KOBE--It's taken Kobe Port a number of years to rise from the ashes of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, but rise it has, thanks in no small part to a somewhat unlikely trade-used cars.

It took two full years to completely restore the harbor after the temblor, during which time cargo that used to pass through the port was diverted to Osaka, Yokohama and other Asian hubs. Much of the business never returned.

To restore the activity of the port, the municipal government eased restrictions on the use of harbor premises in 1997.

The deregulation paved the way for more than a dozen used-car dealers and exporters to set up shop in the area, and the port is now buzzing again thanks to the second-hand automobile trade.

``Kobe Port has become active once again because both cargoes and people are gathering as a result of businesses related to used cars,'' said an official from Kobe's Port and Urban Projects Bureau. ``We plan to provide further support to accelerate the trend.''

Business is already so brisk that the municipal government plans to convert disused container berths into ones devoted to vehicle export vessels and implement other steps to promote the industry.

The redeveloped Shinko-Higashi wharf is the site of HAA Kobe Inc.'s secondhand vehicle auction every Saturday that attracts buyers from as far away as Russia and Pakistan.

The auctioneer is a pioneer at Kobe Port. Its predecessor launched the business in 1999, two years after the city expanded the range of businesses allowed to buy or lease land at the port. Previously, eligible companies were limited to licensed operators of harbor transport and warehouse businesses.

``We have been able to acquire a large tract of land here, and access (for cargo transportation) is excellent, be it land, sea or air,'' says Hideo Isobe, president of HAA Kobe.

On average, some 7,500 used cars are put on the block each auction.

Sitting in tiers, buyers appraise the cars, whose images are projected onto a huge screen in front of them and on small displays attached to each seat. A button on each seat enables the buyers to make bids. Each push of the button raises a bid by several thousand yen.

It takes no longer than 20 seconds for a car to be auctioned off.

About 10 percent of secondhand automobiles bought at the auction are exported to Russia, Dubai, New Zealand and countries in Asia.

Because Japanese automobiles have a reputation for being reliable, the used cars are popular overseas.

Following in HAA Kobe's wake, seven automobile auction companies have established themselves in the area. By the end of November, a total of 16 related businesses had gathered at the port.

Next summer, Japan's biggest auto auctioneer, USS Co., is slated to open a site. For the Tokai, Aichi Prefecture-based company, it will be its 15th auction site nationwide.

In 2004, about 25,000 used cars were exported from Kobe by the end of August, compared with about 27,600 for all of 2003, according to figures compiled by Kobe Customs. The 2003 figure was up from about 21,000 units in 2002.

The figures mean that Kobe accounts for about 4 percent of the total number of used cars exported from Japan this year.

In October, a new regular sea route for car carriers from Kobe to Dubai was added to existing routes to Russia and Europe.

The Kobe government helped open the Middle East route after receiving private-sector requests to export used cars directly to other regions.

A municipal government official says the city hopes to add a regular route to New Zealand in the near future.(IHT/Asahi: December 16,2004)