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[March 09, 2006]

LEAD: Feature/News Focus advisory+

(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, March 10_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING)

KWS is to move the following feature/news focus stories in the upcoming week. Call +81-3-6252-8318 (feature editor) or e-mail: ota.narito@kyodonews.jp.

---------- Indochinese countries promote overland tourism

Varunee Torsricharoen reports from Siem Reap, Cambodia: In 1989, following the end of the Cold War and civil wars in Indochina, then Thai Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan advocated transforming Indochina "from a battlefield into a marketplace."


The slogan, once dismissed as a mere pipe dream, has gradually become a reality as governments in the region work to improve infrastructure and facilitate the movement of goods and people.

Earlier this year, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam jointly organized a 33-vehicle caravan to tour those three countries by land -- the highlight of the journey being a visit to Cambodia's famed temples of Angkor, a World Heritage Site.

---------- Gov't plane for dignitaries to undergo full-scale overhaul

Masayuki Watanabe reports from Tokyo: The government's special aircraft for carrying Japanese dignitaries, such as the emperor and prime minister, on trips overseas will undergo in fiscal 2006 its first full-scale overhaul since it was put into service in 1993 to turn it into a "flying prime minister's official residence" with an improved crisis management capacity.

When the new systems are installed, messages reaching the plane while the premier is on board about an emergency situation --such as a suspected armed intrusion into Japanese territory -- are conveyed to him immediately and he can call the head of the Defense Agency and the chief cabinet secretary on special phones.

Calls to anywhere from the plane are possible with the currently installed telephones, but encrypted telephones to prevent wiretapping are limited to the Foreign Ministry, and direct calls to the prime minister's official residence or the Defense Agency are virtually impossible.

---------- Asthma rates for children rising, differ according to prefecture

Keisuke Yoshimura reports from Tokyo: The incidence rate of asthma among schoolchildren differs according to prefecture, with junior high school students in Nagasaki Prefecture being twice as likely to have the ailment as those in Toyama Prefecture, according to a government survey.

The survey was made by a research team of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare led by Akira Akazawa of the National Center for Child Health and Development in Tokyo.

The team studied whether such factors as the climate and the density of the population had anything to do with the incidence rate for asthma but did not get any evidence of their connection to symptoms of difficulty in breathing.

---------- JR East develops lithium-diesel hybrid train

Shigeki Wada reports from Tokyo: East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has successfully developed the world's first environment-friendly hybrid train to start operations in the summer of next year, enabling low-pollution operations through a combination of a lithium ion battery and an improved diesel engine.

In the future, JR East plans to introduce a "fuel battery," said to be the ultimate form of clean energy, company officials said.

In the field of automobiles, hybrid passenger cars using both gasoline engines and electric motors have already been marketed, and low-pollution buses are also in use in various parts of the country.

---------- Airports pin hopes on their signature desserts for passengers

Junko Suzuki reports from Tokyo: Retail shops at airports across the country have been doing brisk business selling "bento" (packed meals) made with local delicacies.

Such unique fare has turned into one of the key attractions of flying for some travelers and they often take them home as souvenirs for families and friends. Aficionados even visit airports just for the sake of picking up their favorite lunches.

Inspired by the impressive success of the airport meals, confectionery makers are now trying to cash in on a similar product concept, namely with what they call airport sweets. A growing number of airport operators have developed limited-edition products by enlisting the cooperation of confectionery companies in hopes of luring more travelers with sweets available only at their facilities.

---------- 'One Segment' broadcasting to begin April 1

Kuniko Murakami reports from Tokyo: "One segment broadcasting," or "One Seg" for short, a new type of digital terrestrial broadcasting for mobile phones and car navigation equipment, will begin in April, enabling people going out or in their cars to see their favorite TV programs in high definition.

Digital terrestrial broadcasting, which began in Japan in December 2003, has been popular because of its high-quality picture and two-way communication, but its largest selling point is that TV programs can be seen on mobile phones.

Each broadcasting company is pinning large expectations on such technology because it will create a market for fresh business with new customers who can see TV programs while outside their homes and offices.

---------- New wine developed in Tohoku region

Tsukasa Kamata reports from Kuzumaki, Japan: In the deep snow-covered town of Kuzumaki in Iwate Prefecture in late February, work to bottle the "Sakura (cherry blossom) Wine" developed in the Tohoku region was carried out at the public-private Kuzumaki Winery.

"The scent is a character of the yeast of cherry blossoms. The sour taste is an image in March when snow still remains and the sweet taste is an image of spring when cherry blossoms bloom," said Koki Koyahata, an official in charge of brewing.

The wine, whose color is clear, light salmon pink and scent is luxurious, has been developed in a joint project among the three northern Tohoku prefectures of Aomori, Akita and Iwate with an improved species of wild grapevines in northern Tohoku as a material.

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KWS is to move a three-piece series on private-sector people managing local municipal facilities in an effort to revitalize their local communities next week.

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KWS is moving a 14-piece series on a lawsuit on emigration to Dominican Republic this month. The first-fifth items moved on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, respectively. The sixth to 10th will move next week. The Tokyo District Court is expected to hand down the ruling this spring. What happened in the "Paradise on the Caribbean Sea"? Wataru Hosaka, Kyodo's senior writer at the city news section, visited the small island country as large as the combination of Kyushu and Kochi Prefecture in November last year to hear stories from emigrants still remaining there.

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