TOKYO AP People across Asia handed out condoms and wore red ribbons Tuesday as part of efforts on World AIDS Day to raise awareness about the spread of the disease especially in underdeveloped countries. In Japan the Health Ministry organized rallies and charity concerts in central Tokyo to spread the word about AIDS and express solidarity with those suffering from the disease. ``It's extremely important to have an event every year to repeatedly remind people that AIDS exists'' said Dr. Yoshiki Sakurai an official of the Japanese Foundation for AIDS Prevention. Events in Tokyo will culminate with the lighting of a tree decorated with home-made red-ribbons the symbol of AIDS solidarity sent in from across Japan. Discrimination against AIDS sufferers remains a serious problem in Japan and the country still lags behind many Western countries in AIDS treatment facilities and education. ``We have to move on from the current situation in Japan where people with HIV are isolated to one in which they are accepted as full members of society with jobs'' said Satoru Ienishi a member of Parliament. Ienishi was among the thousands of Japanese hemophiliacs who contracted the AIDS virus through the use of government-approved blood products tainted by HIV. ``The taboo against AIDS is so strong in Japan that people with HIV are less likely to die from AIDS than from economic difficulty'' caused by their alienation from society he said in a telephone interview. In China the government marked World AIDS Day by opening its first exhibition on the disease featuring photos of drug users and AIDS patients. The government also unveiled a new AIDS control program that will include a nationwide campaign to educate people on how to prevent AIDS. China is expecting a fourfold rise in AIDS cases within two years. It has officially recorded 11170 HIV cases but Health Ministry officials estimate that more than 300000 Chinese have the disease. In Hong Kong bars restaurants and nightclubs handed out beer coasters warning people to practice safe sex as part of a three-week AIDS awareness program organized by support group AIDS Concern. The colorful coasters feature pictures of a fluorescent condom on one side with a safe sex messages on the reverse. One version of the coaster reads: ``Do it safely; use a condom every time.'' Aids Concern also handed out 5000 condoms at subway stations in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. The theme of the 11th World AIDS Day is ``Be a force for change.'' Experts have warned recently that although powerful new drugs have sent AIDS deaths plunging in industrialized countries the disease continues to kill millions of people in impoverished nations in Africa and Asia. According to a new U.N. report about 33.4 million people around the world are infected with HIV two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Two million people will die of the disease south of the Sahara this year four times the total for the rest of the world. About 1.7 million people in Africa and 700000 people in Asia and the Pacific are infected with HIV every year according to U.N. figures. The Cambodian government marked AIDS day with the grim announcement that 150000 people 1.3 percent of the population are infected with the AIDS virus. Officials said that 50 to 70 people catch HIV in Cambodia every day the highest HIV infection rate in Asia. The economic crisis sweeping through Southeast Asia has made it even more difficult for governments in the region to curb the spread of AIDS. On the eve of AIDS day Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa launched a plea at the United Nations for governments around the world to contribute more funds to the worldwide fight against AIDS. ``We aren't doing enough to say to governments for goodness sake why have so much money for death and so little for life'' Tutu said U.S. President Bill Clinton prepared to mark AIDS day with the announcement of dlrs 10 million in emergency grants to help poorer nations care for children orphaned by AIDS. UR; js-buros APW19981201.0760.txt.body.html APW19981201.1215.txt.body.html