Fresh & Hot from Japan, 25 to 29 July 2016

Please enjoy fresh & hot news from Japan with comments by Europe-Japan Dynamics.

25 July. A free application for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to obtain legal knowledge, developed by Tokyo bar association

The Tokyo bar association has developed a free application “Poke Ben (Pocket lawyer)”, which delivers latest legal news or ways to avoid legal problems for owners and managers of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). It is intended to narrow the distance between SMEs’ managers and lawyer.

Comments: Knowledge is the power, also for SMEs. It is a good marketing strategy for lawyers to approach to SMEs to demonstrate in what way they may help.

26 July. Cash withdrawal by smartphone, starting by Mitsubishi UFJ Bank from 2018

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is newly creating a system to do “identity verification” by a smartphone. To pave the way forward, the bank will enable clients to establish a bank account with a smartphone from September, and introduce the first “cardless” cash withdrawal service using a smartphone with an automated teller machine (ATM) in the spring 2018.

Comments: Adding a cash withdrawal function on top of already crowded applications of smartphones, importance of information security is ever increasing.

27 Jul. Kubo, an ace player of the Japanese team of football of Olympic Games, rejected participation by his Swiss club team

Swiss football club, Young Boys, announced in its official Home Page (HP) that the club refused to send Kubo, who had already been selected as a member of the Japanese national team, to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. This was due to an injury of the left knee of the FW of the club, during the first match of three rounds of European champions league held in Ukraine. The Swiss club said that it needed to keep Kubo in the team to maintain the strength.

Comments: What a difficult decision the Swiss team had to make!

28 Jul. NTN developing hybrid power generation business, such as installation of street lamps powered by the sun and wind

NTN, a major bearing company, is entering markets of the wind and hydraulic power generation device. The company used to be a supplier of components, but is set to manufacture a high-efficiency power generator for a small windmill and waterwheel used in local communities, drawing upon its own bearing technology.

Comments: This market appears to have a high growth potential.

29 Jul. “Will reshuffle a cabinet on 3 Aug.”, said the prime minister in a meeting of cabinet members 

The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would reshuffle the cabinet on 3 August   in an informal meeting of cabinet members. The Prime Minister plans to have the Minister of Finance and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso continued in the new cabinet.

Comments: There will be many challenges to the new cabinet members.

  • All the news items are picked up from “Asahi Digital”, and summarized and translated by Europe-Japan Dynamics. The articles are not an official translation by the Asahi Newspaper.

Fresh & Hot from Japan, 18 to 22 July 2016

Please enjoy fresh & hot news from Japan with comments by Europe-Japan Dynamics.

18 Jul. Two grass boats arrived in Iriomotejima, sailing for 75 km in the way it was 30,000 years ago

Two grass boats arrived in Iriomotejima (an island of Okinawa-ken), on 18 July. This is an experiment to do the same as our ancestors did to come to Okinawa by boat 30,000 years ago, organised by a team of researchers of the National Science Museum. The boats left Yonagunijima (another island) which is approximately 75 km away from Iriomotejima in the early morning on the 17th.  On the way, they had to stop night navigation due to a fast drift of the tide, and an accompanying boat moved the grass boats to the south to place them on the right way.

Comments: Congratulations of the success of the adventure!

20 Jul. Softbank of Japan to acquire ARM of the UK by £24 billion, aiming at IoT for post-smartphone

Softbank Group ( a major Japanese mobile telecommunications operator) purchases a British ARM Holding, a global semiconductor design company, for approximately £24 billion (approximately 3,300 billion yen). This is the largest acquisition for a Japanese company to buy an overseas company. Stakes of the UK Government which wishes to invite foreign investment after Brexit, of ARM who wishes to get overseas investor and Softbank which wanted to obtain a new area of business agreed with each other.

Comments: A reduced value of the UK £ has brought a great opportunity to SoftBank to move on to acquire ARM as a strategic investment for the future of IoT.

20 Jul. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to set up an organisation which will be a control tower of developments of new medicines

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology decided a policy to set up an organisation which will function as a control tower in order to make use of results of research undertaken by universities and research organizations to create new medicine. A major purpose is to connect results of the research by separate institutions and groups in various domains with each other and thereby to discover and feed into research and development those research results which tend to be buried by huge volume of information.

Comments: A clue to success of “the control tower” would be to make the information search easy for researchers, given wide areas  and a very large volume of research. It will be ideal if the research results from institutions overseas would be included.

21 Jul. “Robo Cat Yamato”?, YAMATO experimenting an automatic driving for delivery  from the next year

 IT major D N A (DeNA) and Yamato Transport Co. Ltd. announced that they are starting an experiment to develop a distribution service using an automatic driving car from March 2017. With a nickname of “Robo Cat Yamato”, the experiment will continue for one year.

Comments: Drones in the sky, automatic driving car on the road, the logistics sector is  innovating delivery system.

22 Jul. Thanks gift of Hometown tax is sending someone who will talk to your parents, Ashiya-shi, Hyogo-Ken

Ashiya-shi (Hyogo-Ken)added a service to dispatch a person who will talk to parents of payers of the Hometown tax (a tax system in which one pays part of the tax for the city s/he lives to his/her home town) to return a favor of the payment. The service is presently delivered as a regular public service for the aged by a resource center of senior citizens operated by the city. Ashiya-shi added the service to those payers of the Hometown tax, who are worried about their parents who lives alone in the city.

Comments: The speed of aging in Japan is fastest in the world.

  • All the news items are picked up from “Asahi Digital”, and summarized and translated by Europe-Japan Dynamics. The articles are not an official translation by the Asahi Newspaper.

Fresh & Hot from Japan, 11 to 15 July 2016

Please enjoy fresh & hot news from Japan with comments by Europe-Japan Dynamics.

11 Jul.  Over “the Two-thirds” of the Upper House seats taken by those supporting revision of the Constitution, after the national election yesterday

The seats of the 24th Upper House election was settled in the morning on 11th. In the whole seats of the House which includes a non-reelection member, the number of the seats taken by those supporting revision of the Constitution exceeded  two-thirds, that is needed to amend the Constitution. These are members of the four parties promoting the amendment, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the New Komeito, the Osaka Restoration Party and the Party for Japanese Kokoro, as well as those member of the Diet who are not re-elected and do not belong to any party. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (President of the LDP) who assumes revision of the Constitution is likely to accelerate the Constitution debate in the Diet.

Comments: The draft Constitution proposed by the LDP contains a number of sensitive words that place the basic human rights under the Government control. Is it what the Japanese voters want?

12 Jul. First order from Europe of 120 MRJ, “A strong foothold of market development” said the president

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, announced that the company received an order of small jetliner MRJ under development from a European company for the first time. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Rockton AB, a regional aircraft leasing company based in Sweden, agreed on twenty (20) orders. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation takes this success as the first foothold in a prosperous European market and wishes to leverage it for further business development.

Comments: The Japanese aerospace was one of the best in the world before the end of the WWII. Let’s see how the industry will evolve.

13 Jul. Pokémon GO, to be released in Japan by the end of this week? Nintendo, stock prices  rising sharply

A smartphone game, “Pokémon GO” by Nintendo has become explosively popular. The game was downloaded more than 7,500,000 times in the United States after its release ahead of Japan.  Pokémon GO will be released in Japan soon and a hit is anticipated. The share price of Nintendo rose, as its business recovery is expected.

Comments: The game is a kind of virtual reality. The world is moving ahead to VR.

Pokemon GO

13 Jul. Japanese Emperor Akihito ‘wishes to abdicate’, advised to the Empress and the Crown Prince

We have learned from a source in the Imperial Household Agency that His Majesty the Emperor showed intention to hand over the status of Emperor to Crown Prince during the lifetime, which is unusual for the Japanese imperial family, for which the death has been the only reason of abdication in the past 200 years. The Emperor has been repeating the intention since several years. The Imperial House Act does not have a clause that states rules and procedures of  abdication while alive.

Comments: The Emperor is 82 years old. He should be allowed to retire from a heavy job as the Emperor.

15 Jul. LINE went public at the first share price of 4,900 yen in Tokyo Stock Exchange,  with the aggregated market value of 1 trillion yen

LINE  which provided an application of phone-talk went public in the First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange. The first share price was 4,900 yen, that exceeded  a public price (3,300 yen) by approximately 48%. The aggregate market value of the company calculated by the first price amounted to approximately 1 trillion yen, which was the largest value for a company newly went public this year.

Comments: LINE also went public in NYSE on 14 Jul. Communication continues being personalised.

  • All the news items are picked up from “Asahi Digital”, and summarized and translated by Europe-Japan Dynamics. The articles are not an official translation by the Asahi Newspaper.

Fresh & Hot from Japan, 4 to 8 July 2016

Please enjoy fresh & hot news from Japan with comments by Europe-Japan Dynamics.

4 Jul. Heat of 36.1 degrees hit Wakayama, “Be careful!” said Meteorological Agency

It became severely hot mainly on the Pacific side of Japan on the 4th, and temperature rose rapidly. The temperature rose above 35 degrees in several cities already in the morning. At noon, it recorded 36.1 degrees in in Shingu-shi, Wakayama, 35.9 degrees in Kawanehon-cho, Shizuoka, 35.4 degrees in Kamikitayama-mura, Nara, 34.5 degrees.  The tempereture rose to 34.3 degrees in Ozu-shi, Ehime, and 34.5 degrees in Hirakata-shi, Osaka.

Comments: Such an extraordinarily high temperature is scarcely. It may signal some disorder happening in our planet.

5 Jul. Glico ice cream extremely popular in Thailand, developing its ice-cream business in  Southeast Asia 

A major confectionery, Ezaki Glico (Osaka-shi) place emphasis on ice cream business in Southeast Asia. The company started selling its ice cream for the first time in Thailand for its overseas business in January and is beginning the sale and production within this year in Indonesia. Having the Glico brand popular abroad, the company will develop business in growing markets in Asia.

Comments: The Japanese food industry is also developing in Southeast Asia.

6 Jul. The 18 years old, getting the right to vote from the forthcoming election, the high school newspapers assert importance of continued interests

Newspaper clubs of high schools takes up as a subject of an article “the right to vote for the 18 years old”. Some reports results of a questionnaire survey to ask if one would go for a vote, and others analyses “political neutrality” for the school. Teachers expect those papers raise interests in the election of students of 18 years old, as high school papers are familiar media for them.

Comments: The high school papers provide good opportunities for the youngest voters to think of what is the voting bring for them.

7 Jul. Japanese Astronaut Onishi left for space trip for 4 months, space spaceship Soyuz placed on the orbit

The Russian spaceship Soyuz which Japanese Astronaut Takuya Onishi (40) and others boarded was launched at 7:36 a.m. on 7th July (Japan time 10:36 a.m.), from Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan. Onishi stays in the International Space Station (ISS) for approximately four months and undertake scientific experiments. He is the sixth Japanese astronaut who stays in the ISS for a long time and it is the seventh time for the Japanese to join in the ISS.

Comments: It is great that the space technologies are used for the advancement of the science.

8 Jul. Meiji Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. to extend retirement age to 65 years old, the first time among major life insurance companies

Meiji Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. decided to extend the retirement age of all full-time employees to 65 years old from 60 years old. The purpose is to utilize the resources of the expert staff. The company will implement the plan from April, 2019, after a labor and management discussion. This is the first case for major life insurance companies tto extend the retirement age of all full-time employees to 65 years old.

Comments: A number of other companies may follow this case, as companies must utilize resources of the employees with experience when population of younger generation is decreasing.

  • All the news items are picked up from “Asahi Digital”, and summarized and translated by Europe-Japan Dynamics. The articles are not an official translation by the Asahi Newspaper.

Personal gift for summer from “Moshi moshi, Japan?”

Started enjoying nice summer?

Wish to review your business with Japan from distance?

“Moshi moshi, Japan?” have prepared a personal gift for you for summer!

We will offer you a personal assessment of a culture gap between you and Japan, and your solutions. The offer is exclusively for members of “Moshi moshi, Japan?” and  free of charge.

 

IMG_3136

What will you get?

– Clear views of your possible pitfalls you may not notice in doing business with Japan.

– Personalized culture gap analysis and suggestions of actions to avoid the pitfalls, that meet with your own business context and requirements.

How does it work?

– You will take an online assessment, needing 15 minutes or so.

– You will receive a report of the results.

– We will deliver you debriefing of the report by phone or in a face to face meeting (will take 30 minutes).

Is the assessment valuable?

Yes. I will offer “Culture Compass”, a tool to scale the different sets of values, based on the 6 Dimension Model of national cultures developed by a well known scholar of international business management, Professor Geert Hofstede. It will help you visualize the impact of your own cultural value preferences and potential behavioral pitfalls when dealing with people from other countries. Please find out more information from the link –> http://itim.org/culture-compass

  • The assessment and debriefing are free, and must be completed by Friday 5 August.
  • This opportunity is offered for 5 people only, due to the workload needed for the assessment. First come, first served.
Interested?
Please write to –> yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com
(DO NOT use the “reply” button of this e-mail. Everyone will see your reply!)Wishing you a nice and fruitful summer!
Yoshiko

Fresh & Hot from Japan, 24 June to 1 July 2016

Please enjoy fresh & hot news from Japan with comments by Europe-Japan Dynamics.

24 Jun. Prime Minister Abe instructed Ministers to take prompt actions in response to the UK secession from the EU

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting with the cabinet Ministers concerned to discuss actions in response to the European Union (EU) secession of the U.K. in the evening of 24th. He said, “I am concerned about a risk of the world economy and a currency market. We must ensure of stabilization of the money market as a matter of priority”. He further pointed out the need for the Government to cope with possible influences on Japanese companies operating in the U.K. and Japanese economy, and instructed the Cabinet Ministers concerned to take actions needed.

Comments: We are all diving into an unknown zone, after being shocked by the result of the UK referendum.

27 Jun. Rearrested a 17 years old for the alleged outflow of information of 6 high schools including the grades injustice by illegal connection

The Metropolitan Police Department and the Saga Prefectural Police rearrested an unemployed boy (17 years old, living in Saga-shi) on the ground of alleged violation of Unauthorized Computer Access Law for an illegal access to the computer network of prefectural high schools in Saga prefecture. He is likely to have broken into the networks of at least 6 high schools, and, according to the Saga Board of Education, performance records and the personal information of 9,589 students and teachers were taken away. The police said that the boy admitted most of the case for his charge.

Comments: Both protection of electronic data and education to grow computer moral are important.

28 Jun. Japanese businesses concerned about Brexit, Prime Minister instructed to include measures to reduce the reactions in the supplementary budget 

Following the U.K. secession from European Union (EU), Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed Nobuteru Ishihara, Minister in charge of economic revitalization, to include the measures to reduce anticipated impacts on businesses in the second supplementary budget this year to be submitted to an extraordinary session of the Diet in the autumn.

Comments: Japanese reactions to Brexit is centered on economic consequences.

29 Jun. Testing forklift powered by hydrogen generated by the sun light, Toyota Kyushu

Toyota Motor Corporation Kyushu and Fukuoka Prefecture have announced that they are starting from the next Spring a demonstration test to move a forklift equipped with a fuel cell powered by the hydrogen generated by photovoltaic power. By the experiment, it is aimed to clarify technical issues and to find ways to cut costs during the FY 2017 in view of market introduction of the hydrogen-powered forklift.

Comments: Two-thirds of the cost of the project is subsidized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The Government is pushing forward the energy development leveraging the private sector.

30 Jun. Covering Mt. Fuji by WiFi, a base station to be built in all the mountain hut Mount

KDDI (a major Japanese telecommunications carrier) has announced that he company will enable the free use of WiFi in all the mountain huts in Mount Fuji regardless of a telecommunications carrier with which users have contracts. The WiFi network is expected to be useful at the emergency including the eruption. KDDI plan to put base stations in 49 premises, including all the mountain huts and public facilities.

Fujisan WiFi_1469440 Comments: It is a very good idea!

1 Jul. Student volunteers for cyber crime prevention, in cooperation with police 

“The cyber crime prevention volunteers” are playing active roles in cooperation with the police, when the crimes that abuse the Internet are occurring here and there. Nearly 10,000 people, many of whom are University students, have registered in the past four and a half years since the launch of this initiative by the police. The volunteers have become an indispensable force, searching harmful information in Cyberspace, teaching children and the aged people risks of careless use of the Internet and how to use smartphones.

Comments: While it’s a good idea, schools, not police, should take initiative to teach children etiquette and proper use of the Internet services. 

  • All the news items are picked up from “Asahi Digital”, and summarized and translated by Europe-Japan Dynamics. The articles are not an official translation by the Asahi Newspaper.