Exporting trove of American Characters. (People).

WITH the help of Yoshi Maruyama, Big Bird, Shrek and Spider-man are headed for Japan.

As Universal Parks & Resorts' new senior vice president of international business planning and development, Maruyama will play a large role in the planning and development of the company's overseas theme parks, hotel and resort operations.

In marking the promotion from vice president, Maruyama said that his role has been expanded to identify new business opportunities.

Among the projects he will be responsible for are an $870 million theme park in Shanghai, to be developed with that city and two Chinese government-owned investment groups; Universal Studios Japan, which will see attractions based on "Sesame Street" and "Shrek" characters; and Universal Mediterranea, which consists of separate theme and water parks in Barcelona, Spain.

With that business plan in place, Maruyama, 32, said he is not shy about opening new ventures in a post-Sept. 11 economy.

"We're always looking at it in a long-term basis," he said. 'And the way we approach business development is a low cash contribution from Universal with significant investments from strategic partners."

The attractions were funded largely through outside investors, with Universal Parks & Resorts securing equity stakes and management fees.

Maruyama has played a role in theme park planning since joining the company in late 1995 as an associate director of business planning.

Before joining Universal he served as an analyst, associate investment banker and financial advisor at J.P. Morgan Co. Inc. from 1992 through 1995. It was his work as a financial advisor on Universal Studios Japan that led to his hiring by Universal.

Maruyama earned a bachelors of science degree in operations research from Columbia University in 1992. He is single and lives in Los Angeles.