Osaka Pref. outlines Japan's first extensive CO2 reduction program
The Osaka prefectural government released an "eco-action plan" March 25, aiming to further boost environmental-protection efforts at all administrative sections. It is the first of its kind to include numerical targets for reducing the amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated at government buildings.The program envisions monitoring consumption of electricity, gas and water in government buildings, along with the amount of waste produced. These will be translated into figures showing how much CO2 has been generated by production processes and disposal. The plan aims to reduce the amount of waste by 30% and consumption figures by 10% by the year 2001, to cut CO2 emissions to 1,267 tons a year from the current level of 1,459 tons.
Shutting down unnecessary lighting, turning off office electrical equipment when not in use and adoption of water-saving devices are among the consumption-related items in the plan. Together with waste-reduction efforts and encouraging paperless office operations, the government expects these measures to help it reach its goal.
Additional measures include using only 100% recycled paper in copiers.
Furthermore, from fiscal 1997, 50% of the office supplies the prefecture procures will bear eco-friendly marks. The governor will chair an environmental policy promotion committee of bureau chiefs to promote the program and review compliance. In each administrative section, one individual will be responsible for carrying out the program.
Forty percent of Kobe firms recovered from quake: KCCI survey
The Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has completed a survey among its members of the Great Hanshin Earthquake's effects on corporate management and Kobe's economy. The survey shows that sales and production levels have already recovered to pre-quake levels at 40% of the companies, the largest share of respondents. However, 22% of respondents reported that full recovery will take another three years or more.Asked if they still feel the effects of the earthquake, 53% responded in the affirmative with 43% of respondents claiming the current image of a disaster-struck city affects corporate fortunes. To get rid of this negative image, many advocated such measures as the transfer of residents in temporary housing to permanent homes.
In response to a question on reconstruction-related demand, 75% said they did not expect much more in future. Meanwhile, 34% of the companies reported a need for further capital investment to recover from the earthquake. As for the time required for Kobe's economy to return to normal, close to 40% said it would take five to six years.
The survey was conducted from January to February. Responses were obtained from 729 companies. KCCI has also put out a booklet tracing the post-quake recovery of 38 small and medium-size local businesses. The booklet, published in February, is on sale at KCCI.
ATR, AT&T to market speech synthesizer
ATR Interpreting Tele-communications Research Laboratories (ATR- ITL) in Kansai Science City and AT&T Corp. announced March 25 they signed a licensing agreement to sell CHATR speech synthetic software developed last year by ATR-ITL for use by the U.S. firm's telecom service provider and in the commercial desktop offering, known as the Watson family of speech processing applications. The software has drawn many inquiries from overseas as well as from Japan for commercialization. The speech can be synthesized not only in Japanese but also in other languages. Using the software, a computer processes the original speech data and produces a database of information about characteristics of the original speech. From the database, the phonetic elements closest to a given sentence are selected and the software quickly synthesizes the segments of sound waves into new speech.Compared with existing speech-synthesis technologies, speech created by CHATR is much closer to the human voice. Applications of the technology will include answering services of phone networks - for which introduction of the speech synthesis was previously considered difficult - as well as car-navigation systems.
Heijo-kyo's 1,300th anniversary planned
Heijo-kyo in present-day Nara Prefecture became the Imperial capital of Japan in 710. With the year 2010 bringing the 1,300th an-niversary of the capital's transfer to Heijo-kyo, a committee was formed on March 14 to discuss celebration preparations such as the recreation of Heijo-kyo remains and commemorative events.The 38 committee members, all having some connection to Nara, were drawn from business, cultural and academic circles. The committee's first meeting was held on the same day.
At the meeting, Nara Governor Yoshiya Kakimoto, elected committee chairman, declared the creation by 2010 of a historical and cultural international exchange zone around the Heijo-kyo site to be an ideal project for a new era, and one having great historical significance.
In order to realize this goal, it was agreed that reconstruction of the Taikyokuden (Imperial Court House) and other structures at the Heijo-kyo site must move forward, and that other infrastructure will have to be put in place. The committee members then exchanged views on what sort of commemorative events would be appropriate for the 1,300th anniversary. The committee will meet at least three more times, and serve as the dominant force in establishing a national organization and building public support for the 1,300th anniversary celebrations.
MEI sets up unit for European operations
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (MEI) has established a holding company to oversee operations in Europe. Matsushita Electric Europe (Headquarters) Ltd. will act as the umbrella organization for a total of 16 European-based entities, including sales companies and financial institutions.The holding company will work to give greater impetus to pan-European marketing activities and strengthen group business capabilities by providing fast and targeted responses to a borderless European Union, mega-competition and other drastic movements, and by perfecting regional strategy functions.
The company will begin official operations on April 1, taking over the overseeing functions that have hitherto been performed by another European unit.
The firm is based in London and has been capitalized at 153 million British pounds, provided entirely by MEI.
More travel bureaus to open outlets at OCAT
Three more foreign travel authorities will offer services at the Osaka City Air Terminal operated by Minatomachi Development Center Co. The Chinese state bureau of tourism will start operation from April, followed by Australia's tourist bureau in May and the Tahitian tourist bureau in June.The opening of the new bureaus will bring the total number of tourism information outlets operated by foreign countries and regions to 14, strengthening OCAT's travel information service.
At the same time, from April 1, Northwest Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will start passenger check-in services at OCAT. This means check-in service for passengers of 11 airlines are available at OCAT, accounting for about 70% of international flights departing from Kansai International Airport. Within this month, Cathay Pacific Airways, Continental Micronesia and Alitalia Airlines are also expected to begin providing the service.
Furthermore, the parking lot will offer discounts to overseas travelers on long-term usage, adding more convenience to OCAT, which celebrated its first anniversary on March 23.
Kansai in Focus: Edo Period comes alive in Hikone
Whitewashed plaster walls and black Japanese roof tiles. Sliding front doors with wooden latticing, and latticed windows facing the street. The houses of the Honmachi district in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, are recreations of traditional Japanese machiya of the Edo period (1600 - 1868).About 50 machiya, the wooden row houses of ordinary townspeople, line the main street of this area near Hikone Castle, a National Treasure. This street is not simply a tourist attraction: it is the result of efforts by local residents to preserve the historic flavor of their neighborhood. Faced with pressure from the local government to rebuild their homes so that the street could be widened, the residents responded with a counterproposal: designating the street a historic quarter with careful guidelines regulating such aspects of appearance as the housing exteriors, building materials and colors. An ordinance was passed to this end, and the city pitched in by building the Hall of Light, a Japanese candle museum which will serve as the focal point of the district. The Hall of Light is slated to open on April 11.
The Hommachi street has been renamed Yume-Kyobashi Castle Road. Only 350 meters in length, it nevertheless stretches much further in its significance, as the pioneering project in an important aspect of Hikone's urban planning policy. The recreation of Edo period houses here is intimately connected to the location of Hikone Castle nearby. The first lord of Hikone Castle was Naomasa Ii, one of the four most important figures in the Tokugawa administration which ushered in the Edo period. The Ii family retained control of Hikone thereafter, and participated in the Tokugawa government as feudal lords in heredity vassalage to the Tokugawas. Naomasa's descendant, Naosuke Ii, is known to all who studied Japanese history for his leading role in negotiating with the Americans after the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, and his subsequent assassination in 1860 at the hands of a faction advocating expulsion of the foreigners. The castle town of Hikone thus grew throughout the long reign of the Tokugawa, and the idea of reflecting its Edo period history in the city's appearance today makes perfect sense.
What do candles have to do with all this? By the late Edo period, candles were being used not only by the aristocracy, but by ordinary townspeople as well. Today, traditional Japanese candles are used primarily for Buddhist ceremonies only, but perhaps due to the large number of temples in Hikone, which is said to have a temple in every district of every village, one of the few craftsmen still making Japanese candles by hand is to be found here.
The Hall of Light will feature demonstrations in candle-making by this artisan, Goro Furukawa, as well as candlecraft workshops and a variety of displays: on candles illuminating the homes of townspeoples and festivals in the Edo period, on the history of candles, and on light, culture and sightseeing in Hikone.
Walking down Castle Road, one sees signs with the following message: "This neighborhood is being reborn. OLD NEW TOWN: Kyobashi Road. A new look for the district based on the beauty of old. We are rebuilding this district on the basis of a new principle, keeping a flexible spirit and aiming to create a neighborhood where we all can see each other's faces. (Hommachi Preservation and Rebuilding Committee)" Throughout Kansai, a region rich in historical sites, similar initiatives to that in Hikone are underway. The spirit of the above message no doubt resonates with all of the people active in such endeavors.