COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio's capital city is among 38 across the country receiving gifts of cherry trees from Japan to celebrate Tokyo's shipping of thousands of the trees to Washington 100 years ago.

The 21 trees will be planted April 27 at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus. They are meant to signify economic ties between Ohio and Japan.

The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/IrdsGa ) Ohio was home to 517 Japanese-owned businesses as of August. The head of a central Ohio economic development group says they employ about 51,000 employees.

The initial cherry trees in Washington were accepted in 1912 by President William Howard Taft and first lady Helen Taft, both from Ohio, as a symbol of friendship.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com