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Not in the computer sense, but in the world of motor manufacturing. Ford and Mazda recently announced that the latter's Ujina factory had been designated for the production of a new car engine. The engine would be of 2,000 cc size and would power a new generation of vehicles to be built by the two companies.
Since Ford bought a 33% stake in Mazda, work has continued on bringing the two companies closer together, in terms of manufacturing common platforms and the new engine is a vital component in this development. The plant will turn out up to 2,000,000 units annually, which will power a new generation Capella and Capella Wagon, to appear in 2001.
As the turn of the century comes closer, organisations are also paying closer attention to their computers, in particular to the problem of what their computers are likely to do at midnight on December 31 1999. Will they quietly move into the next century as if nothing had happened, or will they crash and bring the organisation to a halt?
The prefectural government recently held a test to check on the Y2K problem and it appears that the new century will be entered without incident. The company responsible for the computers in the office of general affairs and welfare insurance held a session which was attended by 25 experts. A total of 351 computers from all departments, prefectural high schools and the police were hooked up for the test. First, the date was changed to January 1, 2000 and the system was checked. Then the salary data, as of March 6, 2000, was entered for 38,000 employees. According to the information systems department, there were no problems whatsoever.
Hiroshima does not have a hospice, a hospital dedicated to providing care for those terminally ill with cancer. Last month a symposium was held in Hiroshima organised by the Hiroshima ni Hosupisu wo Motomeru Kai (Group Seeking a Hospice in Hiroshima). The meeting was attended by 450 persons, including families with relatives who had died of cancer and representatives of medical and welfare groups. The theme of the symposium was Why Hospices are Necessary and the urgent need for such an institution in Hiroshima was the principal outcome. A participant whose wife died of cancer sought for a hospital which would relieve the symptoms rather than treat the cause, but found that, unlike in Yama-guchi and Okayama prefectures, none was available here in Hiroshima.
Shudo Collection
What: An exhibition of Japanese artworks from the collection of Sadamu Shudo, who was attached to the chamber of commerce at Dairen (Dalian), an important commercial centre during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria.
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「宇品オンライン」
（オンラインといっても）コンピューターではなく、自動車製造の話だ。マツダとフォードはこのほど、マツダの宇品工場を新型エンジンの生産工場に指定すると発表した。新型エンジンは排気量２０００ccで、将来両社で作られる新型車に搭載される。
フォードがマツダに33％の出資を行って以来、共通のプラットホーム（車台）製造により、両社を近付ける試みがなされており、新型エンジンもその試みの一環だ。年間２００万余り生産され、２００１年に改良される予定のカペラ、カペラワゴンに搭載する見通しだ。
「２０００年問題も大丈夫」
世紀の変わり目が近付くにつれ、各組織もコンピューター、特に１９９９年12月31日の真夜中にコンピューターがどうなるかという問題に注目している。果たしてコンピューターは、何事も起こらなかったかのように次世紀に移行するのだろうか？それとも機能しなくなり、組織の活動を停止させてしまうのだろうか？
広島県庁はこのほど、２０００年問題に関するテストを行ったが、新世紀には何事も起こらず移行するようだ。県総務部、福祉保健部のコンピューターに関わる25人の専門家らが集まった。県庁の各部局や県立高校、警察署などの端末３５１台がテスト用につながれた。まず最初に、日付が２０００年の１月１日に変更され、作動状況を点検。続いて２０００年３月６日時点の、職員約３万８０００人の給与のデータが入力された。県情報システム管理室によると、何の問題もなかったということだ。
「ホスピスケア」
広島には、末期がん患者をケアするための「ホスピス」がない。先月、広島で「広島にホスピスを求める会」によるシンポジウムが開かれた。会には、がんで身内を亡くした家族や医療、福祉関係者ら約４５０人が参加した。
シンポジウムは「今なぜホスピスが求められるのか」のテーマで行われ、そのような施設を広島で早急に設立する必要性が訴えられた。妻をがんで亡くしたある参加者は、末期がんを治療してくれる病院ではなく、症状を和らげてくれる病院を探したが、山口県や岡山県とは違い、広島にそのような施設がないことを知ったという。