(Yoshimitsu Kohra and Rev. Abraham Poepoe untie the ceremonial maile
lei at the dedication of JAIMS' Hawaii Kai campus in 1973.) |
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JAIMS was first envisioned
in the early 1970s by Yoshimitsu Kohra, then president of
Fujitsu Ltd. The JAIMS idea was to take college graduates who
were already in the business world and teach them the language, business
methods, and special skills used in other countries. Initially, the
program would enroll Japanese participants who would learn American
business and culture and American participants who would learn Japanese
business and culture. From the outset, JAIMS was to be truly international,
exchanging languages, cultures and business methods among future executives
from all over the world. The JAIMS program would also place particular
emphasis on computer technology and its ability to cross communication
divides. |
Hawaii was chosen as the location for
JAIMS, as it was then the major connecting point between Japan and the
United States and is still today a unique place with a multiethnic, multicultural
population. In 1971 Hiroshi Matsubara, the first president of JAIMS, selected
a six-acre site in Hawaii Kai for the JAIMS campus.
The first JAIMS classes were held in temporary
quarters in Kahala. In 1972, JAIMS was ready for its first
class, the American Management Program (AMP, later called
the Intercultural Management Program, or ICMP), comprised
of 28 participants, all male, from Japan—the second AMP
class included one woman. In 1973 President Howard Miyake
was appointed and the Hawaii Kai campus was dedicated. In
addition, the first Japan Management Program (JMP) began with
23 participants from six countries. These participants, from
the United States and elsewhere, focused on Japanese language,
culture and management systems. Together with the AMP participants,
they reflected the notion of a global, international institute.
Additional courses and seminars were instituted
for business executives and for data processing personnel.
By 1979, JAIMS had installed a sophisticated system to allow
simultaneous interpretation in four languages for its seminars
and classes. The computers at JAIMS in the 1970s were among
the most advanced that Fujitsu produced. When Fujitsu brought
in its FACOM M150 in February 1981, it had a technologically
advanced four megabyte memory, now considered obsolete even
for today’s home computers. Community groups, including
local elementary and high school students, would tour JAIMS
to get hands-on experience of the computer, which was used
for JAIMS courses as well as for research into many phases
of management and urban development issues in Hawaii and the
Pacific region. In 1984, JAIMS also installed a personal computer
lab.
With the start of the fall 1986 classes, the Fujitsu
Asia Pacific Scholarship Program was established to commemorate the
50th anniversary of the founding of Fujitsu Ltd. At that time, a year-long
program at JAIMS, in conjunction with Chaminade University, led to the
degree of Master of Science in Japanese Business Studies (MSJBS). Hideto
Kono was appointed president in 1988, and in 1990 JAIMS and the University
of Hawaii at Manoa College of Business Administration began providing
the Japan-focused Master of Business Administration
(JEMBA) degree, a 15-month MBA program that includes an internship
in Japan. The JAIMS multimedia department also published its successful
Japanese On the Go! audiotapes and Verb Explorer J software.
In 1994 Fujio Matsuda was appointed JAIMS president,
and JAIMS once again upgraded its multimedia lab and links to the
Internet. Both a French and a China study option were added to ICMP,
and in 1996 plans for the China-focused
Master of Business Administration (CHEMBA) were announced. Glenn
K. Miyataki was appointed JAIMS president in July 1996.
The 25th anniversary of JAIMS was celebrated in 1997, and the JAIMS
global vision and strategic plan was developed. New areas of focus
for JAIMS include the Intercultural
Health Care Management Program, knowledge creation, the JAIMS-Reims
Management School Exchange Program, and the Funika Scholarship (instituted
by JAIMS alumnus Nuri Sozkesen). In addition, the first CHEMBA class
graduated in November 1998.
Since 1972, JAIMS has educated and trained over
22,000 program and seminar participants from over 60 countries and
is
still dedicated to—and has expanded upon—the mission set out
by its founders: to contribute to the human and economic development
of
the Asia-Pacific region by educating managers to be effective leaders
in an increasingly interdependent global economy. JAIMS is poised for
the 21st century.
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