Category Archives: Japan

Japan’s GDP to rise by 2.59% under TPP

Business in Tokyo (Japan)

Business in Tokyo (Japan)

 

“The government said it expects the recently sealed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact to boost gross domestic product by ¥13.6 trillion or 2.59 percent from fiscal 2014 in its first estimate since the deal was struck in October.

Growth will be driven by exports and investment is to be facilitated by the removal or lowering of tariffs and unified international rules under the 12-nation free trade initiative.

While the expected growth will create 795,000 new jobs, or 1.25 percent of the 63.6 million-strong workforce in fiscal 2014, the trade pact will cause a ¥130 billion loss to the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector. This will become a mere ¥210 billion in size through competition with cheaper imports.

The government declined to clarify when the economic growth would be achieved. A government official said it usually takes one or two decades to create such an economic impact.

The free trade zone will cover 40 percent of the global economy.

The government will remove tariffs on 95.1 percent of imported products under the trade framework, as duties on some sensitive farm products will be maintained.

The pact is expected to take effect within about two years, Akira Amari, the Japanese minister in charge of the TPP, said last month. It requires ratification by member countries.

Meanwhile, there are many reasons why the forecasts may not bear out. The estimate is based on a future virtuous circle of economic growth and does not reflect the current economic environment.”    (Japan Times)

 

Will this deal deliver on the expected benefits/forecasts for each member country?

Will it be ratified by each country (including the US)?

What about China’s position vs TPP?

What do you think? 

 

Read more from:   Japan’s GDP to rise by 2.59% under TPP

 


MRJ’s Latest Development Status

20151127_MRJ_3rd Flight Test_3 (Picture - Mitsubishi Aircraft)

20151127_MRJ_3rd Flight Test_3 (Picture – Mitsubishi Aircraft)

 

“Nagoya, December 24, 2015 –Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) today announced that the companies will change the first delivery schedule of the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet), their next-generation regional jet, from the second quarter of 2017 to approximately one year later.

The first flight and the subsequent flight tests have confirmed the basic characteristics to be satisfactory. However, we also have recognized several issues as we attempt to accelerate our development. In order to tackle these issues and address the perspectives below, we have reviewed and revised our overall schedule.

Specifically, in the progress of our engineering work together with experts in the United States, we have made additions to and revisions of test items in order to complete a better-integrated aircraft. These have been reflected in the new delivery schedule. In addition, we have undertaken an overall review with our partners, and reflected this in our development schedule.

Looking ahead, we will be managing our milestones, and increasing the precision of our schedule as we progress. We will also carry out flight test campaign in North America as soon as feasible and assign the roles and responsibilities of the three engineering bases (Mitsubishi Aircraft Headquarters, Seattle Engineering Center and Moses-Lake Test Center) for prompt execution in all fields. With all these measures, we aim to propel the development of the MRJ.

We remain firmly committed to providing our customers with better-integrated aircraft with higher levels of safety and reliability, as well as high-quality services.”       

(MRJ’s Press Release:  Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd)

We regret the delay but it is probably necessary in order to complete a better aircraft!

Looking forward to seeing the results!

 


Recycled Paper Churches from architect Shigeru Ban (Japan) !!

Cardboard Church, Christchurch, New Zealand (Yahoo UK, Photo: Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects )

Cardboard Church, Christchurch, New Zealand (Yahoo UK, Photo: Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects )

 

“Japanese architect Shigeru Ban operates in extremes, creating everything from disaster housing made of beer crates to museums with price tags in the tens of millions of dollars. But whatever the cost, all of his projects have embraced simple materials and natural surroundings. Ten years before winning the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014, for example, Ban convinced the UN that his recycled-paper tube shelters could house refugees of the Rwandan civil war, a feat that eventually led to his TED talk on emergency shelters—and one that has made a lasting impact on the architecture world.”   (Yahoo UK – Decor Contributors)

 

This is an example of how Japanese Innovation in Architectural Design can contribute to the world’s needs!!  If you know of other interesting applications originating from Japan, please let us know!

 

Read more from:   Paper Church from Shigeru Ban

 


US: FAA awards type certification to HondaJet

HondaJet HA-420 (Picture - Flightglobal & Honda Aircraft)

HondaJet HA-420 (Picture – Flightglobal & Honda Aircraft)

 

“The HondaJet HA-420 light business jet has received FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) type certification (on December 8), allowing Honda Aircraft to begin making deliveries within days.

Greensboro, North Carolina-based Honda Aircraft has been pursuing certification of the light jet for more than 12 years. The original HA-420 prototype completed first flight in 2003 but flight testing prompted Honda to redesign and enlarge the aircraft’s engine. A partnership with GE Aviation produced the HF120 turbofan.

Honda Aircraft chief executive Michimasa Fujino announced at the NBAA convention in November that the HA-420 had also completed functional and reliability testing, ending the flight test phase of the certification campaign.” (Flightglobal)

 

Great news but when will we see some “action” in Europe? Looking forward to that!

What do you think?

 

Read more from:

US: FAA awards type certification to HondaJet

 


Top 100 aerospace companies (Flightglobal ranking)

Top 100 Aerospace Companies (Picture - Flightglobal)

Top 100 Aerospace Companies (Picture – Flightglobal)

 

Flightglobal Analysis:

Aerospace industry financial data from 2014 underscores the obvious: this industry is riding a decade-long growth wave. Our analysis, compiled by the aerospace experts at PwC, shows that, barring a wobble during the darkest days of the financial crisis, makers of aircraft and their suppliers mostly sloughed off the downturn and then surged during an otherwise weak recovery. Indeed, aerospace can be said to be enjoying an economic super-cycle.

All-time sales records have fallen two years running, and growth is pushing double digits. The big two, Boeing and Airbus, are delivering aircraft, and taking orders, at rates that would have gobsmacked industry bosses 15 years ago – validating, it would seem, long-range demand forecasts that are giving today’s aerospace leaders the confidence to invest.

Can it go on? The optimistic assumption has long been that rising wealth in emerging markets is translating into a demand for travel that will endure – and aerospace growth has been outpacing world GDP for years.

But Brazil and India are on the buffers. Russia is suffering and only a fool would assume that a Chinese crisis – and hence, quite possibly, a global crisis – is out of the question. The slump in oil prices takes the urgency out of replacing ageing, relatively thirsty, aircraft fleets. And turmoil in the Middle East might lead US and European governments to boost defence spending, but the net effect of conflict would surely be negative.

But as many an industry insider has noted, even if half the orderbook evaporated, the aerospace industry would still be in fine shape.

 

What is your vision or forecasts for the future of the Aerospace Industry? What do you think?

 

Download the TOP 100 Report from:

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-top-100-aerospace-companies-416514/?cmpid=NLC|FGFG|FGFIN-2015-0915-GLOB

 


LEGO Japan: “People think better if they just put a few blocks together”

LEGO Blocks (Picture - Wikimedia Commons)

LEGO Blocks (Picture – Wikimedia Commons)

 

“In this digital era, where children are often found playing computer games or gazing at handheld devices, some might say there is little room for old-school toys. But Danish-born Steen Lauge Kokkenborg would dispute that thinking. As representative director and general manager of LEGO Japan, Kokkenborg says children get tremendous value from hands-on play.

“We know from research that kids actually need a spatial understanding,” he says. “And you don’t get a spatial understanding from a two-dimensional TV screen or phone. I think that’s where the active play with LEGO products comes in, as an important way of developing children.”

If you put kids in front of LEGO, they will intuitively start immersing themselves in building,” he says. “It’s suddenly them deciding 100% what they want to do. If you play a computer game, you are always depending on how the game is designed, who are the players, how do I go through the game … With LEGO products, you just build whatever is in your head. To me, that’s the fascinating thing.

The firm’s head office in Tokyo is populated with massive LEGO-shaped stools and chairs, while each meeting room has a bowl of LEGO on the desk. Kokkenborg believes people “think better if they just put a few blocks together”.   

With stiff competition from Japanese toy manufacturers, Kokkenborg says Japan has been a tough market to crack. LEGO’s market share here is nowhere near that of its other global markets. However, Kokkenborg is optimistic that LEGO will continue to catch on with parents and children in the world’s second-largest toy market.”   

(EUROBIZ Japan)

Lesson learned in Japan: If you can imagine a product, it has already been launched in Japan.”

What is your experience of the Japanese Toy Market?

Read more from:  LEGO and the Japanese Toy Market


Is Japan’s future an Hydrogen Society??

Hydrogen Fuel Car (picture - ORNL)

Hydrogen Fuel Car (picture – ORNL)

 

Toyota’s plans to build a hydrogen-based society

The Japanese automaker says it will sell 30,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2020 and use hydrogen at its factories to reach ambitious environmental targets.

While other automakers are investing more into electric vehicles as a means to reduce tailpipe emissions, Toyota is betting on hydrogen and hybrid cars.

The automaker sold more than 1.2 million hybrid vehicles in 2014 and expects to reach 8 million in worldwide cumulative hybrid vehicle sales by 2015.

Hydrogen cars are another matter. Toyota launched its first fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai, in late 2014. To reach its 30,000 annual sales goal by 2020 it will have to increase production volume tenfold from 2017. The car, which the EPA says has a 312-mile range, will debut in the U.S. market (just California) this fall. Even if customer demand for the fuel cell vehicle tops expectations, sales will likely remain sluggish until infrastructure problems are solved.

There are only 12 public hydrogen fuel stations in the United States, according to the Department of Energy. Ten of those are in California, making it the only feasible market in the U.S. for hydrogen cars.

In Japan, hydrogen cars have at least a fighting chance, thanks largely to a push by Toyota, Nissan, and Honda.

Toyota isn’t stopping with vehicles. The company wants to “foster a hydrogen-based society,” which means using hydrogen in cars, buses, and manufacturing. To do that, Toyota says it is making 5,680 fuel cell patents freely available and collaborating with other automakers to support the development of hydrogen infrastructure.

Toyota plans to use hydrogen and renewable energy such as wind power to cut emissions generated when manufacturing its cars.”   (Fortune)

 

Is Japan’s future an Hydrogen society?? 

What about Electric vs Hybrid vs Hydrogen fuel Cars?

Do you share Toyota’s vision? It is a brave and smart move!!

What do you think?

 

Read more from:

http://fortune.com/2015/10/14/toyota-hydrogen-goals/

 

“The Japanese government has joined forces with some of the country’s biggest manufacturers to push for what it’s calling a “hydrogen society,” in which everything from buses to cars to homes are powered by the plentiful, zero-emission fuel.

A big coming-out party for the hydrogen society is planned for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when hydrogen-fueled buses will ferry athletes and fans around Olympic event sites. The government and companies including Toyota and Iwatani are working together to build a network of hydrogen fueling stations—there are around a dozen across the country already, with the goal of 35 up and running by 2020.”    (Fortune)

 

Read more from:

http://fortune.com/2015/10/21/japan-hydrogen-fuel/

 

 

 

 


More about the first, second and third MRJ Test Flights !!

 

“At 9:35 a.m. on November 11, the first flight test aircraft of the MRJ approached takeoff speed, easing up slowly at first, then quietly soared into the autumn sky. After its takeoff at Nagoya Airport, it proceeded to training airspace over the Pacific, with a view of Mt. Fuji in the distance. Tests confirmed the aircraft’s basic characteristics in maneuvers including ascent, descent and circling left and right. The first flight test aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 15,000ft (approx. 4,500m) and a maximum speed of 150Kt (approx. 280Km/h).

It landed at Nagoya Airport at 11:02 a.m., completing a successful first flight lasting 1 hr., 27 min. Cheers of delight and relief were heard from officials looking on from a gathering area by the runway and engineers standing ready in our office to handle possible contingencies, as well as from crowds of people watching from parks and other locations in the vicinity.

For us, for Japan, and for the worldwide aviation industry, November 11, 2015, will go down as a historic day. This test accomplished the first flight of a domestically-developed passenger airliner since the YS-11 53 years ago.

After the first (successful) MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet) Test Flight on November 11,  Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation conducted the 2nd & 3rd flight tests of the first flight test aircraft  on Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 27 respectively.”         (Mitsubishi Aircraft’s PR)

 

Congratulations!

The GBMC Team

 

More Test Flight Videos from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8-2UYCZ51s

and

Mitsubishi MRJ Movie Theater


GBMC, Europe Japan Business Consulting

Check out http://gbmc.biz! Europe Japan Consulting, GBMC, Consulting firm specialised in Japan Market Reports, EU Market Reports, Japan Business Coaching, Japan Business Culture

Source: GBMC, Europe Japan Business Consulting


Japan rewards “Pharma Innovation” with an “Innovation Premium”!!

Medicines in Japan

Medicines in Japan

 

“Over the past five years, Japan’s central government has made great strides in streamlining the approval process for new drugs and medicines. The reduction in the so-called drug lag has led to a drastic improvement in approval times for medicines available to patients in other countries.

According to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), other government measures including an “innovation premium” have also helped get new and innovative medicines into the hands of Japanese patients.

How can Japan become a more dynamic market for pharma companies to invest in?

The first important message is that investment is becoming more competitive. Pharma companies invest a lot into emerging markets, so we’re competing with resources to get investment into Japan. The reason Japan is attractive is it’s a fairly predictable environment and innovation is rewarded ….”      (EUROBIZ  Japan)

Great update on the “Pharma” Market in Japan!!

Reducing the “drug lag” and supporting the introduction of new (Innovative) Medicines will definitely give a boost to this growing market in Japan, attract investments from EU (foreign) Pharma companies as well as being beneficial to Japanese patients. What do you think?

 

Read more from:

Japan rewards “Pharma Innovation” with an “Innovation Premium”!!

 

 


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