Nearly 200 towns and villages the length and breadth of Japan will plant oak tree saplings over the coming year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

One century after the Jan. 30, 1902, signing of the agreement between Tokyo and London to militarily support each other's expansionist policies in East Asia, Green Alliance 2002 is designed to encourage young people in both countries to communicate about the world's environmental problems.

Many of the communities involved in the tree-planting scheme already have strong links with Britain, including Nagasaki, which will plant one of the trees in the city's Glover Garden to commemorate the arrival in the 19th century of Scottish merchant Thomas Glover.

"The Green Alliance is designed to celebrate the length, depth and breadth of the partnership between our two countries," said British Ambassador Sir Stephen Gommersall, who will plant the first tree at the embassy on Jan. 30.

"We hope that the trees we plant will stand for hundreds of years to come as symbols of our friendship," he added.

"I am delighted at the strong response we have received from all over the country, and I am particularly pleased that for about half the participating communities, this is their first formal link with the United Kingdom."

The city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, where the headquarters of Toyota Motor Corp. is located, will cement its ties with Derby, the automaker's manufacturing base in the Midlands, by planting the Green Alliance oak, while Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, will build a Friendship Garden with help from its sister city, Gateshead, in Yorkshire.

The towns of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, and Hohoku, Yamaguchi Prefecture, will both receive oak saplings to mark the work of Richard Branton, a British engineer who arrived in Japan in the 19th century and became known as the "father of Japanese lighthouses."

Afan Foundation, a forestry research organization, plans to establish a "sister forest" arrangement with the Afan Forest in Wales. The foundation was launched by C. W. Nicol, a Welsh-born environmental campaigner who owns woodland in the highlands of Nagano Prefecture.

The ambassador also singled out campaigns involving youngsters for special praise, saying, "It is also good to see that so many of the plantings will involve children and young people, who represent the future of our relationship."

Forty-one schools and colleges throughout the country will plant trees, including Ikusaka Junior High School in Nagano Prefecture, where Julia Greef, from England, has been teaching for two years. The prestigious Kumamoto High School will commemorate its ties with Eton College, while Omiya Deaf School also plans to plant an oak sapling.