DIY conference and show in Kyoto and Osaka
The Japan DIY Industry Association (secretariat in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. ) will sponsor the first conference in Asia of the International Federation of Hardware and Housewares Associations (IHA) at the Kyoto International Conference Hall and other places April 4-9. IHA will be the cosponsor of the conference. The Japanese association will also hold the Japan DIY Show 2002 Osaka, which will offer information on DIY industries, at Intex Osaka in Osaka's Suminoe Ward, April 5-7.IHA was established in 1909 as an international organization of retailers of hardwares and housewares throughout the world. Nineteen hardware and houseware organizations in 18 countries are currently members of IHA, which has its secretariat in Birmingham, England.
Do It Yourself (DIY) is an international movement, which originated from London residents' post-World War II campaign to resurrect the British capital ruined during the war. DIY has spread throughout the world as a civic movement aimed at encouraging people to repair and renovate their houses, cars and other properties for themselves. Japan, the United States and European countries are leaders of the movement.
IHA 2002 Kyoto is expected to bring together some 500 participants from overseas.
The conference is scheduled to open with a keynote speech by Kazuo Inamori, honorary chairman of Kyocera Corp., followed by reports from U.S., European and Australian representatives.
A total of 454 Japanese and foreign companies, which will introduce their latest commodities for better living, will take part in the Japan DIY Show 2002 Osaka.
American students make Osaka promotion videos
Two graduate school students of the University of Southern California in the United States made Osaka promotion videos at the request of the Osaka Film Council. The videos are aimed at promoting to foreign moviemakers the attractiveness of Osaka as a location site.The Osaka Film Council, organized by the Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka Municipal Government, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and so forth, invited two USC graduate students majoring in movie-making last summer to make the videos. The students stayed in Osaka for five weeks for the filming. USC is known as the alma mater of famed American movie director George Lucas.
The students made two versions, each of which publicizes the attractiveness of celebrated places in Osaka and introduces public facilities where film shooting is possible. Unlike ordinary tourist promotion films, the videos were intended to tell foreign moviemakers, Osaka has various spots suitable for moviemaking from the viewpoint of young American apprentice moviemakers.
The Osaka Film Council will submit the videos to AFCI Locations Trade Show 2002 to be held in Santa Monica, U.S., in April, where moviemakers from around the world will gather. The council will set up an Osaka booth there to show the videos and to have the two students promote Osaka.
NAIST to add Dept. of Bioinformatics and Genomics
The Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Ikoma City of Nara Prefecture, will establish the 'Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics' in its Graduate School of Information Science.The new educational research department will consist of two sections: the Division of Bioinformatics and the Division of Genomics. The bioinformatics section has such courses as database laboratory, biomedical imaging and informatics and theoretical life science laboratory, while the division of genomics section has such courses as laboratory of structural biology, laboratory of functional genomics, and laboratory of comparative genomics.
In addition, there will be courses to be given by guest lecturers and by a Unit for Capacity Building in Bioinformatics 'Protein Functional Informatics Laboratory' set up with research funds contributed by the Ministry of Education and Science.
Bioinformatics is now considered essential for handling the vast amount of information on the genome sequence and using it as useful information. The fusion of research on bioscience and information science is also necessary for integrated analysis of function information, sequence information and structure information of protein and for discovering new biological knowledge. In response to these needs, NAIST has decided to realign its courses and open the new department in the graduate school.
Int'l symposium on healthy life in Kobe
The WHO Center for Health Development (WHO Kobe Center) will hold the International Symposium on Healthy Life from Good Dietary Practices at its International Conference Room in Kobe's Chuo Ward on April 6. The symposium is designed to review the importance of dietary habits from global viewpoints, consider changes of dietary habits in people's lives, and study the relationship between dietary habits and life-style-related illnesses.The seminar will start with a welcome address by Dr. Yuji Kawaguchi, director of WHO Kobe, followed by a panel discussion in which four specialists will serve as panelists. They are: Susan Wood, director of the Office of Women's Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Shigeaki Baba, chairman of the Japan International Institute for Diabetes Education and Study (IIDES); Shigeru Otsuka, former professor at Mukogawa Women's University; and Misao Shirai, a Japanese cuisine specialist.
The discussion will focus on changes of dietary practices in the future and health cultures based on desirable dietary practices.
Historic Kansai:Misugi, a village with Japan's natural beauty
By Junzo TanakaIn an urbanized Japan, where should foreign tourists go to view natural beauty during a short stay? When I am asked this question, I make it a rule to recommend the area around Misugi Village in Mie Prefecture's Ichishi County. The Misugi area is located midway between Nara, the capital city of Nara Prefecture, and Yokkaichi, the largest industrial city of Mie Prefecture, and off the national superhighway connecting the two cities. The area is in the midst of a dense forest, where complete silence prevails.
As its name (Misugi means 'beautiful cedar trees') suggests, Misugi Village has been known since ancient times as a production center of cedar timber. In the 20th century, Misugi Village boasted of being one of the largest timber shipping centers in Japan. But, Misugi's cedar has been gradually losing out to low-cost imported timber in recent years. This prompted the village to find a means of survival in the promotion of tourism through the utilization of its natural beauty.
The village office has built various tourist facilities, such as lodges, hiking courses, camping sites and golf courses. Tourists can enjoy viewing flowers and greenery from spring through summer.
Another tourist attraction is the mountain village's interesting history. In the 14th century, when the Imperial Court was split into the Northern Court, based in Kyoto, and the Southern Court, based in the mountains south of the capital, and struggled for power, the Kitabatake Clan, which supported the Southern Court, based its headquarters near Misugi Village. The shrine, garden, mansion and castle built by the Kitabatake Clan still remain, though they are antiquated. The garden, mansion and the castle are designated as national historic spots. Unlike the gorgeous historic spots of Kyoto and Nara, the simplicity of Misugi Village's historic sites fill visitors with nostalgia.
Tourists who shuttled between Misugi Village and modernized neighboring cities would feel as if they toured the middle ages and the present age in a time machine.
Kansai in Focus: Can Hanshin Group Lead Osaka in 2002?
With Japan's professional baseball season set to open on March 30, the front page of sports newspapers in Osaka these days are dominated by stories about the impressive performance of the Hanshin Tigers'in preseason games. The Hanshin Tigers, which finished in the cellar of the Central League the last four seasons, is undergoing a great transformation under new manager Senichi Hoshino and his big-name coaching staff. Osaka fans have great expectations for the team's success in the 2002 season.The Hanshin Group's vigor is not solely represented by the Hanshin Tigers. Other members of the Hanshin Group, led by the Hanshin Electric Railway Co., are also undertaking ambitious projects in Osaka and Kobe. The Hanshin Group stands out as a buoyant corporate group in a region hit hard by the prolonged recession. Universal Studios Japan, which opened in Osaka last spring, is the powerhouse of the Kansai economy. The Hanshin Group seems likely to join Universal Studios Japan as the upholder of the Kansai economy this year.
The second-phase of the Hanshin Nishi-Umeda development project, undertaken by Hanshin Electric Railway Co. in front of the JR Osaka Station, started late last year. Construction work is going on full steam, with completion set for the autumn of 2004. The Nishi-Umeda development project caps Hanshin's redevelopment of the Osaka urban region, with the second phase involving the construction of a 150-meter-high, 28-story building; multi-purpose plazas on the ground and basement levels; and a 10-meter-wide promenade.
Also, the Hanshin Group is building a skyscraper south of the Hanshin Department Store in front of the JR Osaka Station. Hanshin Electric Railway will lease the shopping mall on the second basement level and connect it with Diamor Osaka, an underground shopping district in front of the Osaka Station, and make the combined underground mall a new commercial facility, with its opening set for the spring of 2003.
Hanshin Electric Railway's Nishi-Osaka Line between Amagasaki and Nishi-Kujo will be extended for 3.4 kilometers from Nishi-Kujo to the Nanba Station of Kinki Nippon Railway, with extension work scheduled to start in 2003. Along the line is located the Osaka Dome, home of the Kintetsu Buffaloes, the Pacific League champions in 2001. The opening of the line, scheduled for 2008, will directly connect the Tigers'Koshien Stadium with the Buffaloes' Osaka Dome by railway.
The Hanshin group will also launch in fiscal 2002 the redevelopment of leisure facilities on Mt. Rokko. The group, which operates skiing grounds, the Alpine Botanical Garden, the Music Box Museum, cable cars, hotels, among others, plans to demolish old hotels, such as Hotel Ryounso in the Higashi Rokko's Ryoundai area, Mt. Rokko Bowling Center, the Jukkoku Revolving Viewing Tower, and build new tourist facilities featuring European-style houses adorned with greens and flowers and enable visitors to enjoy an exotic atmosphere. Its opening is set for April 2003.
Osakaites hope the Hanshin Group's new business projects will lead Osaka's economy. They particularly place high expectations on the Hanshin Tigers'good performance in 2002. The Hanshin Tigers, which topped this spring's preseason standings, is shedding its image of an 'also-ran' and giving the impression that the team is different this year. If the team's performance in the exhibition games is not just a freak development and the team keeps going in the 2002 regular season, it would be helpful to revive the Kansai region as a whole. (J)