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JAPAN

Mar 10, 1998

Osaka and Kanto tops in nuclear waste levels

Over the past quarter century, Osaka has been responsible for generating the largest percentage of nuclear waste of any prefecture in the nation, a new study has revealed.

JAPAN

Mar 2, 1998

Universal gets go-ahead as experts urge paving of toxic waste

JAPAN

Feb 13, 1998

Forum takes up Asia-Pacific's dirty air problems

JAPAN

Feb 6, 1998

Osaka Games bid may be a costly pipe dream in development

Staff writerOSAKA -- Kazuhito Konishi is not likely to be on the list of people Osaka Mayor Takafumi Isomura hopes to meet during his trip to Nagano this weekend to promote Osaka's 2008 Olympics bid.

JAPAN

Jan 16, 1998

Kobe Revisited: City rebuilding economic strength

Staff writerKOBE -- Three years after an early morning earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale resulted in the loss of more than 6,400 lives and left tens of thousands homeless, Kobe has rebuilt most of its economic infrastructure. But its recovery has not come without criticism over the plight of some of the survivors.As the reconstruction of homes and businesses progresses, those forced to leave the city immediately after the quake are slowly returning. At the beginning of this year, the official population of Kobe stood at 1,426,000, still down by 100,000 compared with before the quake, but up by about 6,000 from this time last year.In the most heavily damaged areas of Kobe, particularly Nada Ward near central Kobe and the mostly blue-collar Nagata Ward on the western side, the population recovery remains slow. While city officials estimate the population at some wards stands above 90 percent of prequake levels, the figure for Nada Ward is 78 percent and 67 percent for Nagata Ward.Many former Nada and Nagata residents remain in temporary shelters or with friends outside the city for financial reasons. There were about 82,000 new homes in Kobe and as of November and an estimated 110,000 homes had been rebuilt, according to city officials, who say housing reconstruction in several areas, including Higashi Nada and Hyogo wards, is now effectively complete.While those who own land or had financial resources to rebuild quickly were able to get back to a normal life, some 25,000 families still remain in temporary housing units. One of the most contentious issues between people still residing in temporary housing and the municipal government has been over the future of those residents.Last September, Hyogo Gov. Toshitami Kaihara announced that public housing construction in the suburbs was proceeding faster than originally expected and thus he wanted to close all temporary housing by the end of next September, even though the dwellings could legally be left standing until March 1999.No doubt an adequate supply of public housing is available. Over 26,000 units have been offered by the city of Kobe, and rental contracts for 76 percent of them have been signed. Including public housing units supplied by the prefecture, the grand total available is 38,600 units.But the occupancy rate is only 38 percent, partially because of a lottery system for housing that many find difficult to understand, but also because going into public housing would mean having to start over again and being surrounded by strangers, something many do not wish to do after living three years in temporary housing."Many of those in temporary housing are elderly, living alone, or are dependent on the new friends they've made for physical and psychological care," said Ayako Nakajima, a local activist. "They don't want to be uprooted again and forced to live next to total strangers. "We've tried to get the city and the prefecture to allow groups of people to live in the same public housing units, but without much success," she said.In addition, residents of the temporary housing complain that many of the public housing units are too far away from trusted doctors, nurses and social welfare workers. Kobe Mayor Kazutoshi Sasayama also wants the temporary housing units closed. Some 6,000 families still have not received public housing through the lottery system, but Sasayama said earlier this week he wants everyone relocated by the end of August.The rush is a matter of economics. In the aftermath of the quake, Kobe port lost a great deal of business to Osaka, Yokohama, Tokyo and Pusan, South Korea. Kobe's leaders made economic reconstruction the priority, pouring trillions of yen into civil engineering and business projects in an attempt to regain lost business.

JAPAN

Jan 9, 1998

Fiscal woes plague Osaka governor

Staff writerNearly three years ago, comedian and Diet member "Knock" Yokoyama shocked the nation by winning Osaka Prefecture's gubernatorial election as an independent, despite entering the race only three weeks before the voting.Yokoyama won because voters, angry with the former governor for his involvement in numerous financial scandals, wanted someone clean and honest. He vowed to be the "governor who would never hesitate to say 'I'm sorry.'" But as 1998 begins, Yokoyama finds himself begging for forgiveness for everything from bureaucratic corruption to the worst local government deficit in the nation. "The governor has, at times, been very depressed over the state of the prefectural economy," an official said on condition of anonymity. "I think he may be wondering why he took this job."To his credit, Yokoyama has not given up on bureaucratic reforms or efforts to create a more responsible government. Citizens' groups praise his attempts to force the bureaucracy to be more accountable, and according to a recent newspaper poll, his approval rate is nearly 65 percent. Last year, after two local watchdog groups uncovered misuse of public funds by prefecture officials, Yokoyama appointed a task force that ultimately discovered that every bureau in the prefectural government was operating its own secret, illegal slush fund.In December, he announced that bureaucrats stole nearly 1.3 billion yen and that it would be returned to the public coffers. But despite public approval in dealing with the slush funds, Yokoyama still faces his most desperate challenge: Osaka Prefecture is all but bankrupt and could lose its financial autonomy within a year.The extent of the problem was known for some time but made headlines last January after a prefecture-backed project near Kansai International Airport went bankrupt. Combined with a tax revenue base that declined from about 1.5 trillion yen in 1991 to about 1.2 trillion yen in 1997, and a loss of cash reserves to pay off local bonds, Osaka Prefecture found itself short of cash when it came time last March to prepare the 1997 fiscal budget.Although the deficit, nearly 244 billion yen, was eventually covered, financial authorities warned that the well was dry and that the real problems would begin this year. In late November, as discussions for the 1998 fiscal budget began in earnest, Yokoyama surprised the bureaucrats and the public with a special message that appeared in major daily newspapers: "Osaka Prefecture's financial condition is now dangerous. In fiscal 1998, we will face a cash deficit of 60 billion yen and this will likely climb to 200 billion yen in fiscal 1999."Under law, such deficits will force the central government to take action. Osaka Prefecture would probably be declared a deficit-financing entity by the Home Affairs Ministry and would be forced to undertake major restructuring. "This means that we would lose much of the control over our budget to Tokyo," said Mitsuyo Hara, a prefecture official.The fiscal 1998 budget will be finalized later this month, but cuts in personnel and services are already taking place. This week, a plan was announced to send nearly 300 prefectural employees to the private sector for indefinite periods. The companies will pay the majority of their salaries, while the prefecture will cover their social security.Yokoyama has also promised a review of large-scale construction projects. "It's important to determine what we need and what we don't need," he said. Among the prefecture's largest projects are Kansai International Airport and the adjacent Rinku Town complex. Rinku Town, despite recent announcements that a group of Taiwanese companies and a Daiei subsidiary would locate there, has lost an estimated 3 billion yen and faces repayment of nearly 180 billion yen in long-term bonds.

JAPAN

Dec 16, 1997

City's testing confirms toxins buried at site of theme park

JAPAN

Nov 28, 1997

G-8, labor groups wrestle with global unemployment

JAPAN

Nov 20, 1997

'86 photos detail dumping at Universal site

JAPAN

Oct 30, 1997

Jewell, Kono recount false accusations from press, police

JAPAN

Sep 22, 1997

Theme park foes take protest against Universal abroad

JAPAN

Sep 11, 1997

Osaka likely to let toxic waste stay at Universal Studios site

OSAKA -- To ensure that the construction of Universal Studios Japan begins in 1998 as scheduled, Osaka city is likely to allow the nearly 700,000 tons of industrial waste to remain buried on the site.

JAPAN

Sep 10, 1997

Grounds of Universal site filled with excessive chemicals

JAPAN

Sep 3, 1997

Osakan support mixed for pursuing 2008 Olympics

JAPAN

Aug 21, 1997

PCBs at park site not Universal Studios theme

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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