasing presence in the classroom. “Everyone did so well. Manners, emotions, gestures cannot be translated by machines,” Aoyagi said.
Students were also able to learn valuable lessons from the visit about the nuances of the language they’ve been studying.
Junior Itay Sebag, a Japanese I student, noted the experience was “enriching because you don’t think about how big a language is until you hear from someone who speaks that language and how many different ways you can say something and the vast ways of usage.”
Freshman Lydia Repass, who is also in Japanese I, said the visit reaffirmed her commitment to study Japanese. “I think that it was helpful in making me want to continue learning Japanese,” Repass said. “I was unsure if I wanted to continue learning for all four years, but having her come made me realize that learning the language is really important.”
In the days leading up to the event, school and district officials ensured the campus was not only safe for a state visit, but also clean and attractive.
“I think they did a good job of making the school look nicer than usual and look presentable for her,” freshman Dayshiana Mitchell, a Japanese I student who attended the event, said.
Aoyagi said she felt honored by Kishida’s visit and that the event was made possible through the cooperation of teachers, students and the community.
“I really felt the Tiger family cared about me and this event,” Aoyagi said.
