JOHNSON WELCOMES POTENTIAL HONDA INVESTMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2006

Columbus, OH -- Lt. Governor Bruce E. Johnson, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development, offered the following reaction to Japanese newspaper reports that Honda is considering building a new auto manufacturing plant in the United States.

"Honda and the state of Ohio have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship for more than 25 years. With the recent fundamental changes to Ohio's tax structure, we are now better positioned to complete effectively for large-scale, economy-shifting projects like this. I am confident that Ohio would be the best location for any new plant that Honda might consider locating in the United States. If selected, we stand ready to work with Honda to provide such state functions as support for infrastructure and highways."

Honda employs more than 16,000 Ohioans, with total wages exceeding $1.1 billion annually. In the more than 25 years that Honda has been in Ohio, the cumulative value of goods produced at Honda has now surpassed $200 billion.