Minato-ku, Tokyo, July 30, 2003 - On July 25th Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri welcomed 10,000 medaka (killifish) to a new home in Roppongi Hill's Mohri Pond, located in a traditional 17th century Japanese garden in central Tokyo. The 10,000 medaka fish are direct descendants of killifish that orbited the earth onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1994. Mohri represented fellow astronaut Dr. Chiaki Mukai who originally took the Japanese killifish into space for a life science research project. The release of these descendants into the Mouri Pond is symbolic of Roppongi Hills' unique blend of Japanese cultural traditions with 21st century urban lifestyles. More than 1,000 school children participated in the ceremony welcoming the killifish to their new home.

"With Roppongi Hills welcoming visitors from around the world, it is very appropriate that we also have created a home for fish that traveled around the world," said Minoru Mori, President and CEO of Mori Building Company, the urban lifestyle developer that created Roppongi Hills. "This pond has been a relaxing refuge for more than 400 years, and now it is in the center of one of the most exciting urban complexes ever built. These fish will help us remember that even in the middle of Tokyo we can have intimate contact with nature and animals. I hope they will inspire the curiosity of children who come to Roppongi Hills to see these fish."

In 1994, Dr. Mukai was selected by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) to be one of three Japanese payload specialists for the First Material Processing Test which was conducted on the space shuttle. In addition to being an astronaut, Dr. Mukai earned a doctorate in medicine and a doctorate in physiology from Keio University School of Medicine. She was the leader of the killifish experiment on the shuttle.

Killifish are a diverse group of about 1200 species, which are represented on every continent. The largest are 18", the smallest the ½". The name killifish is derived from the Dutch word for temporary pool and is related to how they can live in temporary bodies of water. Approximately 1,000 Japanese families served as "foster parents" to raise these 10,000 medaka killifish. They are so popular in Japan that more than 15,000 people applied for the privilege of raising these fish.

The Mohri Pond was originally part of a Japanese garden on the feudal estate of a 17th century Samurai knight. Today, the pond and garden are open to the public and are a part of the recently opened Roppongi Hills complex. More than ten million people have visited Roppongi Hills since it opened on April 25, 2003. The Mohri garden is one of several examples of the blending of traditional and modern Japanese cultures at Roppongi Hills. The 28.7-acre site also includes a traditional Buddhist temple and a spectacularly ultra-modern Shinto shrine. One of its more unique features is a demonstration Japanese rice paddy that has been incorporated in a seasonal rooftop garden that simultaneously serves as a "Green Mass Damper" helping to protect a shopping mall and cinema complex from earthquake damage.

Roppongi Hills is Japan's largest redevelopment project. It is virtually a "city within a city" that dramatically integrates offices, apartments, shopping, theaters, museums, learning centers, hotel and meeting facilities and the media in a park-like setting. Roppongi Hills has become Tokyo's most compelling destinations, not only for Japanese residents, but also for international tourists, celebrities and global businesses.