Daiei, others to test smart card in Kobe
Daiei Inc., the Kobe-based major retail chain operator, will market-test electronic money using the world's first integrated-circuit (IC) card combining e-money and credit functions in the Sannomiya and Harbor Land districts of Kobe, in cooperation with other concerns for a one-year period from October.The tests will be carried out within the framework of a project promoting electronic commerce being pushed by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and will be the first time electronic cash will be used at real stores in Japan.
The dual-purpose cards enable users to select the most convenient purchasing method: for example, buying high-priced goods on credit and making small purchases using e-cash.
About 30,000 monitors participating in the market testing will be able to load up to 30,000 yen in e-cash onto the cards by using machines placed in shopping malls and similar places.
A pocket-size personal IC card reader will be distributed to card holders so they can read balances and reloading/spending records.
When used as a credit card, clients can carry out transactions simply by inputting code numbers in a terminal, taking advantage of higher security capabilities than with conventional cards using magnetic stripes.
About 1,000 stores and restaurants will join the test.
Suntory markets penem-type antibiotic
Suntory Ltd. has begun to market Farom, becoming the first company in the world to market a newly developed penem-type antibiotic. Conventional penicillin-type and cephem-type antibiotics are based on natural substances synthesized by fungi and other microorganisms. In contrast, Farom is a completely new substance, put together on the computer by Suntory using a proprietary molecular design system to exhibit the good features of a variety of different antibiotics.Farom is effective against a wide spectrum of bacteria, not only showing excellent effect against gram-positive bacteria, which are the cause of most general bacterial infections, but also against gram-negative bacteria and anaerobic bacteria.
Because nature has never faced a penem-type antibiotic before, Farom is also effective against bacteria which have developed resistance to penicillin and cephem antibiotics. In particular, Farom is said to have a strong effect against penicillin-resistant Pneumococcus, which in recent years has become a troublesome hospital infection.
Suntory first synthesized Farom in 1985. The company applied to the Health Ministry in 1993 and just received manufacturing approval in April of this year.
Blueprint for 'Japan Flora 2000' drafted
The outline of plans has been released for the Japan Flora 2000, the international gardening and landscaping exhibition, which will run for 184 days, from March 18 to September 17, 2000, on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture. The exhibition will highlight the recovery of the Hanshin-Awaji region, the area devastated by a powerful earthquake in January 1995.The exhibition will consist of three zones: the "Dream Stage (Yume Butai) zone," a stage where the natural environment is recreated and which will also be used for international exchanges; a "flora zone" showing the interrelationship between flowers, greenery, water and people; and the "nigiwai (bustling) zone" where pavilions and shops will be located.
There will be four pavilions, including one for flower shows and another displaying ways to incorporate flower beds and gardens into one's everyday life. Other exhibits include an international garden where a number of countries and overseas cities will show their method of gardening and a promenade garden whose design and construction will be decided through an international competition.
Kyoto to subsidize movie in film festival
The Kyoto city government will subsidize a film produced for release at theaters, the first such move among municipalities. It will be one of the programs at the Kyoto Film Festival, a biennial event to start this year. The subsidy will be used toward a 35mm movie of about 100 minutes featuring Kyoto. The successful work will be sent to film festivals abroad.Film producers in Japan and abroad will be invited to apply for the program every other year. One project will be selected, with 50% of the production costs funded up to a maximum 100 million yen. The movie will be shown at a future Kyoto Film Festival.
The festival will also establish two film awards: one for research, critiques and critical biographies on the history of Japanese movies and the other to reward people judged to have contributed to technical aspects of film development, such as shooting, art direction, lighting, sound recording and editing.
The inaugural Kyoto Film Festival will take place this year to commemorate the centennial of the first Japanese cinematography performance in Kawaramachi, Kyoto's amusement quarter, in February 1897. The purpose is to draw attention to Kyoto as a city of movies, where many filmmakers are based.
The 1997 festival will be held from December 6-14 at Kyoto Kaikan and other venues in the city.
Sharp to build solar battery plant in Nara
Sharp Corp. plans to construct one of the world's largest solar cell plants in Shinjo Town, Nara Prefecture. The new facility will mainly produce two types of solar cells: next-generation thin-film solar cells that can be installed more easily on house roofs than conventional cells, and those mounted on satellites orbiting the Earth.Total investment in the 26,000-sq.-meter plant will be about 7 billion yen. Construction will start this month, with operations scheduled to begin in April 1998.
The plant's production capacity in the initial year is expected to be 20mw, equivalent to the combined capacity of about 6,670 household solar power generating systems with a capacity of 3kw each. Capacity can be expanded to a maximum of 150mw, depending on demand trends.
A 350kw solar power generating system will be installed on the roof of the plant to supply electricity for all needs other than production in the plant, such as lighting and air conditioning. In addition, a recycling system will be installed to utilize exhaust heat as a heat source for air conditioning.
The Osaka-based electronics manufacturer plans to raise its total production capacity of solar cells to 60mw in fiscal 1998, an increase of about 200% from fiscal 1997.
Kamakura era village unearthed in Osaka
Village ruins uncovered in the Uemachi Higashi area belong to the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the Education Board of the City of Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture has confirmed. The ruins are believed to be part of the Ihara village of the Hinenosho Shoen (landed estate). The shoen was one of the most important institutions for organizing the economic life of medieval Japan and Hinenosho was a typical manor of the period.Judging from the remains that have been found in the site 200 meters square, such as earthenware, the village is thought to have existed in the early and mid-Kamakura period. It was originally uncovered in 1988 and several researches have been conducted since then. So far, remains of 14 buildings have been found.
By the difference in the size of the buildings, archaeologists have concluded that social and economic groupings existed in the village. While most of the remains have been earthenware, other items unearthed are bellows, scrapped iron and unfinished combs, suggesting skilled craftsmen and a merchant class lived in the village.
Hinenosho was established in 1234 by the Kujos, a Kyoto aristocrat family and is one of the most well known shoen because the Kujos kept many historical records.
Kansai in Focus: For Awa-odori season, it's Tokushima or bust!
Mid-August in Japan is a time of merriment, with Bon-odori dances taking place throughout the country - and the Awa-odori of Tokushima is the most spectacular. During the four days from August 12 throughout 15, the entire city is gripped by Awa-odori fever.Come 6 p.m., the streets fill with groups of dancers in matching Yukata (cotton kimono for summer) and Happi (livery) coats. The men wrap towels over their cheeks or around their heads, while the women wear Sugegasa (sedge hats). These groups, known as Ren, enter the street one after another and dance their way through the city, accompanied by the sounds of Samisen (guitar-like musical instrument), gongs and drums. One ren can have anywhere from 30 members to several hundred. With 800 ren in Tokushima Prefecture, the number of dancers is in the tens of thousands.
In addition to local people, more than 1 million visitors from throughout the country come to Tokushima for the Awa-odori. There are seven places in the city with tiered viewing stands for the spectators - both free-of-charge and charged - and five open dancing venues. Carried away with excitement, many spectators join in the fun, forming "spontaneous ren." A number of foreigners have also been spotted dancing as well. With Bon-odori taking place all over Japan, why is the Awa-odori so overwhelmingly popular?
"It's the rhythm in two-part time which just brings people to their feet, and the freedom to dance in any style," explains Masakazu Nakano, vice-chairman of the Awa-odori promotion association in Tokushima City. The efforts of the Tokushima prefectural and municipal governments to publicize this event far and wide, and the passionate enthusiasm of the local residents, are also decisive factors.
Bon dances began as Buddhist rites celebrating the return of ancestors' spirits to this world during the Bon period in August. After Bon, the spirits depart again for the realm of the dead. Bon-odori were originally religious dances to greet and then send off these spirits. With time, however, the religious overtones faded, to be replaced by festivity.
The Awa-odori is no exception. Indeed, according to one version, its origins are said to date back to 1585, when Hachisuka Iemasa, the new lord of Awa province (today's Tokushima Prefecture), celebrated the building of Tokushima Castle by permitting unbridled revelry among the townspeople, who then danced wildly with joy in the castle town.
Regardless, the Awa-odori has a long history. It was in 1970 when this local tradition gained nationwide renown, according to Nakano, who says the "trigger" was the Japan World Exposition held in Osaka that year.
Two hundred of the best dancers from a number of representative ren, called "Yumei Ren," performed the Awa-odori at the Expo grounds, leading to the dance's fame throughout Japan and even abroad.
Public relations activities continue today. The Tourist Association of Tokushima City holds daily 45-minute performances of Awa-odori, featuring Yumei Ren, every evening at 8 p.m. from April 1 through July 20 and from September 1 through November 30. Visitors to Tokushima can thus enjoy seeing the Awa-odori even when it is not the Bon season.
"While there is great freedom in the movements, there is a basic form," according to Nakano, who hastens to add that "this form is very easy to learn." So, how about coming down to Tokushima during the Bon holidays?