 |
| Realization of "Dream Suspension Bridge" Key to Future Prosperity in the Kansai Economic Zone |
Yasuo Shingu
Chairman, Kansai Economic Federation Chairman, Osaka Bay Area Development Organization Chairman, Association for Kitan Kaikyo Bridge Project Promotion Honorary Chairman, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
S Q: At last, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge has opened.
Shingu: It was once said that bridging the Akashi Strait was just a dream. So first of all, I would like to express my appreciation for the excellent technical strengths of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority, which doggedly pursued the difficult construction and developed new technologies, as needed, in construction techniques and materials.
I anticipate that the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge will further enhance the exchange of people, goods, and information between Kansai and Shikoku. The economic benefits will also contribute to the rebuilding of the Hanshin and Awajishima areas from the great earthquake devastation in 1995, and the revitalization of Kansai's economy will, inturn, have a positive influence on the whole of western Japan.
SQ: It has been three months since the opening of bridge. How would you evaluate its economic impact?
Shingu: The number of vehicles crossing the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge has exceeded expectations and continues to progress favorably. I believe the bridge has generated economic benefits in diverse fields, beginning with tourism and distribution.
To see the effects in numbers, recent think tank calculations have estimated an economic boost of 50 billion yen in the first year of the bridge's operations, and annual figures of 130 to 150 billion yen are anticipated by the end of the millennium. Yet even more important than the impact of the bridge's opening, the business community should focus on how best to utilize the bridge to further increase the economic benefits.
SQ: Since the opening of the bridge, how far has the range of the Kansai economic zone been extended? And how are the obstacles that still hold the region back to be overcome?
Shingu: In Kansai, the mountains and the sea—Osaka Bay—are natural obstacles, and the population is heavily crowded into the narrow Osaka plain. To attain greater achievements in Kansai's development, we need to hurdle the topographical barriers of the Osaka plain through additional development of transportation networks; and the Kansai economic zone should be extended to embrace Awajishima, the Kii Peninsula, and Shikoku.
Since the opening of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, these topographical limitations have been greatly alleviated. The economic zone accessible within a three-hour trip from Kobe, heading toward Awajishima and the city of Tokushima, has been extended by about four times in land area and five times in population.
SQ: To extend the benefits of the bridge over the Kansai area as a whole, where do we need to go next?
Shingu: I think we should further consider how to utilize the bridge in cooperation with the newly-embraced surrounding areas, to seek the creation of a new community.
SQ: What areas are key in this case?
Shingu: From the perspective of further boosting Kansai's overall strengths and efficiency, every Kansai community, municipality, and business circle needs reach across their respective fences to deepen their cooperative ties, doing together what needs to be done together and taking responsibility for what they need to do on their own. The business community has long advocated this kind of broad-ranging cooperation, and new cooperative structures tied to municipalities are already steadily emerging.
SQ: Considering the planned development of the Osaka Bay area, what is your perspective on the future of the Kansai economic zone, and on the expansion of international communication in the area?
Shingu: As we approach the 21st century, Kansai has high hopes for the second phase of the Kansai International Airport, as it aspires to the status of an international hub. The new Kitan Kaikyo Bridge will serve as a vital artery along the New Pacific Coast Corridor, and development of the Osaka Bay area will be further advanced by such projects as Universal Studios Japan and the Japan-France Friendship Monument.
The opening of Universal Studios Japan, an experiential theme park that features recreations of popular Hollywood movies, is planned for 2001; and I believe many people from inside and outside Japan will enjoy it. The Japan-France Friendship Monument will be built to promote friendship and understanding between the citizens of these two countries. It will also serve as a symbol of the 21st century, which many already see as an era of "great interchange," in the sense that Japan and Kansai hope to serve as a bridge between the West and Asia.
Other plans include Japan Flora 2000, an international gardening and landscaping exhibition slated for 2000. The exhibition will suggest modes of communication between people and nature, and at the same time, showcase the ongoing recovery from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. We are also very eager to bring the 2008 Olympic Games to Osaka.
We have high hopes for establishing Kansai as an Asia-Pacific base for international communication in economics, art and culture, and scientific research, and diverse
other areas. At the same time that we seek the potential of these new developments, we also wish to make the most of our region's rich endowment of history and culture. |
|
