For Immediate Release
TOKYO, APRIL 27, 2006 Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), is pleased to announce that Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (Merrill Lynch, http://www.japan.ml.com) will be its financial advisor on the new Temple Educational Center project. The center, Japan’s first true international educational complex, is slated to open at the end of 2009 in central Tokyo.

Temple Educational Center will house a variety of education-related organizations and facilities. Besides being home to TUJ’s wide-ranging undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs, the new complex will house an international preschool and high school, vocational programs, research institutes, study-abroad agencies, and academic publishers. The complex will also serve as an educational community center for local citizens and foreign residents.

TUJ selected Merrill Lynch because of the firm’s significant expertise in real-estate finance, comprehensive financial advice and services, and long history in Japan. The company also brings great understanding and commitment to realizing this groundbreaking venture.

Merrill Lynch will be assisting TUJ on several aspects of the project, including analyzing financial assumptions and projections, advising the university about optimal financing schemes and development structure, and preparing related documents and applications. In addition, the firm will help arrange professional, legal, accounting, and tax advice and provide input on various aspects of project implementation.

"We are proud to be named advisor to the Temple Educational Center project and are committed to developing innovative strategies that maximize opportunities for the university," said Akihiko Mizuno, Merrill Lynch's team leader on the Temple transaction. "As this nation's property and financial markets continue to converge, we seek to grow our real estate presence by helping our clients evaluate property and enhance their financing opportunities."

“Tokyo deserves a center for international education to enhance its status as one of the world’s great cities,” TUJ Dean Kirk Patterson said. “It needs a place in which people of all ages and backgrounds can be part of a learning community that fosters critical thinking skills, lifelong learning, and intercultural communication. The Temple Educational Center is destined to help meet these needs, and we are delighted to have Merrill Lynch as our financial guide on the project.”

For inquiries on this press release, please contact the TUJ Communications Department by phone (03-5441-9801) or email (pr@tuj.ac.jp)