Osaka to host GAISF meeting in 1999, int'l judo meet in 2003
The general assembly of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the world's largest international sports conference, will be held in Osaka in 1999, in accordance with the decision made October 19 at the association's general meeting held in Duisburg, Germany.GAISF coordinates international sports events and consists of 88 groups including the International Sports Federation which embraces competitive sports organizations included in the summer and winter Olympic games. The general assembly is usually attended by about 30 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Because 1999 is two years before the year when the IOC selects the host city for the 2008 Olympic Games, Osaka submitted its bid in May to hold the 1999 GAISF general assembly. The GAISF general meeting is held every year with Monte Carlo hosting the meeting every other year.
Meanwhile, at the general meeting of the International Judo Federation held in Paris, Osaka was selected as the host city for the 2003 International Judo Championships. The event, the world's largest judo tournament, is held every two years and attended by over 1,000 athletes and officials from around the world. This will be the fourth event of its kind to be held in Japan.
Eco Japan '97 features latest technologies
Eco Japan '97, an international trade fair featuring the latest energy-saving devices and environment conservation technology, will be held December 5-9 at the Kyoto Trade Fair Center Pulse Plaza.The fair is an official co-event for the third session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP3) scheduled for December 1-10.
The event sponsored by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Kyoto prefectural and municipal governments and other groups will introduce state-of-the-art, eco-friendly equipment and technology to over 5,000 UNFCCC COP3 delegates from around the world as well as non-governmental organizations and the general public interested in environmental issues.
The companies and organizations from 18 countries - Japan, Germany, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia - as well as a total of 117 firms, groups and international organizations from the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will exhibit their products and technology.
In addition to the fair, ECO-TEC Kyoto will also be held with 53 environment-related firms in Kyoto displaying their technology. From December 5-6, the International Environmental Forum will be staged under the theme "A Challenge to Global Warming" and held in Inamori Hall at Pulse Plaza. In addition, the Kyoto Global Environmental Film Festival will be held at the same venue on December 7.
APEC to discuss patent of intellectual property
The Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII) will hold the APEC Intellectual Property Rights Business Conference from October 28-30 at the Osaka Rihga Royal Hotel under the theme "Intellectual Property Rights and Their Development in the APEC Region."Attendees will include a university professor, attorneys, patent attorneys, top officials of institutions related to the intellectual property rights and others representing private-sector organizations in the 18 APEC member states and areas.
They will discuss intellectual property rights systems and related issues to find solutions to problems arising between the members. Discussions and lectures will be compiled into a memorandum to be sent to APEC member governments.
Isamu Yamada, governor of Osaka Prefecture, and Toshimitsu Arai, director-general of the Japanese Patent Office, will also attend the conference. The meeting is expected to help implement APEC joint action plans and other projects related to intellectual property rights, while contributing to further development of legal systems protecting such rights. The attendees will visit the Kansai Patent Information Center and other places of interest on the meeting's final day.
GEC trains air pollution specialists from 10 states
The Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC) has started an anti-air pollution training program for government officials from 10 countries in Asia and Latin America. The program is designed to equip trainees with air pollution prevention techniques developed by the private sector and train them in air cleanup measures of local governments, with a view to implementing effective anti-air pollution policies in their home countries.Government officials specializing in technology from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico and Chile are enrolled in the three-month program from September 22-December 19.
Besides lectures, training in the use of pollution monitoring/measuring devices and pollutant processing equipment for factories are part of the program.
University of Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City University, the Osaka Industrial Association as well as such corporations as Kansai Electric Power Co., Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Sumitomo Chemical Co. will cooperate in the program.
GEC was established as a foundation to help the United Nations Environment Program International Environmental Technology Centre which seeks to promote the transfer of eco-friendly technologies to developing countries. It has been working on activities to help preserve the environment in developed nations.
JR West to offer rail pass for foreign visitors
West Japan Railway Co. plans to sell two new types of JR West Rail Pass to allow overseas visitors eligible to stay in Japan for a short period the ability to travel around western Japan where many attractive sightseeing spots are located. While the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is increasing, they tend to stay for a shorter period and visit fewer places. The passes are expected to help reverse the trend.The Kansai Area Pass allows holders unlimited rides on local trains in the Keihanshin area including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, Nara, Kansai International Airport and other cities over one or four days. The Sanyo Area Pass can be used to take the New Sanyo Line trains, the Kansai Airport Express trains and local trains an unlimited number of times over four or eight days. It can also be used to board ships on the Miyajima route.
The passes will also be sold at foreign offices of All Japan Airways Co., Japan Travel Bureau Inc. and other airline and travel agencies. They will become available and usable from December 1 when the third session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change begins. Besides these, JR West will sell a ticket for groups of six or more making a round trip together between Kansai International Airport and the city of Hiroshima.
Forum lifts Kansai's profile in 6 foreign cities
The Rekishi Kaido (Historic Route) Promotional Council, the Kansai Global Metropolis Campaign Council and others are touring abroad with the Kansai Forum, a promotional tour introducing the Kansai region to six cities overseas.The tour seeks to boost the profile of the region by introducing the history, culture and sightseeing spots as well as such economic and cultural projects as Kansai Science City, Osaka Bay Area Development, Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and Kansai International Airport. The campaign is targeting media, tour operators and others.
The forum was held in Melbourne on October 23 and will be staged in Kuala Lumpur on October 28, in Beijing on November 7, Munich on November 11, in Washington on November 18 and in Minneapolis on November 20.
Kansai in Focus: Ninja arts come alive in Koka Ninjutsu Village
The word "ninja" is understood throughout the world today, conjuring images in the minds of people everywhere of stealthy, fleet-footed men in black, versed in the art of espionage. The houses in which these men lived and trained were full of hidden trapdoors and other tricky stratagems to foil enemy agents. One of such houses, which was built 150 years ago, can be found in Koka Ninjutsu Village in Koka, Shiga Prefecture.Fly through a revolving door, only to find yourself in a secret passage with an escape hatch. Squeeze yourself down through the hatch and discover an alcove hung with a scroll, inscribed with just one large Chinese character: "nin," or stealth. In another room is a sunken hearth, which can be moved aside, ashes and all, to reveal yet another escape route. And this is not the only one in this house of artifice. When besieged by enemies, the ninja used these tricks to escape, or carry out a counterattack.
Koka is the birthplace of ninjutsu, or the art of espionage. The Ninjutsu Village was opened fifteen years ago as a tourist attraction aimed at revitalizing the area, and the moving force behind this project was Shunichiro Yunoki, Japan's leading ninjutsu researcher and a native son of Koka. Mr. Yunoki is the village headman. "Ninja find their opponents' unguarded points, and enter through those," he explained. "Ninjutsu is all about penetrating cracks in the enemy's defense."
The revolving door, for example, a pursuer will generally try pushing the same place his quarry did as he escaped. The door, however, is designed to turn only 180 degrees - it will not give way when pushed at the same point as before, no matter how much force is used. Another example of the ninjas' stratagems is the four sliding doors used to partition a large room. A gap is left between the two center doors, inviting the intruder to insert his hand there to open the doors. The center doors are immovable, however: only the outer doors are designed to slide open. By making clever use of human psychology, the ninja could buy themselves time to escape or turn the tables on their opponents.
Next door to the mansion is the Ninjutsu Museum. Here are displayed tools and weapons such as rope ladders, ninja food and the star-shaped throwing knives known as shuriken as well as numerous books and old documents including the Mansenshukai ninja textbook. Visitors can try their hand at throwing shuriken in a special training hall. The village also holds events in which kids can experience ninja drills.
In 1487, Ashikaga Yoshihisa, the ninth shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, invaded Koka with an army of 25,000 men. Incredibly, a band of just 53 Koka samurai managed to defeat this force in a night attack. Word of the Koka warriors' unusual weapons and tactics spread like wildfire throughout the land, and it was at this time that awareness of ninja and ninjutsu is said to have become widespread.
The Koka warriors were particularly adept at handling matchlock rifles, the newest weapons of the time. They adapted the matchlock to make the charge ignite quickly and to stay lit for a long time even if the powder was damp. It is believed that this was made possible by some acquaintance with the laws of chemistry, which they had leaned from foreign missionaries.
Although the ninja depicted in movies and novels resemble comic book superheroes, they were actually very shrewd observers of human psychology, engineers making use of the latest scientific advances, and spies in search of strategic information. Mr. Yunoki's talks at the Koka Ninjutsu Village should do more than enough to convince you of that.