Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit
在デトロイト日本国総領事館

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum (Grand Rapids) and Library (Ann Arbor)

Maple tree donated by Japanese Embassy

Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford, sworn in as the 38th President of the United States in 1974, was the first American President to officially visit Japan – just 3½ months after his inauguration. The year following, President Ford hosted Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako for a state visit – the first of an Emperor and Empress of Japan to the United States.

Gifts from the Emperor, official photographs, conversation transcripts, briefing memos and more may all be seen in at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, in his hometown of Grand Rapids, and the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor. In July 2010 the Embassy of Japan in Washington DC sent a Japanese maple tree to be planted near President Ford’s gravesite.

- Information about the museum and library may be found at the website: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/.