A50 PROJECT REPORT / A50 Committee Mail


Report from the Fundraising Committee

I have always believed that the U.S.-Japan relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. For global economic prosperity in the 21st century, both the U.S. and Japan should deepen our mutual understanding and strengthen our ties more than ever before.
    What is vital to maintaining such a close relationship is to have as many open channels of contacts as possible. It is important to have opportunities to get together with colleagues who trust each other to talk freely face to face and exchange frank opinions.
    Therefore, when I heard of the A50 project, which was designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and to promote grassroots communication on the importance of the U.S-Japan relationship while expressing our sincere appreciation to the people of the U.S. for their friendship and support after World War II, I immediately promised my full participation to this very meaningful project.
    For executing this project, a budget of 500 million yen was prepared. In light of the recent economic stagnation in Japan, it was assumed to be quite a challenging scheme for a voluntary group with no past experience. At the same time, because of the purpose of the project itself, we were obliged to ensure its success. Frankly speaking, although I was not unwilling to be chairman of the Fundraising Committee, when I seriously consider the responsibility it demanded, I cannot say I was perfectly optimistic at the start of the project.
    It was very fortunate for us that we could raise funds in the sum of 454,394,000 yen by the end of October 2001, owing to the cooperation and support from many corporations, organizations, and individuals. As a result, virtually all of our A50 programs that we planned at the beginning were successfully carried out. I am very happy to report you today the success of this project as a whole, and would like to express my sincere appreciation to everybody who helped us.
    On the occasion of sharing the fundraising report of the A50 project, I would like to reconfirm how important the U.S.-Japan relationship is, and assert that we must dedicate ourselves to promoting world peace and prosperity together hand in hand. Thank you very much.
          
 Shoichiro Toyoda
Chairman
Fund-Raising Committee


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