OMAHA, Neb.-Through a cooperative partnership with Omaha's Sister City of Shizuoka, Japan, the Omaha Botanical Gardens will be the site of a six acre Japanese Garden.

The design of the garden was a gift to the people of Omaha from Yuichi Kawai who has been involved with the Sister City relationship between Omaha and Shizuoka for many years. Shinichiro Abe is the Landscape Architect for the project. His firm ZEN Associates, Inc. of Sudbury, Mass. specializes in the design of Japanese Gardens. Fund raising efforts are underway to raise the necessary $4 million to build the garden.