would not be appealing, but this was not true either. We took four Korean travel agency representatives to the Ise-jingu Shrine and all of them wanted to include it in the next package tour, one of them even wanted to see Mimizuka in Kyoto, a tragic memorial place for Korean people.
Although it has not yet been proved scientifically, the blood type of most Japanese is A, and among developed countries only Japan and Germany have predominantly blood type A nationals. Therefore, if we really want to succeed in marketing abroad, we may have to change our way of thinking into that of the people with the blood types O and B which outnumber A in the majority of countries. I belong to the O type group and although it may not apply to all of this group, I personally would rather be told about historical facts than have them hidden from me. It may be better for us to be open with the public about our history, rather than to be secretive about it. Many such facts have long been regarded taboo subjects but are invaluable for us as humans in the understanding of our history. Thank you.
Prof. Abe : Thank you. I think Mr. Ido has suggested some important points to us. Our next panelist is Ms. Uehara. Ms. Uehara is now involved in the construction of one of the most impressive opera houses in Japan. Shiga Prefecture has changed considerably since she first arrived there. When I used to live there, it was only a quiet agricultural area with a large lake, but since she was first appointed it has changed greatly. This can be attributed to her great experimentation and efforts to transform the area into a strong cultural region by the integration of traditional and present day Japan. This accomplishment was partly accelerated by the increasing movement of major businesses into Shiga from Osaka which was already taking place at that time.
Ms. Uehara : I came to Shiga Prefecture just 20 years ago. I am afraid Professor Abe has overstated me. The fact is that I happened to be assigned there in charge of a task instigating various changes at a time when the prefecture was on the verge of changing itself.
I must speak about several topics today within a limited time, but first of all I will explain about what is done by Shiga Prefectural Government from the viewpoint of tourism. In my opinion, Shiga Prefecture has changed very little from my arrival at the Tourism Resources Section some 18 years ago. Located near both Kyoto and Nara, and overwhelmed by these distinguished tourist zones, the existence of the prefecture as a tourist spot has always been ignored. Even in the "Rekishi-kaido" project, Shiga did not appear on the list in the early stages of its development. Therefore we had to hastily petition to be included in the project and we are now appreciative of its cooperation.
As I recall, in those days our prefecture was lacking in facilities and accommodation. At first I was surprised to find so few exchange bases such as hotels and department stores, although the first department store opened in 1976 in Otsu City, the capital of the prefecture. By the 1970s some 20 hotels had been constructed in the prefecture, followed by the establishment of university research centers and various museums which serve as important exchange bases. We are now advancing towards the next stage of development where we can take full advantage of our improved infrastructure. I suspect however, that our prefecture is not a particularly special case, as I see many similar cases throughout the country.
With regard to the history of international exchange, I have gleaned from Professor Shirahata's speech that the local governments have been acting exactly in accordance with the national government. In 1934 Biwako Hotel was built in Shiga Prefecture by the third sector, a cooperative body managed by both the private sector and the national government. In fact, such financial support directed to all the local governments, including Shiga, resulted in large projects such as Nara Hotel and Kyoto Hotel in their respective cities, and indeed similar projects elsewhere. In 1979 the Shiga Friendship Association was established, a
