Staff writer
OSAKA -- Plans for the Universal Studios Japan theme park, set to open in Osaka's Nanko district in 2001, are going forward despite calls for an independent environmental assessment of the site.
Earlier this week, Mihariban, a local watchdog group, submitted a letter to city officials calling for an outside environmental assessment of the 54-hectare site, including the 7.2-hectare area owned by Sumitomo Metal Industries, where 700,000 tons of industrial waste was buried.