TAKING ECO-FRIENDLY MESSAGES HOME

    The 41st Tokyo Motor Show 2009, held between Oct. 23 and Nov. 4with a theme of "Fun Driving for Us, Eco Driving for Earth," has focused on introducing green-tech vehicles.

    During the show, hundreds of yellow-capped children, enraptured by those cool new concepts of cars, were darting from one display to another. The show also exhibited children's drawings that depicted their thoughts on future transportation.

    Shosuke Tanaka, 6, designed a car with no exhaust pipes, but a highlighted word, "HYBRID," is running on a forest road. It tells a story about how driving can be fun, cool and clean in the future.

    Shotaro Murakami, 4, drew a bubble-shaped battery-powered vehicle with rotors on its top, resembling a helicopter. He said the sky would be the limit with this kind of future automobile.

    "It was a great idea for kids to learn the importance of low emission cars, hybrid technology and the positive impact these cars can bring to the environment through personal experience," said Tomomitsu Kunii, a teacher from Miyoshi Elementary School in Chiba City.

    "I'm not expecting they could fully understand the eco-technology," she said. "But as long as they get the message that these new types of cars could help protect the environment, the trip will be an educational success."

    "At school we learn a lot about the environment and how we must take care of it because the world is being damaged by pollution," Minami Endo, one of Kunii's students, explained.

    "We all know the word 'eco,' and it's important to recycle our garbage. We have to take care of the earth," she added.

    "Eco" has become a new buzzword for young Japanese children, and "being eco-friendly" has become a fashion for them nowadays. Unlike other fashion trends, which usually pass, it looks as if for Japanese children, being environmentally aware and responsible is a lasting trend.

Special report: Global News Day for Children