Abstract
In January 1995, port of Kobe was severely damaged by the Hanshin-Awaji disaster. After the earthquake, almost port facilities have been recovered by the end of March 1997. Since then, various measures have been applied to achieve the most effective/efficient use of port facilities, such as reduction of handing costs, simplification of formalities and to making the Kobe port easier to use. However, container handling activities in Kobe port have not been recovered as before the disaster. In the present paper, the long-period changes of container handling activities are studies in relation with the industries, economic and social activities in Kansai area, in Japan and around the world using statistical data available. They show that the import and export activities in Kobe port have been closely related with the industries development in Kansai/West Japan area.
