Nearly 200 towns and villages the length and breadth of Japan will plant oak tree saplings over the coming year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
One century after the Jan. 30, 1902, signing of the agreement between Tokyo and London to militarily support each other's expansionist policies in East Asia, Green Alliance 2002 is designed to encourage young people in both countries to communicate about the world's environmental problems.
Many of the communities involved in the tree-planting scheme already have strong links with Britain, including Nagasaki, which will plant one of the trees in the city's Glover Garden to commemorate the arrival in the 19th century of Scottish merchant Thomas Glover.