Almost six months have passed since a natural gas fuel station was opened on the premises of the metropolitan government complex in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward as part of a public campaign to reduce vehicle exhaust pollution in the capital.

Thanks to its central location and media attention, the station has seen a growing number of vehicles visiting the facility, from 337 in April to 916 in August.

While Tokyo Gas Co., which runs the station, expects a further rise in clientele, the future of the alternative fuel remains unclear due to a limited number of outlets.

"The Shinjuku gas station gets around 50 vehicles per day on average, but we need twice the number to make a profit," said Mitsuo Watanabe, deputy head of the utility's natural gas vehicle division. "But we did not actually expect to turn a profit anyway; our intention was more to create public awareness."

The company spent around 80 million yen to build the station on the 500-sq.-meter plot adjoining the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building complex in Nishi-Shinjuku. The national and metro governments provided 115 million yen as a subsidy to promote construction of such facilities.

Under Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, the metropolitan government has been taking initiatives to reduce air pollution from vehicle exhaust gases. In December, it enacted an ordinance banning diesel vehicles with exhaust fumes containing 0.25 gram/kwh or more of particulate matter from running in the capital.

According to officials, composite natural gas is a lot less environmentally damaging than diesel fuel; it produces 10 percent of the nitrogen oxides and almost no particulate matter.

However, the number of natural gas vehicles registered in Tokyo remains low. There were only 1,685 natural gas-powered cars as of the end of March 2000, while some 630,000 diesel vehicles were registered.

The low figure is attributed to their being only 26 CNG stations in Tokyo -- 17 of which are run by bus and truck operators for their own fleets.

"Some regular gas station owners in the downtown area have expressed interest in providing natural gas," said Watanabe of Tokyo Gas. "But it is often difficult for them to install new equipment on already crowded premises."