Chambers County native meets Japanese Ambassador

CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES PATTERSON

CHAMBERS COUNTY — James E. Patterson, a 1983 Auburn University graduate, attended the opening of the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival at a ceremony at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Patterson, left, met His Excellency Shigeo Yamada (Yamada Shigeo), the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, and Mrs. Kristina Pasqualone, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Washington’s Cherry Blossom Parade is scheduled for April 11.

Patterson told the Ambassador that Alabama is a great location for Japanese businesses, like Pharmavite in Opelika and Shinhwa in Auburn. The Ambassador said he believes that Japanese investment in Alabama will grow.

The annual three-week Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the continued friendship and the cultural relations between the U.S. and Japan. In 1912, Japan gifted Washington with cherry trees. Tourists enjoy the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin.

Patterson, formerly of the Fairfax community in Chambers County, served as a U.S. diplomat with the U.S. Department of State. He reported from Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. In Washington, he worked on trade deals with China and Russia. After serving in the Korean War, Patterson’s father, James G. Patterson, served with Alabama’s National Guard at Fort Harold Calhoun in Fairfax. The younger Patterson is an associate member of the Korean War Veterans Association.