The former U.S. senator is the
first person to hold the position in Utah.
Before her honorary consul appointment, Jani Iwamoto served as a U.S. senator for the state of Utah. (Photo: Courtesy of Jani Iwamoto)
SALT LAKE CITY — Former U.S. Sen. Jani Iwamoto has been appointed honorary consul of Japan in Salt Lake City by the government of Japan. The August appointment makes Iwamoto the first person to hold this position in Utah.
Honorary consuls are appointed in areas where there is no official office established by a country. The assignment includes such matters as promoting and facilitating mutual working relations, in addition to cultural and commercial exchange between Japan and the U.S.
In 2017, Iwamoto received the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Commendation at a ceremony presided by Consul General of Japan in Denver Hiroto Hirakoba, and in 2023, she received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, at a ceremony presided over by Consul General of Japan in Denver Yoichi Mikami.
Iwamoto holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and a law degree from UC Davis School of Law (King Hall). She served on the Salt Lake County Council from 2009-13, becoming the first Asian American woman to be elected in Utah. She served in the Utah State Senate from 2015-22, during which time she was elected assistant minority whip by the Democratic senators.
She is also an active member of the Salt Lake City JACL chapter and the Japanese Church of Christ, in addition to being involved in matters pertaining to the preservation of the history of the former Salt Lake City’s Japan Town, which was destroyed in the early 1960s.
