Hiroyuki Saito

Don't expect Hiroyuki Saito of Mitsui & Co. to say yes when he means no, a perceived characteristic of Japanese communication. When he was tapped to initiate corporate citizenship in the Japanese business community in Los Angeles in 1986, he said yes--and meant yes. "I want to act. I do not want to listen, promise and do nothing. When someone asks me a question, I respond.

Don't expect Hiroyuki Saito of Mitsui & Co. to say yes when he means no, a perceived characteristic of Japanese communication. When he was tapped to initiate corporate citizenship in the Japanese business community in Los Angeles in 1986, he said yes--and meant yes. "I want to act. I do not want to listen, promise and do nothing. When someone asks me a question, I respond.

The United States will play Austria in a first-round Fed Cup tennis match April 22-23 at Aventura, Fla. The tournament, the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup, is going by a new name and streamlined format. The international women's team championship was formerly known as the Federation Cup. The name was shortened for marketing purposes. The new format consists of a World Group of eight nations competing at home and away, the final to be held in November.

The big Orange County developer Birtcher said Monday that the giant Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co. had agreed to acquire half of its real estate and construction business for more than $100 million. The deal combines one of the nation's largest developers with the world's largest trading company. The investment is thought to be the largest yet by a Japanese firm in an American real estate developer.

After last year's incredible Imagination Ball staged by Alyce Williamson and her Art Center 100 support group for the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, the message was out. Be creative. Could a party as super be repeated? Even the 100 were dubious.

Former New York Yankees remembered teammate Allie Reynolds on Tuesday as a top-notch pitcher and an extremely tough competitor. Reynolds, a star right-hander for the Yankees--as both starter and reliever--on six World Series championship teams from 1947-54, died Tuesday of cancer in Oklahoma City. He was 77. "He was a dominating pitcher," said Bobby Brown, the former American League president who played third base behind Reynolds for the Yankees.

A few minutes after 5 p.m. one recent Wednesday as the sun set on Century City, a trickle of visitors began arriving at the Westside offices of Fujisankei Communications International. An hour later, the Japanese company's suite of offices was packed with about 100 men and women who munched on sushi and peanuts between sips of wine and soda. Steven Clemons interrupted the chatter of Japanese and English to introduce the evening's host, Fujisankei Executive Vice President Masaru Kakutani.

Light, escapist, fun. That sort of experience seems to suit the summer and that's exactly what David Farmer had in mind for UC Santa Barbara's main exhibit of the sizzling season. Travel is the topic at UCSB's University Art Museum, where Tuesday through Aug. 6 photographs, prints and drawings from the 16th to the early 20th Century take visitors to Italy, Japan, Egypt and other lands near and far. Two categories compose "An Eye on the World: Works by Traveling Photographers and Artists," said museum director Farmer, who organized the show.

Birtcher, the big Orange County-based real estate developer, said Monday that a giant Japanese conglomerate, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., has agreed to acquire half its development and construction business for more than $100 million. The deal creates a partnership between one of the nation's largest real estate developers and the world's largest trading company. The investment is thought to be the largest yet by a Japanese firm and an American real estate concern.

John Campbell was looking for the cash to pay for expanding his chain of eight Orange County car dealerships. Lex Service PLC, the largest auto dealer in the United Kingdom, with about 70 dealerships, was looking to America to expand. Campbell contacted Lex and, within 6 months, they sealed a deal that gave Lex half of Campbell Automotive for $13.5 million. "Our corporate philosophies, or corporate cultures, and our marketing were almost identical," Campbell said.