April 4, 2000 For Immediate Release

Mitsui Home Company Limited, the first multinational corporation to contribute to the University of Northern British Columbia, has increased its financial contribution and will be officially recognized Wednesday afternoon on campus.

At 4:30pm on Wednesday (April 5), UNBC President Charles Jago will present Mitsui representatives with a certificate recognizing their most recent gift of $20,000. The latest contribution brings Mitsui's total donation to over $80,000. Since 1994, the company has made annual contributions to UNBC. The Mitsui Home Co Ltd Scholarship is awarded annually to students in International Business who are interested in trade between northern BC and Japan. With the added contribution, about $4,000 will be awarded annually from the endowment.

Mitsui profiled its relationship with UNBC in a full-page advertisement that was printed two years ago in every major newspaper in Japan.

Mitsui Home Co Ltd is Japan's largest builder of 2x4 homes. Much of the lumber Mitsui purchases to build homes in Japan comes from northern BC. In fact, about 40% of Dunkley Lumber's business is with Mitsui Canada.

The Mitsui officials who will be at UNBC on Friday include:

Michihiko Takada, Executive Vice-President (Mitsui Home Canada)
Ron Neil, Senior Vice-President (Mitsui Home Canada)
Yas Takeshima, General Manager (Mitsui Home Canada)