FORT WAYNE — Two staff members from Trine University’s Office of International Services
and three exchange students from Japan attended the Japan-Northeast Indiana Summit
held Feb. 16 at the Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne.
David Colbert, executive director of international services, and Mari McHenry, director
of international community services, traveled to the event with students Yukina Suemura,
Rika Kobayashi and Azusa Sakuma.
The event was hosted by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership; the Consulate-General
of Japan in Chicago; the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and JTL America.
The Regional Partnership says more than 280 Japanese-owned businesses currently operate
in Indiana, and the state has the highest Japanese investment per capita in the United
States. Japanese companies have 24 locations in 10 counties throughout northeast Indiana,
employing 32,000.
Top photo: From left, Rika Kobayashi; Theresa Kulczak, executive director of Japan-America Society
of Indiana, Inc.; Ralph Inforzato, executive director of the Japan External Trade
Organization (JETRO); Yukina Suemura; Yoshi Ogawa, Japanese service coordinator of
Japan-America Society of Indiana, Inc.; Azusa Sakuma and Mari McHenry.