（第3種郵便物認可）

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Edition S

15Osaka Bay snaps to life with industrial nighttime
Photo spots
Courtesy ofO

SAKA — The nighttime scenery of anindustrial area on
the shore of Osaka
Bay, with its illuminated intricate array of chimneys and pipes that appear
to magically ﬂoat along the water’s surface, is gaining popularity as a new
tourist hotspot.
Although factories in Kawasaki,
Kanagawa Prefecture and Yokkaichi,
Mie Prefecture, are known for similarviews, Osaka Bay’s proximity to theheart of the city has boosted its acclaim
as the other factories are located on theoutskirts of their cities.
Photography tours through the Sakai
Senboku Coastal Industrial Area andphoto contests are also thriving.
Tsutomu Innami from Matsubara,
Osaka Prefecture, is a regular participant in one such contest centeredaround photos of the nighttime sceneryof factories across the nation. Over thepast ﬁve years, he has visited oen, riding his bicycle through the area with hiscamera at the ready.
“It’s the ideal place to take photos
and I can get here easily from home,”
Innami said. “The factory is huge andthe view at night is the best in Kansai.”
The scenery diers depending onthe season — the dusk that can beseen at the end of long summer daysis beautiful, as is the winter nighttime
sky once the haze clears. He has sub-Tsutomu Innami

A nighttime
view of thefactories atIshizu Fishing
Port in Sakai

Hamadera Park

Hamaderakoen Sta.
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iLankNamitted many pieces showcasing thedierences between the seasons.
The Takaishi Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Takaishimunicipal government, has been
biannually holding a variety of photography tours since 2013 — in spring
and autumn — including those on
buses and aboard cruise ships.
This year, however, only two bus
tours were organized on Oct. 24. as aresult of the coronavirus crisis. Nevertheless, about 70 people from across thecountry applied for the tour with a capacity of only 20.
The chamber expects to fully resume
operations sometime next year as it hasreceived many requests from thosewanting to participate in the tours given that taking photos outdoors carrieslittle risk of infection.
The Takaishi municipal government
has also posted signs designating recommended photo spots and have evenuploaded an aerial view of the cityt ak e n b y a d r o n e o n i ts w eb s i t e.
Souvenirs, such as bags and shirts bearing images of the night view, have also
been made available.
The industrial area in its entirety
can be seen as you make your way
along the Wangan Route of the Hanshin Expressway. A parking area,from which photos of the nighttime
view of the factories can be taken, isscheduled to be completed next

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By Seiichi Yoshida

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The municipal governments of
Takaishi and Sakai, which house the industrial area, have become members ofa nationwide collection of cities thatboast spectacular nighttime factory
scenery in the hopes of boosting tourism by encouraging visitors to stayovernight.
A summit for the 11 member mun icip al itie s w as h eld in S aka i in
February this year. At which, the participants declared that they would work
together in their goal of increasing
tourism with their beautiful nighttime
scenery.
“Osaka Bay’s charm lies in the fact
that, depending on the season, the view
you see at night can dier greatly,” said
photographer Testuro Kobayashi.
Kobayashi also acts as a tour guide. “Ithink that we can expect more tourists
to be drawn to Osaka.”

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Potential to rise from ‘failure’
By Wataru Yukita
Yomiuri Shimbun Sta Writer

OSAKA — Yumeshima island, aman-made island in Osaka Bay, isscheduled to host the 2025 OsakaKansai Expo, which could potentiallybring 28 million people to the island.
With plans underway to have an integrated resort centered around acasino be located next to the venues for

the Expo, Yumeshima could be reborn
as one of Asia’s leading resorts.
With the Expo in mind, several projects have been launched including theconstruction of a section of the Hanshin Expressway’s Yodo River le bankline and the development of a place
where small boats can dock.
Yumeshima, along with the other two
man-made islands o the coast of Osaka
Bay — Sakishima and Maishiima —were originally expected to serve as hubsof international trade and advancedtechnology. However, these plans fellthrough aer the burst of the economic
bubble in the early 1990s. Despite theoriginal proposal of there one day being
60,000 people living on Yumeshima anda large sum of money being invested in a
project to bring that idea to fruition, halfof the island remains undeveloped andthe population stands at zero. The island
has sometimes been called “the legacy offailure.”
However, it seems a breath of newlife is about to blow across the island.
“Hosting the Expo and recruiting
an integrated resort is a great opportunity for us,” said Atsuhito
Wakabayashi, a researcher at the Japan
Research Institute. “Revitalizing theocean while we utilize it and continuing
to look towards the future as we makefurther developments that evolve with
the needs of the times is of great importance.”
The Yomiuri ShimbunAn aerial photo of the man-made Yumeshima island in Konohana Ward, Osaka.

NationalDayKenya
NationalDay
ofofKenya
Publicity

Excellent relations for enhanced prosperity
By Festus M. Wangwe
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i.

Today, Dec. 12, marks the 57th
Independence Anniversary of theRepublicofKenya, JamhuriDay. At theonset, I wish toconvey, on behalf of the government and thepeople of Kenya
residing in Japan, warm greet- Festus M. Wangwe
ings and best
wishes to Their Majesties theEmperor and Empress, H.E. Prime
Minister Yoshihide Suga, the government and friendly people of Japan.
Kenya and Japan enjoy excellent
relations that have spanned over
five decades. To Kenya, Japan is atrue friend and reliable partner, withour bilateral cooperation being anchored on five key pillars of infrastructure and private-sector development; agriculture; environment;water and sanitation; and human resource development and health.
Indeed, this partnership is in tandemwith our national economic
blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030, andmore so H.E. President Uhuru
Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda.
Our relations have continued tothrive over the years, demonstrated byconstant high-level visits and consultation processes. Last year, H.E.
President Uhuru Kenyatta led a robust
team of senior government officials
and leaders of the private sector to theTICAD7 Summit. A subsequent bilateral meeting between Their Excellencies President Uhuru Kenyatta
and then Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe further strengthened ourmutual partnership and collaboration.
Two months later, Their Excellencies
the President and First Lady made an
official visit to Japan to witness theEnthronement of His Majesty the newEmperor on Oct. 22, 2019.
While reflecting on the upward trajectory of our relations, we note withappreciation the government ofJapan’s support toward the implementation of key flagship projects ofVision 2030 that includes development of quality infrastructure suchas the expansion and modernizationof Mombasa Port and its allied infrastructure including the Dongo
Kundu Special Economic Zone
(SEZ). Once completed, the SEZ
will serve as the region’s logistics,
industrial and commercial hub.
Geothermal power development
at Olkaria is another landmark project. With an installed capacity of700 MW of geothermal power, thisproject makes Kenya the leading
African geothermal power producer
and among the top ten globally.
Kenya’s commitment to the principles and ideals of the United
Nations has been resolute and consistent, particularly on matters ofpeace and security, sustainable development, global environmental
and climate change issues. It isagainst this backdrop that Kenya
submitted its candidature for a nonpermanent seatat the U.N.
Security Council
for the period2021-2022.
Given our trackrecord, Kenya
obtained an overwhelming endorsement by theAfrican Union,
which was reaffirmed during the33rd Ordinary
Session of theAssemblyofHeads of Stateand Governmentthat took place in
Addis Ababa inFebruary 2020.
Duringtheelections held in
June this year,Kenya
waselected as anonpermanent
member of theU.N. Security
Council for theperiod20212022. While taking its place as

one of the members of the most influential bodies at the United
Nations, Kenya is committed toplaying a more significant role in thepursuit of world peace and security.
Kenya sincerely appreciates theimmense support received by theAfrican Union, as well as the manyfriendly nations across the world fortheir support and faith in upholding
the principles embodied by theUnited Nations.
It is unfortunate that this year saw
the emergence and rapid spread of
the COVID-19 pandemic that has
led to an unprecedented loss of life,
global economic slowdown and thepostponement of major cultural, religious, political and sporting events
including the 2020 Olympic Games.
The government of Kenya has put
in place a series of public healthmeasures to stem the spread of thenovel coronavirus. The Eight-Point
Economic Stimulus Program isaimed at returning the economy to a
growth trajectory as it was in the prepandemic period by increasing demand for local goods and services,cushioning vulnerable Kenyans, ensuring food security for the poor andcreating employment and incomes.
Most importantly, the program seeks
to enhance liquidity in support of thebusiness sector, particularly microand small enterprises.
In the same vein, Kenya has collaborated with the government of Japanin the fight against this pandemic.
Kenya appreciates Japan’ s recent
support in the battle against COVID19, amounting to more than 10 billion
Kenya shilling (¥9.44 billion).
A testament to the progressive nature of Kenya-Japan relations is theenhanced capacity of the Kenya
Medical Research Institute (KEMRI),
achieved through cooperation with theJapan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA). Today, KEMRI is at thePhoto: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary Amb. Raychell Omamo, left, and Japan's Foreign Minister
Toshimitsu Motegi meet in Paris on Oct 1. Omamo accompanied Kenya's President
Uhuru Kenyatta on his visit to France.

forefront of Kenya’s combined efforts
to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
In line with the ongoing global
campaign to tackle the coronavirus

pandemic, I call on the Kenyan diaspora in Japan and the people ofJapan to keep safe and have a
Happy Jamhuri Day, 2020.