
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 8, 1993                   TAG: 9307080175
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LEESBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

VA. INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY STALLS JAPANESE SCANDAL, ECONOMY TOUCH PROJECT

Plans to build an international university where more than 2,000 Japanese and American students would study together have been stalled by the loss of key Japanese investors, organizers said.

The $500 million Washington International University project was billed as one of the most ambitious Japanese investments in American education. But it has run aground because of economic and political upheaval in Japan.

"Because of the economy here and there, we can't proceed as originally planned," said Katsuyuki Imamura, the Washington-based executive director of the project.

Japan and the United States both have suffered a lengthy economic slowdown. One of the university project's major supporters, a wealthy real estate magnate, went bust in 1991. His future role in the university project is uncertain.

Another key backer, an influential politician with Japan's ruling party, was touched by a widening political scandal tied to improper stock transactions. He has backed away from the project.

The project unveiled in 1989 would feature a 545-acre campus along Virginia 7. The university would bring Loudoun County $4 million annually in tax revenue, according to county projections.

Terry Holzheimer, Loudoun's director of economic development, said he is disappointed with delays in the project but holds out hope.

"I'm not sure if it's dead," he said. "It still has a chance."

The plans for Washington International University grew out of a popular practice in the late 1980s in which Japanese and U.S. universities would form ties to ease the exchange of students.

But the university was the first such initiative to involve building a university from scratch.

The campus was to have opened this fall with four academic buildings and several residences. There also are plans for a town center with shops and restaurants, faculty housing and an 18-hole golf course.

The university would initially accept equal numbers of Japanese and American students, who would study each other's language and culture along with traditional academic subjects. Eventually students from other countries would be admitted.

Although hotel and resort magnate Harunori Takahashi's company is in receivership, the financier was able to win approval from creditors to buy the university site last year.

The purchase signaled to local officials that the project was still viable. But the creditors have since thrown up a major roadblock by refusing to release any further funds for construction.

Imamura, whose staff of 12 has dwindled to three, said if a university cannot be built on the site, he may lease classroom and dormitory space elsewhere.

"If you look at other universities, they took 10 or 15 years" to get off the ground, he said. The project is seeking new investors, he said. "You have ups and downs."

by CNB