For press information, contact Curt Guenther, 901/678-2843

The Kaminari Taiko Drummers performed on the U of M campus as part of the opening ceremonies.

Officials of the University, the Society, and the government of Japan announced the formation of the partnership and the Center during ceremonies on the campus recently. Speaking for Japan was Consul General Hiroshi Sato. He was joined by Dr. Shirley Raines, president of the U of M, and Memphis businessman Arnold Perl, founder of the JAST.

Sato said the establishment of the Center symbolizes the continuing and growing partnership between his country and the United States. He said there are more than 3,000 Japanese-speaking people living in Tennessee, and that the partnership between the Society and the University will help strengthen the relationship between the people of the two countries.

JAST was established in 2000 as a means for Japanese businesses to network with Tennessee businesses and government. Currently, there are 160 Japanese businesses operating in Tennessee, and one quarter of them are in West Tennessee.

In honor of the JAST Center’s being established at the U of M, six Yoshino cherry trees will be planted on the University campus. The trees, which will be donated by the Memphis Botanic Garden, are the same type of trees that grow along Cherry Drive near the Botanic Garden in Audubon Park.

For more information about the Japan America Society of Tennessee, call Yuki Matsuda in the U of M Department of Foreign Languages, 901-678-3163, or Patti Lechman at 901-521-9916.