Washington - Forty-six leading Japanese corporations, a "Who's Who" of Japanese industry and finance, have contributed $1 million to a Japan-US Relations Chair at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.  Japanese Ambassador at Large Nobuo Matsunaga, along with a committee of 16 promoters of the Chair, led the effort to secure the gift.  The Chair will be established in memory of the late Gaston Sigur, a longtime representative of the Asia Foundation, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, and GW Distinguished Professor of East Asian Studies.  The gift was sanctioned by the Federation of Economic Organizations of Japan's Council for Better Corporate Citizenship.

    GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg warmly welcomed the gift.  "I am deeply impressed and very grateful to Ambassador Matsunaga and the Japanese corporate contributors for making the Japan-U.S. Relations Chair possible," Trachtenberg said.  "Their achievement is particularly impressive given the current difficult economic circumstances in Japan.
"For our part, I will match the Japanese gift with an additional $1 million from GW funds," Trachtenberg added.  "In addition, we are deeply grateful to former GW President Lloyd Elliott and his wife, Betty, for earmarking a $1 million gift to be used for Japanese studies in the Elliott School, named for them.  The resulting $3 million endowment will ensure an exceptionally strong and enduring Japanese studies program in the Elliott School."

    A worldwide search is now underway to select the occupant of the Japan-U.S. Relations Chair.  Elliott School Dean Harry Harding and Sigur Center for Asian Studies Director Bruce Dickson head the search committee, which hopes to select a leading Japan scholar to occupy the Chair by fall 1999. Harding said, "We are deeply grateful to Ambassador Matsunaga and the 46 Japanese corporate contributors, to GW President Trachtenberg, and to former GW President Lloyd and Betty Elliott for endowing a strong Elliott School Japan studies program."

    "The new Japan specialist will join a second full-time professor on Japan, five full-time professors on China, a full-time professor on Korea, and three full-time professors on Southeast Asia.  In addition, six full-time professors and five part-time instructors teach four East Asian languages:  Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. Together, these specialists make up one of the strongest East Asian studies programs in the United States," Harding concluded.

    The Japanese promoters of the Japan-U.S. Relations Chair were: Toyota Motor Corporation, Nippon Electric Industry Company (NEC), Sony Corporation, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Asahi Breweries, Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), The Fuji Bank, Hitachi, ITOCHU Corporation, Keio University,  Mitsui & Company, Nippon Steel Corporation, Toray Industries, Toshiba Corporation, Waseda University, and The Yomiuri Shimbun.

    Additional corporate contributors included:  Chubu Electric Power Company, The Chugoku Electric Power Company, Daikin Industries, Dentsu, Fuji Xerox Company, Honda Motor Company, IBM Japan, Ishikawajima-Haruma Heavy Industries Company, The Kansai Electric Power Company, Japan Tobacco, Kajima Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Good Times Foundation), Kikkoman Corporation, Kyushu Electric Power Company, Marubeni Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsui Marine and Fire Insurance Company, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), Nissan Motor Corporation, Nissho Iwai Corporation, NTT Data Corporation, NTT Mobile Communications Network, Osaka Gas Company, Seiko Corporation, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Tohoku Electric Power Company, Tokyo Gas Company, and The Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company.

    The Elliott School is The George Washington University's professional school of international affairs.  The School trains exceptional men and women in the theory and practice of international affairs.  It is home to a widely respected faculty and four research centers, which provide in-depth analysis of an extensive range of international economic, scientific, and political issues. For more information on the school or on the  Japan-U.S. Relations Chair, call Tom Bleha at 202-994-1650.

    Located four blocks from the White House, The George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821.  Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital.  The University offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study as well as degree programs in medicine, law, engineering, education, business/public management and international affairs.  Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of 19,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 120 countries.

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