Sat. Nov 2nd, 2024

Japan gifts 250 new cherry trees to D.C., replacing those to be removed for repairs

By 37ci3 Apr10,2024


Spring is a time of renewal and fresh starts, and Japan and the United States celebrated with an announcement Wednesday morning: Japan gifted the United States with 250 new cherry trees.

President Joe Biden shared this news with reporters gathered at the welcoming ceremony of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and First Lady Yuko Kishida. New trees will be replaced which should be removed from the tidal basin later this springBefore the National Park Service started restoration of the collapsing sea wall in that area.

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leave the Oval Office for a press conference on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
President Biden welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House for a state visit this week.Evan Vucci/AP

The visit took place before the ceremony and press conference state dinner on Tuesdaya is a tool to strengthen diplomacy Between America and its closest allies. A gift of 250 new cherry trees for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, Biden said, reinforces that sentiment.

“Let me finish with this. It’s spring in Washington,” Biden told reporters. “The sun is shining. And every spring the city is blooming thanks to the cherry blossoms a century ago he donated 3000 cherry trees from Japan. People travel to our country and the world to see these magnificent flowers.”

These first 3,000 trees came about after years of collaboration between American travel writer Eliza Scidmore, USDA plant researcher David Fairchild, and US First Lady Helen Herron Taft to beautify DC in the early 1900s.

The first healthy trees came to the district in 1912 as a gift from the mayor of Tokyo and were planted in March of that year. The trees have been a symbol of the bond between the two countries ever since.

"Rootless" cherry tree in the tide pool
‘Stumpy’, a cherry tree in the Tidal Basin on March 19 in Washington.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

“Last night the Prime Minister and Mrs. Kishida, Jill and I walked the driveway across the White House lawn to visit the three cherry blossom trees,” Biden said. According to him, one of these trees was planted together by the first ladies of Japan and the United States in 2023, and the other two are from the new cohort.

Biden said the new trees will be planted “near the Martin Luther King Memorial. And like our friendship, these trees are timeless, inspiring and blooming.”

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By 37ci3

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