, located in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal and its affiliates. The resort consists of two theme parks , Universal CityWalk , and three Loews Hotels...

, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, and South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. In 2005 Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...

 became the largest shareholder in Universal Studios Japan. Universal still has a small minority stake in the park. The park opened on March 31, 2001. 11 million guests entered Universal Studios Japan in its first year of operation, the fastest any park reached that milestone.

New York

• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
  The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
  The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a theme park ride located in Islands of Adventure, in Orlando, Florida and Universal Studios Japan. Built for Islands of Adventure's opening in 1999, the attraction is a hybrid ride combining special roving motion vehicles with 3-D projection, elaborate...
  
   - The Ride
• Terminator 2:3-D
  T2 3-D: Battle Across Time
  T2 3-D: Battle Across Time is an attraction at various Universal Studios parks around the world including those at Florida, Hollywood and Japan...
  
  

Hollywood

• Shrek's 4-D Adventure
  Shrek 4-D
  Shrek 4-D is a 4-D film at various theme parks around the world. Universal Parks & Resorts owns the main rights to the film which is currently shown at their parks in Hollywood, Florida, Japan and Singapore...
  
  
• Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic
  Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic
  Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic is a 4-D film theme park attraction located at Universal Studios Japan, SeaWorld San Diego, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay...
  
  
• Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show
• Animation Celebration 3D
• Hollywood Dream - The Ride
• Space Fantasy: The Ride
  Space Fantasy: The Ride
  Space Fantasy: The Ride is a steel roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. The ride opened on March 19, 2010....
  
  
• Magical Starlight Parade
• Fantastic World

San Francisco

• Back to the Future - The Ride
  Back to the Future: The Ride
  Back to the Future: The Ride is a simulator ride based on and inspired by the Back to the Future trilogy and is a mini-sequel to 1990's Back to the Future Part III. In the United States, it was replaced by The Simpsons Ride...
  
  
• Backdraft
  Backdraft (Amusement park attraction)
  Backdraft is a fire special effects show at the Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan theme parks. The show is based on the film of the same name. Visitors can learn how the pyrotechnic effects were created and experience some of them first hand...
  
  

Snoopy Studios

• Snoopy
  Snoopy
  Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
  
  's Great Race
• Peppermint Patty's Stunt Slide

Land of Oz

• Wicked
  Wicked (musical)
  Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
  
  
• Toto
  Toto (dog)
  Toto is the name of a fictional dog in L. Frank Baum's Oz series of children's books, and works derived from them. The name is pronounced with a long "O", a homonym of "toe toe". The dog was originally a cairn terrier drawn by W.W. Denslow for the first edition of the Wizard of Oz...
  
   & Friends
• Magical Oz-Go-Round

Former attractions

• The Western Area, and with it The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show and the Animal Actors show, were revamped to become Land of Oz in 2006. This involved completely re-theming two live shows, one restaurant, and a number of retail facilities.
  • The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show was a live stunt show
    Stunt show
    Knott's Berry Farm's Wild West Stunt Show debuted on October 7, 1974. The show was written by Gary Salisbury and was only scheduled to run Monday through Friday during the Winter season in the Wagon Camp Theatre...
    
     based upon a wide variety of Universal's Western films. Opening on 31 March 2001, in the Western Town section of the park, the show featured several cowboy
    Cowboy
    A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
    
     themed actors surviving death defying stunts, shootings and explosions. The show closed in 2006 and has since been replaced by Wicked
    Wicked (musical)
    Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
    
    .
• E.T. Adventure
  E.T. Adventure
  E.T. Adventure is a dark ride featured at Universal Studios Florida and formerly, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Japan theme parks. The ride is based on the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It is expected to open at Universal Studios South Korea and Universal Studios Dubailand...
  
   has been replaced by Space Fantasy: The Ride

Trivia

The PEANUTS Characters, usually featured at Cedar Fair parks in North America, are controlled by Universal Studios in Japan.

Environmental concerns

Universal Studios Japan is located in the Konohana waterfront district, on land previously occupied by Sumitomo Metal Industries

Sumitomo Metal Industries

is a company with seat in Osaka, Japan. )It is the third largest integrated steel manufacturer in Japan withthree integrated steelworks and several other manufacturing plants.It is one of the largest manufacturers of Seamless Pipes and Tubes,...

. The site selection was controversial due to contamination issues.

During its 25-year occupancy, ending 1989, Sumitomo buried over 700,000 tons of materials laced with PCBs, heavy metals, and other carcinogens. Nao Watano, the former director of a waste disposal company subcontracted by Sumitomo, told The Japan Times, "We dumped the solid metal waste out in the open, piled it up, and then just covered it with dirt as ordered by Sumitomo. We did not encase it or anything to protect it from the elements."

After discovering this environmental disaster in 1986, the environmental protection agency ordered a perfunctory cleanup but, according to the weekly magazine Kansai Jitsuwa, the city was not aware of the full extent of the problem and no major remediation occurred.

Further environmental testing went ahead in 1998. It revealed overwhelming environmental damage. Chlorine

Chlorine

Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...

 contamination was 12 times higher than the Japanese standard, lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 1.7 times, arsenic

Arsenic

Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...

 3.5 times, mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

 1.2 times and selenium

Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...

 15 times higher. High concentrations of chromium

Chromium

Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...

, a metal believed to cause lung cancer, were also found.

At the time, Yoneko Matsura of Osaka's Mihariban Citizens' Watchdog Group accused Sumitomo of deceiving the city and the public about the contamination. "We have lost faith in the Universal Studios project and no longer trust either the city or Universal Studios Japan to build an environmentally safe theme park," Matsura wrote.

Lawsuits

In November 2004, a 35-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture

Osaka Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...

suffered nerve damage in her right wrist, resulting in the loss of use of two of her fingers and ultimately lost her job. This occurred when her hand got stuck in a safety bar of the E.T. attraction as an employee pulled it down to secure it. The woman sued the park and received JP¥14 million in an out-of-court settlement.

External links

• Universal Studios Japan