OSAKA -- Five Kansai-based business groups announced Tuesday that they will jointly launch an "airport campaign" supporting Kansai International Airport Co. to raise its competitiveness among international airports in Asia.
Because landing fees at the 24-hour Kansai International Airport are by far the highest among its counterparts in Asia, the business groups said they will support the company financially and through advertising to help it lower charges.
A jumbo jet landing at Kansai pays a fee of 910,000 yen, double the cost of landing at Shanghai's international airport.
"In addition to asking the central government to support the airport, we, as business groups in Osaka, will also contribute to its efforts for the sake of the regional economy," Yoshihisa Akiyama, chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), told a press conference.
The other four groups are the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives (Kansai Keizai Doyukai), the Osaka Industrial Association (Osaka Kogyo Kai) and the Kansai Employers' Association (Kansai Keieisha Kyokai).
Meanwhile, the groups also said they have agreed to jointly carry out projects in four sectors to help streamline their operations.