Japanese Firms Give $105,000 to Schools : Education: Association donates equipment and money to three South Bay districts in thanks for educating foreign executives’ children.

Even as some of their counterparts in Japan attack American workers as illiterate, Japanese business people living in the South Bay are giving more than $105,000 in cash and equipment to local schools to thank them for educating their children.

In a Torrance ceremony Tuesday night, the South Bay branch of the Japan Business Assn. distributed checks and gifts to 43 schools in three school districts where the children of Japanese nationals are enrolled.

“We bring in children without much knowledge of the American educational system and we bring lots of problems to the area’s educators, but they give us constant, good support,” said Setsujiro Onami, president of Pioneer Electronics in Torrance. “This is our way of showing appreciation for all that they are doing.”

Tuesday’s ceremony marked the association’s seventh annual charitable drive for schools, officials said. They said the timing of the ceremony had nothing to do with the growing controversy over remarks made by Japanese political officials, including a comment last month by Japanese House Speaker Yoshio Sakarauchi that 30% of all American workers are illiterate.

“That number is wrong and we know it. He shouldn’t have said that,” said Kaz Kishita, executive vice president of Three Bond of America. “I studied here, I had my education here, and I know that the students do learn.”

“I have 500 American workers in my company . . . here and in Texas and Chicago and New York, and they are all well-educated and hard workers,” Onami said.

Comments by Japanese officials “may involve a misunderstanding or misinterpretation . . . but we want to make it clear we have no criticism of the American education system,” Onami said.

Japan has no tradition of philanthropy, and the practice of donating to worthy causes is relatively new to Japanese businesses in the United States. The new wave of giving, fueled by such things as worries about American hostility over trade imbalance, has benefited arts organizations, community organizations, schools and other groups.

The South Bay branch of the association started its school donation program partly in response to criticism that the Japanese community was too insular, and because Japanese nationals working temporarily in the United States wanted to express their thanks for allowing their children to enroll in local school districts. Member businesses have parent companies in Japan.

The downtown and Orange County branches of the group have also donated to local schools. In 1991, for instance, the downtown branch contributed about $50,000 and the Orange County organization gave about $63,000.

Despite the current recession, officials of the South Bay group said, the group had no trouble quickly exceeding its $100,000 fund-raising goal.

“According to our real experiences here, seeing this, we know the stereotypical comments (from Japan) are wrong,” said Jun Toyoda, staff director of business planning for Nissan Motor Corp.

The annual drive began in the mid-1980s after the 700 members of the Japan Business Assn. noticed a growing number of donations being made by member companies to local schools, Toyoda said. Among the companies are major corporations such as Honda, Sony and Seiko Instruments USA.

When companies with surplus equipment began having trouble finding schools specifically in need of certain items, the association created a committee to act as a clearinghouse for such donations.

“The schools started giving us . . . wish lists, and we started trying to meet their needs as best we could,” Toyoda said. “This time we have 150 dozen ballpoint pens, as well as televisions and computers and even a karaoke (instrumental sing-along) machine.”

The 43 schools entered an association lottery for more popular pieces of equipment, such as televisions and computers. Cash donations are meted out according to how many children of group members are enrolled at each school.

This year, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School topped the list with 110 students. The association gave the campus two laser disc players, five micro-cassette tape players, a 25-inch color television and $7,000 cash.

Next in line was Palos Verdes Intermediate School, with 65 students. It received a computer, a 20-inch color television, a videocassette recorder and $2,300.

“It’s an outstanding organization,” said Supt. Michael Caston of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. “They really have bent over backwards to try to help us and to thank us. They appreciate us, and we certainly appreciate them.”