INTERNATIONAL TRADE : Irvine Popular With Japanese Business People, Survey Finds

Irvine, which is home to two major Japanese manufacturers, ranks among the three most popular areas for Japanese business people to live in the Southland, according to a survey by the Japan Business Assn. of Southern California.

The survey, conducted in January, calculates the number of Japanese-nationalbusiness people’s children enrolled in Southern California schools.

Two other areas popular with Japanese business people are the city of Arcadia and the South Bay area.

In a similar survey in 1975, the association said, Los Angeles and Gardena were the favored locales for Japanese nationals.

“Japanese families tend to live in districts with good schools and in areas where elementary and high school education are simultaneously provided,” said Mayumi Sakai, executive director of the association, a nonprofit group representing 642 Japan-based companies doing business in Southern California.

Sakai noted that a number of Japanese companies have located offices and manufacturing plants in Orange County during the past decade. Toshiba Corp. and Ricoh Co. Ltd. have major manufacturing plants in Irvine, and several other Japanese firms have smaller operations in Irvine and surrounding cities.

The most popular schools for children of Japanese business people in Irvine are Culverdale Elementary School, College Park Elementary and Vista Verde Elementary, the association said.