With the opening of the 2005 Aichi World Exposition only 14 months away -- and counting -- the necessary promotional effort appears to be foundering.
At a major tourism industry convention Jan. 10 and 11 in Shanghai, the expo's booth was just one in a sea of some 96 put up by Japanese local governments and travel agencies.
"An ice-covered mammoth and a model house of the protagonist in the popular Japanese animation 'Tonari no Totoro' ('My Neighbor Totoro') will be on display at the expo," an official of the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition told visitors as he handed out Chinese-language brochures.