JAPAN: Japan's foremost eco-products fair opens in Tokyo, displays everything from Sony's organic cellphones to Honda's fuel cells.

It was meant to be another regular Cabinet meeting, but the boss added a bit of fun - and action - to an otherwise serious gathering on Friday (December 16). Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi showed up - or rather - wheeled out on a two-wheel scooter. The "Segway Human Transport" vehicle was a gift from U.S. President George Bush earlier last month. The electric-powered machine emits no gas and is considered the ideal green vehicle. And easy to use, according to Koizumi. "This is pretty easy riding," Koizumi told reporters. "Just have to lean forward to move forward." With Koizumi and his environment minister hoping to lead the nation to more environmentally-friendly programmes, Japan's leading corporations are ready to follow. Major Japanese companies turned up in droves on Thursday (December 15) for the latest line-up of eco-friendly products unveiled at Japan's annual Eco Products show in Tokyo. One of the new materials Japanese companies were keen to display was "bio-plastic," a bio-degradable plastic made from plants and vegetables, such as corn.NTT Docomo, Japan's largest cell phone carrier, announced a new organic cell phone, whose plastic body is replaced with materials made from corn and kenaf - a fiber similar to cotton and okra. The new cell phone will hit the stores early next year at the same price range as ordinary phones. "By replacing the regular plastic materials with botanical materials, we have succeeded in reducing the amount of CO2 emission by 50 percent in the production process," Katsuhiko Hirosawa, manager of NTT Docomo's product department, said. Japan's consumer electronics giant Sony, which created a bio-degradable Walkman three years ago, is now applying the botanical materials to other products as well. The main raw material they use is starch extracted from corn. Meanwhile, Honda Motor Company's most eco-friendly product is a fuel cell-powered car, called FCX. The car only requires hydrogen and mix it with oxygen in the air to generate power. "Water is the only material that this vehicle discharges," Honda spokesman Yuki Higuchi said. "It does no harm at all to the environment." The three-day exhibition of green products will end Saturday (December 17) and is expected to have attracted about 50,000 visitors a day. Hisayo Kenmochi, a company employee from Nagano Prefecture, like many other visitors, attended the events in the hope to find the latest line-up of environment-friendly and energy efficient electronic appliances. "I'm thinking of buying a new TV set. I am looking for one that's most electrically efficient and environmentally friendly," Kenmochi said. The events hope to attract a group number of "green" Japanese consumers, especially ahead of the Christmas shopping season. While not well known, the event had the support of Green Santa -- presumably a relative of the Red Santa Claus from Denmark. The Green Santa hopes to spread not just the the environment word ahead of Christmas season. "Remember, you have to take care of the environment because if you don't do, we haven't any trees, and any snow and we have no Christmas. So please take care of the environment and have a very Merry Green Christmas. Ho ho ho," he said. ENDS.

ITN Source | December 17, 2005

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