TO THE JAPANESE 70 PERCENT OF THE WORLD IS A WATERBED 

Japan's land mass is much smaller than British Columbia -- it's about the size of California. Since 70 percent of Japan is mountainous, there isn't a lot of room left for the 127 million Japanese and the physical home and office expansion they want to construct. Their land is very, very expensive. What to do?

To continually fill in the shoreline runs into environmental restraints, is costly and could affect the tides. The latest innovative solution: build stationary floating state-of-the-art structures. Lots of them. These sites would not be in close-to-the-shore shallow locations, but in blue water 25 metres or more in depth.

Last year we ran a column ("Islands in the Sun") about Jonathon Livingston Seagull. No, not the book. An island in the shape of a seagull. To be built by the Taisei Corporation. Now a new organization, the Floating Structures Association of Japan (FSAJ), proposes to create stationary structures in the form of islands along the lengthy Japanese coastline.

The Japanese are creating a country that can grow without crowding already densely-populated land areas. Such projects already underway include Port Island near Kobe, the new Kansai International (island) Airport in Osaka and major land reclamation in Tokyo.

FSAJ's 114 corporate members plan to merge together strengths in steel, shipbuilding and construction technology with powers in banking, trading houses and non-life insurance companies - a formidable group.

Plans call for co-existence between the fishing industry and offshore structures with minimal impact on marine ecology. Construction avoids the very high cost of land, excavation,land-sinking support and sand and gravel movement through densly populated areas. Structures would be moveable, if necessary or required, and could scoff at global warming should the oceans rise; These islands and presumably prices charged could only go up as conventional earthly lots disappear beneath rising waters.

Such buildings would always have space (over adjoining water) available for new marine commercial operations or leisure fads that continue to blossom in tourism (The Taisei island mentioned above will incorporate a submarine base for tourists). Vertical integration could carry new meaning as floating buildings could rise vertically above the man-made island for humans and downwardly to accommodate marine culture and scientific experiments.

Umbilical connections with land could provide back-up services should wave-generated power be reduced. In a land that never forgets earthquakes, floating structures are immune except for exceedingly rare tsunamis (incorrectly called "tidal waves") which would be insignificant due to the size and configuration of such islands.

Their thinking already incorporates floating roads, residential subdivisions, next generation international and commuter airports. Considering that the Japanese were the world's largest ship builder until they realized they could make more money in high-tech (the knowledge business) they anticipate no insurmountable problems. They see their biggest challenge as making the projects environmentally sensitive without going broke.

More information: Floating Structures Association of Japan, Senpaku-Shinko Bldg., 15-16, Toranomon, 1-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, Japan. Phone: 03/3502-2912. Fax: 03/3502-2816.

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