Takuma Yamamoto e-Learning Center Blessing Ceremony

HONOLULU, HAWAII Ñ On April 17, 2002, Chairman Emeritus Takuma Yamamoto of Fujitsu Limited attended a blessing of a new technology-based learning center with his name. The chairman emeritus and a crowd of about one hundred were given a tour of the newly constructed Takuma Yamamoto e-Learning Center at JAIMS.

An audience of JAIMS faculty, staff, students, and alumni as well as local dignitaries and journalists were on-hand to witness the ceremony. Also attending were Minoru Shibuya, consul general of Japan and Hideto Kono, JAIMS trustee and former JAIMS president.

The ceremony was held in the lobby of the JAIMS building where Yamamoto untied a lei of maile in a traditional Hawaiian blessing.

"I'm honored that my name will be associated with this Center because it strives to support learning with leading-edge technology," Yamamoto said. "Learning is a never ending commitment, and the Center's resources can enrich and support [students] on this life-long journey."

A year before construction began in spring of 2001, the JAIMS Board of Trustees voted to name the Center after Yamamoto upon his retirement as JAIMS chairman of the board.

The Center features workstations, study carrels, private and semiprivate group-study areas, and a media lab with audiovisual equipment. Resources also include printed materials, online business-related databases, and internship and research reports of former students.

Yamamoto joined Fujitsu Limited in 1949 and became chairman of the board in 1990, a position he has since retired from in 1998. He also served as chairman of the JAIMS board of trustees for twelve years from 1988 to 2000. In 1997, Yamamoto was awarded the Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in recognition of his distinguished contributions to commercial relations between the United Kingdom and Japan. Yamamoto also received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, the highest honor given from the Japanese government to those who contribute to the Japanese business arena.