Japanese Businesses Donate to Schools

South Bay educators received more than $110,000 in cash and donated equipment last week from the local chapter of the Japan Business Assn., a nonprofit alliance of Japanese companies operating in the Southland.

Officials representing 46 area schools and educational organizations accepted the donations in a ceremony in Torrance that drew leaders from several major Japanese businesses.

Among the items given were computers, compact disc and laser disc players, supplies and $55,000 cash, said Rica Hirota, deputy director of the association.

Many of the group’s members send their children to public and private schools in the South Bay, Hirota said. “This is our way of showing appreciation to the schools for providing a high-quality education for our kids,” she said.