World's first low pollution technology for diesel engines
In a joint effort with the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), University of Tokyo and Comotec Corporation, Iwatani International Corporation has developed the world's first technology for reducing pollutants in exhaust emissions by using LPG in diesel vehicles.Compared with gasoline engines, diesel engines have a higher thermal efficiency and therefore emit less carbon dioxide and are more economical. On the other hand, they have the disadvantage of containing more particulate matters (PM) and nitrogen oxides (Nox), which cause air pollution, in their exhaust emissions.
Until now, it has been impossible to use LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for diesel engines because of its lower auto ignition temperature compared with diesel fuel. The research team has successfully improved the ignition properties of LPG by adding agents to improve its cetane number, making it possible to use LPG for diesel engines. The new technology has made it possible to take advantage of the strengths of diesel engines while sharply reducing emission of PM and Nox.
Olympic poster art exhibition
An Olympic poster art exhibition, which will display the 100-year history of Olympic posters all at one place, will be held at the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art from August 19 (Saturday) through September 24 (Sunday).The exhibition is to be sponsored by the Executive Committee, comprised of the Japanese Olympic Committee, the Osaka 2008 Olympic Bid Committee and the Osaka 21st Century Association, with the cooperation of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The exhibition, one of the largest of this kind ever to be held in the world, will show approximately 300 posters, including official posters and other for all the Olympics held since the first modern Olympics in Athens (1896) to the Games of the 27th Olympics to be held in Sydney this year. It will include valuable works which at other times can only be viewed at the Olympic Museum.
The exhibition will also include Olympic medals and torches in addition to the posters for the Tokyo Olympics (1940), which were never held. Viewers will be able to enjoy and feel the excitement of the Olympics from many angles.
New Shigaraki ceramic developed
The Shiga Prefectural Shigaraki Ceramic Research Institute of the Industrial Research Center of Shiga Prefecture has recently developed new Shigaraki ceramics that use tiny bubbles that form in beer or other carbonated beverages in an interesting way. The bubbles that form in the liquid cause letters or messages to appear on the surface of the liquid. It has been said that ceramic containers keep bubbles in beer or other sparkling beverages longer than those made of other materials. The new ceramics was invented while the Institute studied the mechanism of this phenomenon in a joint research with Kimiko Otani, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Human Environment at Kyoto Prefectural University.By creating a rough surface in the shape of a letter, logo or illustration on the internal surface of a container and causing bubbles to form on this surface on a continuous basis, the ceramics can make such a letter, logo or illustration to appear on the surface of the liquid. The Institute has filed for a patent on this technology and aims at making the new ceramics available on a commercial basis before the end of this year. The test model of this technology is on display at the Togei-no-mori (the ceramics forest) Industrial Exhibition Hall in the town of Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, through September 3, 2000.
Tokushima group opens library in Mongolia
"The Asia Children's Support Center," a volunteer group in Kitajima Town, Tokushima Prefecture, has opened the "Children's Library for Mongolia-Japan Friendship" in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, to support Japanese language education in that country.The Center was organized by a volunteer group this January to support children in the developing countries of Asia (Representative: Mr. Hitoshi Abe). With the cooperation of the "Children's Palace," a cultural and educational facility in Ulan Bator, the Center opened an approximately 200 square meter-library, housing 2,000 volumes including picture books and text books all in Japanese, and a reading room within the facility. The library is aimed at encouraging children to be interested in the Japanese language and culture as well as improving the learning environment for the Japanese language.
The Center also hopes to launch a campaign to send clothing to Mongolia and mutual exchange projects among the children of Mongolia and Japan and eventually to expand its circle of support to Cambodia and Thailand.
Beach volley world tour Osaka
The "2000 Beach Volley World Tour Osaka," an international tournament for women, will be held at the Sennan Satoumi Park Beach Volley Court (Misaki Town, Osaka) and other venues from August 4-6 (Friday-Sunday) with qualifying matches to be held August 2-3. The event will be held under the aegis of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) with co-sponsorship provided by the World Tour Organizing Committee.The event is the Japanese portion of the World Tour the FIVB is organizing around the world and is the only women's international beach volleyball event held in Japan. Heated games are played every year and this year, the seventh year in which the event is held in Japan, 32 teams from around the world are scheduled to participate. The prize money will total 150,000 U.S. dollars.
EMECS international seminar in Kobe
The International EMECS (the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas) Center (Hyogo Prefecture), which is engaged in the preservation of environment and information exchanges for enclosed coastal seas like the Seto Inland Sea, will hold an international seminar on August 22 (Tuesday) to introduce efforts being made to preserve the environment in and around Chesapeake Bay in the eastern United States at the Hyogo International Plaza, Chuo Ward, Kobe City.Chesapeake Bay is an enclosed coastal sea surrounded by the State of Maryland and five other states. In June this year, the Federal government and the governments of the states bordering the bay signed "Chesapeake 2000," a watershed partnership, and efforts are being made to improve and preserve water quality to allow the survival of biological resources.
In the Kobe seminar, Dr. Wayne H. Bell, director of the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College, Dr. Jane T. Nishida, Secretary of the Environment at Maryland State Government, and other people related to the efforts will discuss what has been done in the area, future tasks as well as citizens' roles in the efforts.
Kansai in Focus: Beautiful Chinese lady working at RIHGA Royal Hotel, Osaka
When I called the assistant manager's desk in the lobby on the ground floor of RIHGA Royal Hotel in Nakanoshima, Osaka City, a tall slender lady came up and introduced herself, saying, "I have been waiting for you," and gave me her business card. Her refined demeanor and looks were enough to convince me that she was a staff member of a first-class luxury hotel in the City of Osaka. She was Ms. Sun Lin, aged 35, a Chinese employee of the hotel who is known as "a very sharp lady."Her business card identified her as "Social Director, Guest Relations." There was no Japanese translation for her title. She was in essence a "concierge." She handles every problem and situation faced by hotel guests, including losing passports, losing wallets, giving sightseeing advice, and handling guest complaints.
Like a shortstop in baseball, she has to be flexible enough to handle every situation. Though she is not a Japanese native, she is up to this difficult task. Her responsibilities also include dealing with VIPs. Both Chairman Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji of China stayed at the hotel. She is in her element when it comes to dealing with very important persons from China.
Ms. Sun Lin hails from Beijing. She studied Japanese at Beijing Language and Culture University. She said, "When I was a student, I was very much impressed by the 'Walkman' made in Japan. I marveled why such a small machine was capable of producing such high-fidelity sound. I fell in love with Japan. I would sing 'Kitaguni no haru' (Spring in Northern Country), a song which was extremely popular in Japan as well as the rest of Asia, with karaoke. I also watched 'Oshin,' a highly-popular TV soap opera on the life of a woman who was born in a very poor family, produced by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)."
" I came to Japan in 1988 with the help of an acquaintance of my father who lived in Japan. I majored in clinical psychology at the Graduate School of Human Culture at Nara Women's University, primarily concentrating on counseling dealing with domestic violence and bullying."
After completing her studies for a Master's degree, she joined the RIHGA Royal Hotel in 1992, together with other students who graduated from colleges in the same year. She went through very vigorous training at the hotel.
"I believe hotel employees must have what might be called a maternal culture, or giving very thoughtful care, just like a mother taking care of her children. It includes, for example, placing footwear so that the guest can step right into them, handing a business card so that the guest can read it without turning it, or placing plates on the table without making a sound. Such care and hospitality, which are taken for granted in Japan, have been lost in China. I have studied a great deal in Japan."
Ms. Sun Lin is now translating a Japanese book, "Secret of Services in Three Minutes," which packs the so-called software-tips-for hotel employees, into Chinese. I am sure she is motivated by her desire to be helpful for her mother country as much as possible.
"My hobbies? I visit hot springs in the mountains whenever I feel like it. I put on yukata (Japanese cotton kimono for summer) and wooden clogs. I breathe the sweet and fresh air while soaking myself in the bath and watch the mountain village in misty rain. That is a delicious scenery. I haven't decided whether or not I will go back to China. I want to make the Earth and Asia the stage for my life. And I love Japan. It seems everything is going for her in both her professional and private lives. (H)