Kansai Science City

Kansai Science City (関西文化学術研究都市, Kansai Bunka-gakujutsu-kenkyū-toshi) is an unincorporated city located in the Keihanna Hills (京阪奈丘陵, Keihanna kyūryō), a border region between Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara Prefectures of Japan. (About 25 km from the center of Kyoto,30 km from Umeda,Osaka. ) It is also commonly referred to as Keihanna Science City (けいはんな学研都市, Keihanna Gakken-toshi), or Gakken-toshi (学研都市) for short in Japanese. The city was constructed to help the advancement of creative arts, sciences & research, as well as to spur the creation of new industries and cultures.

Location

Kansai Science City is located in portions of the following 8 cities (市, shi) & towns (町, chō), in 3 prefectures:

• Osaka Prefecture
  • Hirakata, Osaka (枚方市, Hirakata-shi)
  • Katano, Osaka (交野市, Katano-shi)
  • Shijonawate, Osaka (四條畷市, Shijōnawate-shi)
• Kyoto Prefecture
  • Kyotanabe, Kyoto (京田辺市, Kyōtanabe-shi)
  • Kizugawa, Kyoto (木津川市, Kizugawa-shi)
  • Soraku District, Kyoto (相楽郡, Sōraku-gun)
    • Seika, Kyoto (精華町, Seika-chō)

• Nara Prefecture
  • Ikoma, Nara (生駒市, Ikoma-shi)
  • Nara, Nara (奈良市, Nara-shi)

Out of these, Seika, Kyoto and Kizu, Kyoto are completely inside the Kansai Science City.

The overall area of the Kansai Science City is 150 km², with an estimated population of 410,000. There are 12 "Culture ＆ Scientific Research Districts" within the Kansai Science City, encompassing 36 km², with an estimated population of 210,000.

Main Research institutes and universities

• Universities
  • Kansai Gaidai University
  • Osaka Electro-Communication University.
  • Doshisha University
  • Doshisha Women's College
  • Osaka University ,Institute of Free Electron Laser (iFEL) [1]
  • National Nara Institute of Science and Technology [2]

• Research institutes
  • National Institute of Information and Communications Technology [3]
  • Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International
  • Shimadzu Corp. (The Keihanna Research Laboratory )
  • Kyocera (The Basic Research Laboratory : optical and electronic devices,solar cells,advanced thin-film technologies)
  • Japan Atomic Energy Agency,Kansai Photon Science Institute [4] (Advanced Photon Research Center,Neutron Biology Research Center
  • NEC
  • Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic)
  • OMRON (Keihanna Technology Innovation Center)
  • Santen Pharmaceutical Co.
  • Kansai Electronic Industry Development Center ( Supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. [5])
  • Ion Engineering Research Institute
  • Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (Supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. [6] )

• Other
  • National Diet Library,Annex (The Kansai-Kan)
  • Nara Research Institute for Cultural Properties

Transportation

• West Japan Railway Company ( JR West ),Gakkentoshi Line
• Kintetsu Kyoto Line
• Kintetsu Keihanna Line
• About 100 minutes by bus from Kansai International Airport.

See also

• Hanshin Industrial Region

References

• This article was translated from a portion of the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on December 10, 2006.

External links

• Foundation of the Kansai Research Institute