New Scholarship Awards Student's Entrepreneurial Spirit

HONOLULU—A special scholarship is now available for a student in the Japan-focused MBA (JEMBA) or China-focused MBA (CHEMBA) programs, which are jointly offered by JAIMS and the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Business Administration.
The Akira and Mari Ohtomo Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, valued at $5,000, "recognizes and supports an outstanding student who exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit necessary for success in todayÕs global markets." The scholarship will be awarded to the student for the internship portion of the program.

The 15-month JEMBA and CHEMBA programs include one year of intensive coursework in Honolulu and a three-month internship at a corporation or organization in Japan or China. Graduates receive an MBA degree from UH and a Japan-focused or China-focused Management Certificate from JAIMS.

Akira Ohtomo, chairman and CEO of Pan Pacific Enterprises Inc. in Japan, and his wife, Mari, a well-known figure in JapanÕs film and television industry, have offered the scholarship to begin with the Fall 2000 JEMBA and CHEMBA classes. "We feel that the entrepreneurial spirit is one of the critical elements in todayÕs global business world," Ohtomo said. "Through this scholarship, we would like to give students who exemplify this type of spirit the encouragement to start their own business or work for a start-up company. With the opportunities now available to them, particularly in the area of technology, these individuals have the freedom to apply their own ideas into a real company."

Ohtomo himself started Pan Pacific Enterprises, a management consulting company, back in 1977. He has worked as a senior executive at a number of large corporations, including Canon, Coca-Cola, Polaroid and Cartier.

"We are honored to have such a prestigious scholarship offered to our students," said Glenn Miyataki, president of JAIMS. "Mr. and Mrs. Ohtomo are wonderful supporters of JAIMS and greatly contribute to the quality of our programs."