KOBE -- For many Japanese, AIDS has long been regarded as someone else's problem.

But this attitude may soon be just a memory, now that experts have warned recently that Japan could experience its own major AIDS onslaught in the near future.

The number of HIV-infected people nationwide is increasing rapidly, with youth particularly at risk.

"2001 saw fresh signs that the increase was remarkable in the younger age group," said Masahiro Kihara, a professor of global health and socio-epidemiology at Kyoto University.

"Considering that sales of condoms are declining and sexual activity among young people is growing, AIDS could spread easily in Japan."

According to a health ministry study, 621 people were diagnosed as HIV positive in 2001, with the actual number of people with AIDS recorded at 332.

Both numbers marked record highs.

The Asia-Pacific region as a whole is on the brink of an HIV/AIDS explosion.

Some 6.6 million people in the region are estimated to be HIV positive, while a growing trend among young people to indulge in casual sex poses potentially devastating consequences in terms of the spread of the virus.

Against this backdrop, Japan will host a regional AIDS conference in Kobe next year. Organizers are accordingly stepping up their efforts to raise public awareness of the issue.

The Seventh International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), which will be held from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, 2003, at the Kobe Convention Center and other venues in the city, is expected to draw 3,500 people from 43 countries. It will be Japan's first ICAAP gathering.

"The main feature of the event is that people from different fields -- researchers, nongovernmental organizations and patients -- are involved even in the preparation process," Tadamitsu Kishimoto, chairman of the Seventh ICAAP Organizing Committee and president of Osaka University, told a news conference last week.

"The organizing committee consists of such a variety of people."

Under the theme "Bridging Science and Community," the four-day event will offer various presentations, workshops, forums and cultural programs aimed at strengthening the links between scientific research and community work.

To raise public awareness of HIV/AIDS ahead of the gathering, some preconference events have been held in Kobe, with others in the pipeline.

A photo exhibition featuring people with HIV/AIDS and those involved in fighting the epidemic was held between July 16 and 31 at the main Kobe Municipal Government building.

The exhibition, "Positive Lives Asia," is part of an international project seeking to stimulate public understanding of the fight against AIDS.

Koji Shigeuchi, head of Base Kobe, a nonprofit organization that works to support people with HIV/AIDS and educate schoolchildren on the problem, said informing the public of the facts surrounding the virus is a lengthy process, as is eliminating prejudice toward its victims.

Base Kobe was one of the organizers of the photo exhibition.

Hiroshi Hasegawa, head of the Japanese Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and a member of the organizing committee, said that while people with HIV/AIDS in Japan are in a better position than those in other countries as they can afford expensive medication, they are still stigmatized and suffer discrimination.

"About 6,000 people are receiving medical treatment in Japan, but we don't know how many more are going without treatment," Hasegawa said.

"People in general, however, have little awareness of these facts. Discrimination still exists and people with HIV/AIDS suffer from social stigma, and only a handful of them have made public that they are living with HIV/AIDS."

Hasegawa, who launched his group's activities after the 10th International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama in 1994, said he wants to expand an HIV/AIDS network in Asia-Pacific region via the Seventh ICAAP.

Corporate support meanwhile appears to be vital in combating the problem.

With HIV/AIDS cases spreading throughout Asia, Shigeuchi warned that Japanese companies operating overseas should take adequate measures to deal with HIV infection among their employees.

In a July 25 forum focusing on the role of corporations in combating AIDS, panelists pointed out that most businesses lack awareness of the risks of AIDS.

Shigeuchi told the forum -- also a part of the preconference events -- that small and midsize firms in particular are not interested in the issue and that HIV-positive workers keep quiet about their condition out of fear that they may lose their jobs.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. was one of the first companies in Japan to introduce AIDS-related measures. According to company Dr. Kiyonobu Sakagami, it has conducted employee blood tests upon request since 1984.

"The purpose of introducing the test is to provide employees with an opportunity to take a test as easy as possible," Sakagami said, "to identify HIV-positive people as quickly as possible to protect their rights and to prevent the spread of the disease."

Although some may argue that Matsushita can pursue such measures because it is a large company, Sakagami said small and midsize companies can take similar action by using outside clinics or AIDS specialists.

Another preconference meeting is scheduled to take place Nov. 22 and 23 in Kobe, featuring various exhibitions and a forum.

The organizing committee is planning other events to raise awareness.