Sunday, December 31, 2000

The opening ceremony was held for the government-sponsored Internet Fair 2001 Japan, nicknamed "Inpaku" and billed as an event for "free networking in free categories." The ceremony took place at Omuyama Athletic Field in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, with a relay to the Prime Minister's Official Residence. Speaking over the relay, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori declared the fair officially open, saying, "Japan has staged the first Internet fair in world history. Let us hope that it becomes a new international event and cultural vessel in the twenty-first century." Inpaku website: http://www.inpaku.go.jp