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We
Salute Hideto Kono
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On October 2, 2004, Mr. Hideto Kono, our third
President who led JAIMS from 1988-94, suffered a cardiac arrest
while snorkeling off the Galapagos Islands and passed away
shortly after. His loss came very suddenly, and we are still
in shock as the entire JAIMS family extends our deepest condolences
to his wife, Fannie; sons, Dwight, Dayne, and Daryn; daughter,
Laurel Hayama; eight grandchildren; and sisters, Chieko Hamai,
Kimiko Matsumoto, and Amy Enright.
Hideto
was a profound educator and public servant, an executive as well
as a long-range planner, and a cross-cultural ambassador and
translator whose parents came from Hiroshima Prefecture, his
ancestral home. During his six years at JAIMS, he provided
the pivotal direction
that brought JAIMS into today’s global era. Through his vision
and insights, he “fathered” the Japan-focused MBA program
(JEMBA) in 1990 in partnership with the University of Hawaii College
of Business Administration (UHCBA). As a tribute to Hideto’s
efforts and the support of Fujitsu Limited and UHCBA, the program
is now in its 15th year and is one of the most unique MBA programs
in the world with almost 300 graduates in Japan, the United States,
Europe, and in other Asian countries. |
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Hideto Kono |
Hideto had many friends and
admirers, and prominent colleagues had much to say about him. As
posted by Beverly Creamer in the October
12, 2004 edition of The Honolulu Advertiser:
Hideto Kono helped chart
the state’s future immediately after statehood
in 1959 by reorganizing the territorial government, and later served as a key
member of Governor George Ariyoshi’s Cabinet. Ariyoshi called Kono “a
futuristic man” – who as his director of Planning and Economic
Development, shouldered the duties of developing 12 state strategic plans
to guide a future
of balanced growth from the mid-1970s into the 1980s.
“We often talked about making a difference, and
what a difference Hideto has made,” said
Ariyoshi in remembering Kono, who was both colleague and friend.
U.S. Senator
Dan K. Inouye called Kono not only a great American but a friend. “Hawaii
will miss his leadership and I will miss my friend,” said Inouye
from Washington.
Fujio Matsuda, who stepped into Kono’s shoes as president of JAIMS when
Kono left in 1994, said Kono had a remarkable ability to get results, even under
difficult circumstances. “When you do broadly based long-term planning
(as Kono did under Ariyoshi) involving several dozen professionals, department
heads and community members, it’s like herding cats,” said Matsuda. “They
go all over the place. He was able to keep everyone focused.”
Kent Keith, who served under Kono in the Department
of Planning and Economic Development during Ariyoshi’s governorship before taking over from Kono,
called Kono a visionary, saying it was he who oversaw a period of tremendous
excitement at the end of the 1970s as Hawaii pushed forward to find and build
sources of renewable energy. “He had the wonderful long-term perspective
and was willing to make opportunities for the state that were environmentally
sound and socially acceptable,” said Keith. Under Kono – and during
the energy crisis of the 1970s – Keith said the state launched work
on numerous renewable energy sources including ocean thermal, geothermal,
wind,
solar and biomass.
After Kono left public service, he went on to become
president of JAIMS. “Mr.
Kono was the kind of person where if you went in to his office asking him
for money for a certain thing, you’d come out feeling like
he had given you a million dollars even though he actually gave
you nothing,” said Blair
Odo (vice president for academic affairs who worked for Kono). “He
made you feel so good you’d walk out of his office happy, even without
the budget.”
Later Kono also played an important role at the Japan-Hawaii
Cultural Center and with the Urasenke Tea Group.
Kono was born in Kaumana on the Big Island in 1922 and served
in the highly decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team during
World War II and in the Military
Intelligence
Service. He was also president of Castle & Cooke East Asia Ltd., chairman
of the Hawaii State Public Utilities Commission and recipient of the Emperor’s
Award from Japan.
Hideto was a true role model and symbolized all that
JAIMS stood for in today’s
complex world. He was a man of spotless integrity with unquestioned loyalty and
dedication to every mission he pursued. He was a man of honor who never forgot
his roots. Most of all, he was a genuine, caring person whose respect, kindness,
and consideration toward others were without peer. As several who knew him well
have said, “Hideto was truly a samurai, one of the few remaining here in
Hawaii.” He brought credibility to JAIMS.
Hideto, thank you for all that you have done for JAIMS. We will
continue to further your work for many, many years to come. With kindest regards.
Glenn K. Miyataki, Ph.D.
President
Megatrends
Author John Naisbitt to Speak at JAIMS Public Forum
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In 1982, an author and futurist named John Naisbitt
published his book, Megatrends, which became a runaway sensation,
enjoying 60 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. In
this book, Naisbitt correctly predicted:
• The shift from the industrial age to
the information age;
• The advent of national economies into
a global economy, now called “globalization,” a
term that was not familiar during that period; and,
• Networks as a way of radically transforming
and increasing public access to goods, services, and data on
a global scale (known as the “Internet”). |
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John Naisbitt |
By special engagement, JAIMS will host a public forum
featuring Naisbitt from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 20,
2005 at
the Halekulani
Hotel in Honolulu. At the forum entitled, “Evolutionary Trends and Future Mindsets,” Naisbitt
will present material from his latest book, The Elephant in the Boa
Constrictor (to be published in 2005), and will discuss the new Megatrends
shaping these early years of the 21st century.
“We are pleased to bring to Hawaii this renowned
author and futurist,” said
JAIMS President Glenn Miyataki. “The Hawaii community and
participants from Japan will benefit from the insights of John
Naisbitt, who regularly
advises major corporations around the globe.”
Naisbitt authored a number of significant books in
addition to Megatrends. In his books and talks, Naisbitt discusses
the major
technological
and social revolutions that were put into play during the last
two decades of the 20th century, and he explains how they will
be absorbed
and perfected in decades to come. Several of these revolutions
include information technology, economic reform in China, the unification
of Europe, and America as an empire.
In his 40 years of business experience, Naisbitt has
been an executive with IBM and Eastman Kodak, as well as a successful
entrepreneur.
He studied political science at the University of Utah, Harvard
University, and Cornell University. He holds 15 honorary doctorates
in the humanities
and sciences and has been a visiting fellow at Harvard University;
and in 1991 and 1992, he was a visiting professor at Moscow State
University. He is currently distinguished international fellow
at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS)
Malaysia,
in Kuala Lumpur. Naisbitt is the first non-Asian to hold this appointment.
He is also on the faculty at Nanjing University in China.
In conjunction with the forum, JAIMS and Naisbitt
will also lead a roundtable discussion for senior executives from
Japan, the United
States and other countries. Attendance at the roundtable is by
invitation only.
Event sponsors include aio Group, Proudfoot Japan, AIG Hawaii,
First Insurance Company of Hawaii, GGP Ala Moana LLC, Hawaiian
Host, Inc.,
Imanaka Kudo & Fujimoto, and Island Insurance Companies, Ltd.
The cost to attend the forum is $250 per person. As
a recipient of the JAIMS Global Horizons, you receive a discounted
rate of
$200
per person or $175 each for three or more. The fee also includes
a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. and a complimentary copy of Naisbitt’s
new book when it becomes available.
For more information, please contact Roxanne Kam,
special assistant to the president, at (808) 396-7130, fax at (808)
396-7111, or
email at rox@jaims.org.
Spring
2004 ICMP Closing Ceremony
On July 21, 2004, the students of the spring 2004 class of ICMP received
their Certificates of Completion during closing ceremonies at JAIMS.
Awards were also conferred to students with special achievements:
President's Business Plan Award
First Place: Junichi Mitani, Akihiko
Ota, and Clarisse Stoerkel Second Place: Hideaki Furuichi, Tae Joon
Lee, Teruhiro Tanaka, and Mayumi Yahata
Third Place: Hiroshi Funakoshi, Pastraporn Rittikosi,
Teruhiko Suga, and Masaki Yoshida
Francis A. Wong Award for Leadership
Clarisse Stoerkel Students' Choice Award
Po Yin Esther Liu
Floyd Takeuchi |
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As closing ceremony speaker, Floyd Takeuchi,
president and chief operating officer of the aio Group, offered
words of inspiration to the departing class. He said that the
greatest lessons come from the people of Hawaii and their ability
to coexist in harmony.
“Despite the multitude of cultures, religions,
and races who call Hawaii home, the ability of its people to
share in the aloha spirit is nothing short of revolutionary,” Takeuchi
said.
“It is my hope that you take these lessons
of aloha out of these islands to pursue your dreams...” he
said, “Please leave Hawaii as a revolutionary and as
a true believer [in the aloha spirit].” |
The class of 19 came from six different countries:
France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Thailand. Twelve
of the graduates
continued
through the
Business Exchange Program where they interned with U.S. companies
for two months.
JAIMS Welcomes New Students
This fall, JAIMS opened its doors to a
new group of JEMBA, CHEMBA, and ICMP students.
Every JEMBA and CHEMBA
class has been noted for its diversity in
culture and experience, and this year is no exception. The current
class of MBA hopefuls consists of 18 JEMBA students and 9 CHEMBA
students. They hail from nine countries: Canada, India, Indonesia,
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.
Classes are in full swing and will continue until
the start of their three-month internships next August.
The fall 2004
ICMP term is also well under way. This term, the ICMP class consists
of 16 students hailing from six countries:
Cambodia,
France, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. Fall
term ICMP students usually look forward to participating in festive
U.S. holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving for the first
time. Their
studies will continue until January 2005 where some will take
advantage
of the Business Exchange Program and intern with U.S. companies
for two months.
Furuichi Blogs
His Heart in San Francisco
This past summer was one to remember for JAIMS
alumnus Hideaki Furuichi. As one of the 12 ICMP spring 2004 students
to participate
in the Business
Exchange Program (BEP), Furuichi worked as an intern at SyMech, Inc.
in San Francisco. What was unique was that he shared his experience
with hundreds of people on the Web.
Over the span of two months,
Furuichi shared his private insecurities, philosophical musings,
and love of
nature in a blog hosted on the JAIMS Web site.
Within a week, Furuichi’s blog received
close to 200 unique visits from readers in the United States, Japan,
the Philippines,
and Canada.
With camera in hand, Furuichi shared stunning photos of his adventures
in Muir Woods, Yosemite National Park, Whistler Mountain, and the
scenery of San Francisco.
However, all was not play. Working at a small
company such as SyMech, Inc. presented great opportunities for
Furuichi to learn about
U.S. business. SyMech, Inc. CEO, Jonathan Cook, was generous
with his
time and often made himself available to Furuichi’s inquisitive
questions. Cook taught Furuichi that everything about a successful
business usually
comes down to good communication.
Furuichi found that his blog was an important
means of communication in itself, allowing him to enjoy his BEP
experience to the fullest.
“The blog helped me to initiate a joyful
communication,” he wrote
in one of his final entries, “I heard from people such
as my friends, my Hawaii host family, staff, an alumnus,
and a future student
of JAIMS.”
Furuichi’s communication was not limited to
others, however; he found that his blog allowed a communication within
himself as
well.
“By writing explicitly what I was happy
about, an unconscious joy became a conscious
one. This enabled me to create a plan to maximize my
joy in the stay.”
Furuichi began his blog on July 23, 2004 and
entered over 50 entries until the end of his internship in September.
He has
returned to Japan continuing his career at Fujitsu, Ltd.
Tokyo
Portion Summer 2004
Contributed by Akio Nakazawa, Manager, Japan Business
Program
August is O-bon time in Japan. Schools are closed, companies give
time-off to their employees, and people return to their hometowns
to pay respect to their ancestors. This is when we launched the
very first JEMBA two-week in-country language training program.
Japanese
language classes were held until the end of July 2004 with the
last two weeks reserved for intensive language training – including
the JEMBA Speech Contest.
The main objective of this period was to prepare our
students to live and work in Tokyo: shopping, riding trains, buying
cellular
phones, opening bank accounts, introducing themselves at the office,
and so forth. The JEMBA Tokyo Portion provided them with real-world
experience before their internships began.
Language lessons were taught by instructors from the
Inter-University Center of Japanese Studies (IUC) at the Union-Biru
(Labor Union
Building of Fujitsu) at Musashi-Nakahara in Kawasaki. Administered
by Stanford
University and with 12 universities as members, it is the most
prestigious language study institution in Japan since the 1960s.
There were three levels of classes with four instructors,
who never spoke a word of English in class or out. Although all of
the students
tried to trick the instructors into speaking English, they had
no success. Using the same textbooks used at IUC, faculty engaged
in
conversation and classroom instruction strictly in Japanese.
During
class breaks, congregating around a smoke-filtering machine, a
student commented, “I didn’t know I could understand
this much Japanese.” Within days, many of the students found
their confidence in Japanese language and culture growing more
and more.
On August 17, 2004, JEMBA students joined in a party
with executives from their internship companies at Fujitsu Headquarters.
By then
it was obvious that all of the JEMBA students were ready to live
and work in Tokyo. The inaugural JEMBA Tokyo Portion was a rousing
success for everyone.
Visiting
Faculty Perspectives: Philippe Byosiere, Ph.D.
A JAIMS cohort is a smorgasbord of diversity:
functional diversity in terms of educational background (from philosophy
to psychology
and physics to engineering),
diversity in terms of professional experience (from financial institutions
to manufacturing companies to NGOs) and definitely cross-cultural
diversity. Every
corner of the world is represented in a JAIMS MBA cohort.
Compared to most traditional
MBA programs which are also very diverse and heterogeneous, when
scanning the names in each JAIMS MBA cohort, one is tricked in
making
stereotypical attributions with regard to individual characteristics such
as national origin,
ethnicity, gender only to find out that the preconceived attributions are
wrong.
In a world without borders
that is the way it should be. The fact of the matter is that it
is the individual, the person, the human being behind the
name and
face what counts and nothing else.
Philippe Byosiere, Ph.D.
Professor, Doshisha Business School
The 2003-2004
CHEMBA Class at BLCU
Contributed by Yen Chun, Manager, China Business
Program
On a pleasant summer night on August
1, 2004, the 2003-2004 CHEMBA class gathered at a lively Chinese
restaurant for the opening ceremony
of the intensive language-training program hosted by the Beijing
Language and Culture University (BLCU). President Qu Delin of BLCU
gave them a warm heartfelt welcome. JAIMS President Glenn Miyataki
and BLCU staff and faculty also joined the ceremony.
This was the first year JAIMS held the intensive language
training at BLCU. CHEMBA students attended business Mandarin classes
in
the mornings and visited companies in the afternoons. They enjoyed
the
tours and sampled beer at Yanjing Beer Group, which ranks 13th
on the world beer market. They asked excellent questions when meeting
with the officials at the Zhong Guan Cun Science Park, a place
where
the government helps returned Chinese citizens start their “incubators” or
start-up companies.
The CHEMBA class at Zhong Guan Cun Science Park |
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As closing ceremony speaker, Floyd Takeuchi,
president and chief operating officer of the aio Group, offered
words of inspiration to the departing class. He said that the
greatest lessons come from the people of Hawaii and their ability
to coexist in harmony.
“Despite the multitude of cultures, religions,
and races who call Hawaii home, the ability of its people to
share in the aloha spirit is nothing short of revolutionary,” Takeuchi
said.
“It is my hope that you take these lessons
of aloha out of these islands to pursue your dreams...” he
said, “Please leave Hawaii as a revolutionary and as
a true believer [in the aloha spirit].”
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They were also at the site of Jianwai SOHO (Small
Office Home Office) and were amazed how SOHO sells all their apartments
before they
were even built. They found the presentation at Fujitsu (China)
Co. Ltd
interesting and educational. Students not only appreciated Fujitsu’s
thorough presentation on marketing strategies for China, but also
were very impressed by President Takeda’s language skills in
Chinese, Japanese, and English. Some students observed the “Language
Bridge,” an international speech competition in Mandarin held
at the Peking University. They were inspired by the “foreigners” who
spoke like native Chinese.
The BLCU environment was a perfect place to learn
language. The campus was both quiet and beautiful. It was filled
with lotus flowers
of
many colors in full bloom. The campus had an extensive sports facility
and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. We saw students from different
parts of the world including 90 students from Columbia University.
There were many cafeterias and dining rooms with different ethnic
foods including Xinjiang, Korean, etc. The food was inexpensive
and delicious.
CHEMBA students studied hard and played hard. They
went to the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, Tian An Men, and even
went strolling
through
the beautiful little Hutongs (alleys) where Beijing residents used
to live. They enjoyed sampling Chinese minority foods at restaurants,
checking out the massage places and meeting Chinese people as well
as foreigners at bars.
Thanks to BLCU’s arrangement, students felt the two weeks in
Beijing was time well spent. They commented that being immersed in
China – in both the language and culture – they could
actually put into practice what had been theoretically learned in
Hawaii. They all felt they benefited from this experience in getting
adjusted to the China environment and preparing them for the internship
before it started.
The
JAIMS Alumni Database
The JAIMS Alumni Database enables friends
and classmates to connect with each other, rebuild friendships, and
establish personal or professional
networks.
Although the Database is available to JAIMS
staff and alumni worldwide, the privacy of our alumni is very important
to JAIMS. Only registered
and authorized users will have access to JAIMS alumni records.
Alumni have access to their own records and
may edit and update their profile at anytime. In addition, alumni
may search for their
classmates’ and
friends’ contact information using a simple form. E-mail addresses
are available unless indicated otherwise by alumni who have chosen
to opt out. Those who wish to opt out must register and uncheck the "show
e-mail" option in their personal and/or business profile.
The JAIMS Online Alumni Database can be accessed
via the JAIMS homepage or at http://www.jaims.org/alumnidb. Please
e-mail info@jaims.org
for
more information.
BEP
Companies
JAIMS would like to thank the following organizations for hosting
our spring 2004 ICMP students in the Business Exchange Program
(BEP):
889 Global Solutions Ltd.
Genesis Hotel Development LLC
International Business Incubator (IBI)
The Japan America Society of Chicago
JapanWorks Co., LLC
Knickerbocker Village NY, Inc.
The League of American Theatres and Producers,
Inc.
Mandarin Oriental, Miami
Occidental Underwriters of Hawaii
SyMech, Inc.
Tenri Cultural Institute of New York
Transitive Corporation
Here are just some of the comments JAIMS has
received from BEP companies.
“I think it is a wonderful program, and
IBI looks forward to continuing its close relationship with JAIMS
and the BEP program. We have tremendous
respect for the quality of students and
feel honored to have the opportunity to work with them and provide
them opportunities to gain
practical experience working in the U.S.
and expand upon and grow their already significant skills and capabilities.” –International
Business Incubator, Omar Mencin, Business
Development Manager
“I think this program is excellent. The
hands-on experience is very crucial for crossing the bicultural
barriers.” –Occidental
Underwriters of Hawaii, Mark Goto, Brokerage Manager
“We have thoroughly enjoyed participating
in the BEP program, and have gained a vast amount of knowledge
from the varying interns that
we receive each year.”
“We
applaud JAIMS for continuing such
good work and continually look forward
to future endeavors and relationships.” –Japan
America Society of Chicago, Erika
Kono, Director
JAIMS Bond
in Singapore
On the evening of September 1, 2004, six members of Singapore's
JAIMS Bond Club met at the Marche restaurant, located in Suntac City,
Singapore,
with JAIMS instructor, Dr. Sandy Friedman.
Friedman
met with Ai Yi Lim (JEMBA-12), an associate with HVS International
(specialists in hotel consulting and appraisals
worldwide); Rona Puntawe (ICMP-03F), a senior executive in
the human resources department for the NTUC Income Insurance
Cooperative;
Lina Tan (ICMP-03F), regional marketing manager and director
of Pericom Imaging (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.; John Koh (JEMBA-10)
who owns Newday Consulting; Lung-Nien Lee (JMP-15), the head
of corporate sales & structuring for the ASEAN region and
director of Citigroup; and Alfred Chow (CHEMBA-5), assistant
manager of the transaction services department for PricewaterhouseCoopers. |
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Left to right: Alfred Chow, Ai Yi Lim, Sandy Friedman, Rona Puntawe, and John Koh
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“A most enjoyable evening was had by all in sharing stories
of good times in Hawai‘i – particularly at JAIMS – and
in sharing stories of successes,” said Friedman, “The
JAIMS Bond continues to grow.” Friedman was in Singapore, where he had lived and worked several
years ago, to attend his daughter's operatic performance in The
Merry Widow. While in Singapore, Friedman also visited with several
educational
organizations in order to learn first-hand how Singapore is reaching
out to Asia in order to make Singapore an educational destination
area.
Aloha
We bid a fond aloha to a dear member of our
JAIMS family, Heath Barlow (JEMBA-14). Heath was an exceptional
student and was, in fact, the very first recipient of the Norman
Weissman scholarship. However, he was far more than that. Heath
took on many roles to those who knew him and could not be bound
by any single definition. We, the staff and faculty at JAIMS, can
only leave you with the words his classmates chose to describe
Heath:
Heath Aaron Barlow
April 21, 1975 – August 28, 2004
Optimistic • Inspirational • Loquacious • Addicting • Festive • Next • Bacchanalian • Motivating • Open • Friendly • Charismatic • Metrosexual • Big
Brother • Wily • People-loving • Curious • Excited • Sunny • Moxie
We are forever grateful for having
known him.
Heath passed away in his sleep while in Tokyo
on August 28, 2004.
He had been in Japan for the internship portion of the JEMBA
program and had just completed his first week at his host company,
Sunny
Side Up, Inc. JAIMS and the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
College of Business will award Heath a posthumous degree and certificate
at his class’ graduation ceremonies in Tokyo this November.
Heath’s family has set up a Web site to share in his memory
(http://www.HeathBarlow.com).
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