The Japanese consulate has declined to intervene in a dispute between Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto and his millionaire Kahala neighbors over 20 properties on Kahala Avenue.

Deputy consul general Hajime Kido yesterday said despite the initial passage of a resolution by the Honolulu City Council asking the Japanese Consulate in Hawai'i to attempt to locate and persuade Kawamoto to respond to numerous complaints and a lawsuit, the Japanese consulate will not get involved.

Kido said a lawsuit and allegations of violations of city code are involved and the Japanese government would not intervene nor take a side in a business dispute occurring in a foreign country.

"Our mission is to take care of our Japanese citizens. This is a commercial matter, not a government matter and our government cannot get involved in a commercial matter," said Kido. "We don't have any way to solve this. From a Japan side, this is an American legal matter. If the city council wants to regulate the matter, they should have their own code. Why pass a resolution to involve another country? That is a little strange."

Councilman Charles K. Djou said he introduced a resolution addressing the issue at the request of the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board and after numerous complaints about the vacant properties.

The resolution requesting involvement by the consulate passed the council's executive matters committee Wednesday and will go before the full council Oct. 15.

Djou and one of Kawamoto's neighbors, Honolulu attorney Richard Turbin, accused Kawamoto of allowing his properties to fall into disrepair as part of a deliberate attempt to drive down property values in the area.

Many of the properties are overrun by vermin, covered in graffiti and have fallen into general disrepair, tarnishing the image of the neighborhood, neighbors said.

"This is very disappointing but not any different from other efforts to contact Genshiro Kawamoto," said Djou. "We have a billionaire from Japan running this community and there seems that nothing can be done. Eventually we hope we can open an amicable line of communication."

Turbin said he hopes the City Council will follow up with the city department of Planning and Permitting and pursue whatever outstanding complaints have been made about Kawamoto's properties.

"There is a lot of things the city and county can do. They ought to pass an ordinance saying that if you're a foreign resident and you own property and don't maintain it the city can (eventually) take it," said Turbin. "Obviously, there are some constitutional things the city can do to protect our community."

Kawamoto bought more than 20 properties in the area more than four years ago and rented three to needy families, but he has halted that practice.

On Sept. 10, Turbin filed a lawsuit against the real estate tycoon on behalf of a Ma'ili woman who said she was injured by debris from a Kawamoto property.

Turbin, who lives next to a property owned by Kawamoto on Kahala Avenue, said Deborah Kekuawela Ramirez injured her back, knee and elbow after tripping and falling over pieces of a broken wall and palm fronds on the sidewalk in front of a Kawamoto home on March 30.

Turbin, in the complaint, alleges that Ramirez suffered severe and permanent physical injuries, emotional distress and lost wages (past and present) as a result of negligence by Kawamoto.

The suit also alleges that Kawamoto tore down walls on many of his Kahala Avenue homes to depress area property values that would allow him to buy more homes at reduced market prices. Kawamoto has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

Turbin, a Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board member, has been critical of Kawamoto, saying in January 2007 that he had asked area lawmakers to put pressure on state Department of Health officials to investigate conditions including stagnant swimming pools and remnants of walls at Kawamoto homes.

Other area residents also have complained about the condition of some Kawamoto properties that have graffiti, overgrown landscaping and pools filled in with dirt and debris.

Kawamoto acquired about 20 homes on Kahala Avenue mostly between 2002 and 2006 for close to $115 million, according to property records.