News
Japan's Hokkaido government is working out a Northeast Asian terminal plan in fiscal 2012 （April 2012-March 2013）. When the plan is set in action, the municipal government will enhance New Chitose Airport as well as international seaports and other facilities in the prefecture to develop a highly convenient, fast and smooth logistics network. Then, Hokkaido will, as a whole, play a role as a ''terminal'' in Northeast Asia to be linked with the rest of the world.
The Logistics and Ports Division, which is placed under Hokkaido's Department of Construction's Bureau of Airports and Seaports, established a dedicated forum in the fall of 2011, which has since held discussions on the plan for days. The forum is expected to hold a final round of discussions this month and come up with a basic policy by the end of March.
Efforts to make for the time being to put the plan in practice include eliminating logistics bottlenecks （e.g., removing domestic barriers and opening direct routes）; taking measures to make effective use of seaports, airports and other facilities; and developing empirical approaches to tack challenges.
