The Office of Commercial Affairs,
Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Govt Panel Calls For Adopting Green Tax Next Fall
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Taxes on coal, the biggest emitter of CO2, will be roughly doubled to around 1,400 yen per ton when an environmental tax is introduced in fall 2011 as proposed by the government Tax Commission.
The panel plans to increase taxes on fuels based on resulting carbon dioxide emissions. Taxes assessed on gasoline and other petroleum products will be hiked by 0.79 yen per liter, or 39%. The added levies are expected to generate around 240 billion yen a year.
The government will create a special government account to use the resulting revenue for the spread of solar power and electric vehicles. Such efforts are expected to reduce CO2 emissions 30% in 2030, compared with 1990. The hikes will be included in tax reform guidelines to be decided by the cabinet as soon as Dec. 14 and to be adopted next fiscal year.
Source : The Yomiuri Dec. 7, 2010
NEC, Others Rev Up Spending On Auto Lithium Ion Batteries
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Spurred by the anticipated popularity of electric vehicles, NEC Corp., Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. and other firms are stepping up investments in components and materials for EV batteries.
NEC plans to remarkably hike electrode output capacity by adding equipment at its Sagamihara plant, which began mass production in July. It will spend 20 billion yen by the end of March on increasing capacity to 2 million kilowatt-hours a year, enough to power more than 80,000 EVs. Another 30 billion yen or so will be invested by the end of fiscal 2012 to increase the output to 10 million kilowatt-hours, enough for 400,000 to 500,000 vehicles.
The electrodes will be supplied to a lithium ion battery joint venture between NEC and Nissan Motor Co. This venture produces batteries for Nissan's Leaf EV, which appears on the market in Japan and the U.S. this month, and has been scrambling to ensure stable supplies.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Chemical has allocated 30 billion yen through fiscal 2015 to crank up the production capacity for lithium ion battery materials. Investments will be focused on Japan, including expanding electrolyte output at the Yokkaichi plant in Mie Pref. In China, the company will build an integrated plant for negative electrodes.
Through subsidiaries Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and Mitsubishi Plastics Inc., the holding company is involved in all four key parts of lithium ion batteries -- cathodes, anodes, separators and electrolytes. It is aiming for an average 20% global market share. Sales of the four items are targeted at 80 billion yen for fiscal 2015, up 370% from this fiscal year.
Asahi Kasei Corp., holding a 40% share of the world market for separators, will spend 2 billion yen at its Hyuga complex in Miyazaki Prefecture to increase the prodution. And Hitachi Chemical Co. will fork out 2 billion yen to bolster infrastructure.
With automakers to begin selling EVs in earnest around 2012, the market is expected to explode. The global market for lithium ion batteries for autos will top 1 trillion yen in 2014, a research firm projects.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 7,2010
Nissan Using IT To Help Drivers Make The Most Of Leaf
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Information technology is ready to play a critical role in the driving experience that Nissan Motor Co. offers with the Leaf, its new electric vehicle hitting the market Dec. 20.
Having lagged behind Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. with hybrid cars, Nissan has now staked its future on EVs. But the Leaf can travel 200km on a single charge -- only about a third as far as a gasoline-powered vehicle. And unlike gasoline-electric hybrids, EVs stop moving once the batteries run out.
To alleviate such "range anxiety," Nissan has installed equipment that can charge a battery to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes, at roughly 200 dealerships in Japan. "By having the chargers in place at a location that covers a 40km radius, we can offer almost full coverage nationwide," an official at the automaker says.
This still offers far less convenience than the 40,000 gas stations throughout Japan, however. And few highway rest stops offer recharging facilities at present. The government aims to get 5,000 units installed nationwide by 2020. But for the time being, EV buyers will likely be primarily in urban areas, where recharging facilities are more widely accessible.
Advance Warning
A dedicated information and communications system built by Nissan not only notifies the Leaf's driver when the battery is low, but also displays the nearest recharging station. The driver can also confirm charge levels via smartphone before a trip.
After the oil crises of the 1970s and the adoption of tougher environmental regulations by the U.S. in the 1990s, EVs drew significant attention in the auto industry as Earth-friendly alternatives to gasoline-powered cars. But the buzz proved short-lived each time. This time, though, there is a difference, argues Hidetoshi Kadota, the chief vehicle engineer who oversaw the Leaf's development.
"Information technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, and we can apply the fruits to electric vehicles," Kadota says. The use of IT may also help drive new business opportunities for the With a smartphone, you can check the Leaf's battery charge before getting in the car. carmaker. Such data as the distances covered and roads traveled by each Leaf in a day will be sent from the vehicle to a Nissan data center. This will let the firm monitor battery wear and tear, notifying drivers when replacements are needed.
Buying back used batteries could enable Nissan to resell them as storage batteries. The automaker has already set up a joint venture with trading house Sumitomo Corp. to explore the commercialization of recycled batteries. The system also enables vehicle locations to be tracked, possibly paving the way for car-sharing operations down the road.
The debut of the Leave by Nissan, made the global eco car competition much fiercer.
However so long as there is no clear prospect for a supportive measure each country would adopts and no one knows which type of eco cars would spread out the world.
The Leaf costs around 3.76 -42.50 million JPY. With the governmental subsidy, the price goes down to 2.98-42.5 million JPY.
Nissan targeted the domestic sale of FY2010 to 6,000 cars and the target has been already cleared by the advance reservation order. The Leaf will launch into U.S. and Europe sooner. So far Nissan produces the Leaf at the Oppama factory, in Kanagawa pref. and after 2012, the production in Smyrna factory, in the U.S. will be started. Nissan plans to ensure the production capacity, 25cars/year by the beginning of 2013. Nissan’s EV production capacity is regarded as the top class which far exceeds other leading car makers in the world.
Regarding to the battery, which costs around 50% of EV total cost, Nissan plans to consolidate the production capacity, 500,000 car / year by 2015 including the capacity of Renault, France. Nissan hurries to reduce the cost with the scale merit. Nissan focuses on EV because Nissan can use the accumulated technology in the past. Even if at the management crisis 10 years ago, Nissan continued to research the core parts of EV such as battery and motor and now enables to produce high quality parts. Nissan also aim to create a brand image of EV like Toyota created a certain image for HV.'
However at this moment, nobody knows which type of car will be the main stream of eco-car for the next generation. Toyota will commercialize EV in 2012 but Toyota’s EV will be for short distance.
Mr. Takeshi Yamada, vice president of Toyota regards that the electrifiable plug-in hybrid vehicle, PHV is most promising for ordinary vehicles.
The future prospect of the eco-car competition quite replies on the supportive measure each country would adopt. Alliance Bernstein, a stock investing company, added that if China, the largest market in the world, adopt the large-value of supportive subsidiary for EV, each carmaker have to shift the EV production.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 4,2010
Japan To Launch Recycling Program For 13 Rare Metals
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The government plans to create a recycling program for devices such as mobile phones and game consoles in an effort to secure supplies of 13 rare metals essential for producing high-tech products.
Technologies for extracting rare metals from used home appliances have not yet been fully developed, so recycling operations often are not economically viable. The government intends to The leading car makers’s the future plan for eco-cars Nissan “Leaf”(EV ) will debut on Dec. 20.
Toyota Plug-in hybrid vehicle(PHV), will debut in 2012.
Compact EV car will debut in Japan, U.S. and Europe Honda PHV and EV will debut Mitsubishi motors In addition to“i-MiEV” sold from 2009, a commercial vehicle type will debut within 2011. provide financing if necessary, but it may not support recycling technologies that it believes are far from becoming practical.
Lithium, indium, manganese and platinum are among the 13 rare metals that the government hopes to recover. It plans to designate small appliances that use such metals as subject to recycling. About 10-20 types of devices are on a list of candidates, including digital cameras, camcorders, DVD players and microwave ovens.
The government hopes to soon enter talks with municipalities, which handle garbage collection, as well as recycling firms, volume electronics retailers and others to discuss specifics. Municipalities typically treat small appliances as noncombustible garbage, but a proposal calls for creating a new category for such devices so that they can be gathered separately when household garbage is collected. Under another plan, retailers would be required to set up collection boxes for small appliances. But these parties may object because they would have to shoulder higher costs.
Global demand for rare metals is certain to grow sharply in line with increased sales of environmentally friendly cars and other products. According to some estimates, demand for lithium will surge 203-fold and demand for manganese will jump 161-fold from current levels in 2020.
In Sept., China sharply cut exports of rare-earth elements, which are a subcategory of rare metals.
With 97% of Japan's rare-earth imports coming from China, Japan is now scrambling to find other suppliers. It reached an agreement with Vietnam over joint development of such materials at the end of October. But it will also take steps to recycle rare earths at home.
Japan currently has laws for mandatory recycling of large appliances, such as refrigerators and televisions, as well as automobiles. But there are no rules for recycling mobile phones and other such devices, which contain relatively large amounts of rare metals.
Source : The Nikkei Dec. 12, 2010
Overseas projects get push / JBIC to help Japanese firms get infrastructure projects abroad
The government's decision to spin off the Japan Bank for International Cooperation from the Japan Finance Corporation comes from concern that Japan's economy cannot grow further unless both the public and private sectors financially support firms chasing major overseas projects. "Exporting social infrastructure" was a key pillar of the government's new growth strategy approved by the Cabinet in June.
The strategy calls for the private and public sectors to work together to create an overseas infrastructure-related market worth nearly 20 trillion yen by 2020. Emerging nations in Asia as well as industrialized countries, such as the United States and European countries, are the prime targets of this campaign.
The government intends to enhance the JBIC's ability to financially support these projects. Because large overseas projects often have more risks than domestic undertakings, some private financial institutions hesitate to extend loans to these projects. If the government-affiliated bank provides low-interest loans to firms and funding projects, it will embolden private financial institutions to also provide funding.
The Chinese and South Korean governments have been making foreign investments, which has encouraged firms in these nations to make forays into overseas markets. The Japanese government believes a government-affiliated financial institution needs to take a similar hands-on role.
"Japan mustn't be left behind," one official said. "It must use every possible means at its disposal."
The JBIC was integrated into the JFC, along with the Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business; the National Life Finance Corporation; and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corporation, in October 2008 as part of structural reforms initiated under the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi wanted government-affiliated financial institutions integrated as much as possible. As a result, it was decided in the autumn of 2005 to merge these institutions, which were responsible for completely different operations.
At the time, the Japanese economy was on the track to recovery and many private financial institutions had considerable surplus funds to provide as loans. The government-affiliated financial institutions were often criticized for "pressuring private businesses," and they were urged to tone down their operations. The JBIC was pressed to integrate with other organizations under the slogan of "shifting from the public to the private sector."
However, since the so-called Lehman shock in the autumn of 2008 triggered a global financial slowdown, private financial institutions have been less willing to take risks. The tough business climate has made government-affiliated financial institutions' overseas investments, and loans to small and midsize domestic firms, all the more important. As Japan struggles to get to grips with its rapidly aging population and chronically low birthrate, there were growing calls from the industrial sector for the JBIC to be cast off from the JFC and its functions boosted.
Once the JBIC becomes independent, it is expected to help fund mergers and acquisitions and secure Japanese investors' interests in resources overseas.
Source: Yomiuri Shimbun Dec. 9, 2010
Canon Crowned No. 1 In Nikkei Corporate Ranking
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Resilient earnings and a dogged pursuit of growth helped Canon Inc. rise to the top of the fiscal 2010 edition of Nikkei Inc.'s NICES multifaceted ranking of corporate Japan. Honda Motor Co. placed second, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. made No. 3, in a list dominated by firms advancing their businesses in strategic directions.
NICES looks at a company from five perspectives: investors, consumers/corporate clients, employees, society and growth potential. Each of these encompasses a variety of factors, such as dividends and market capitalization from investors' perspective and action on the environment from society's.
With an enviable share of the global digital camera market, Canon sustained its earnings in the wake of the financial crisis. It has also pushed ahead undaunted with growth-oriented investments, notably the acquisition of Dutch office equipment maker Oce. In areas like job security and advertising, Canon shows that it cares about society and consumers.
Honda's high levels of R&D spending and plant investment won it good marks in growth potential. The automaker was also noted for a rapid earnings recovery underpinned by fuel-efficient cars and new growth hubs like China.
The ranking highlights the strength in adversity of industry leaders, with their solid financial and customer bases. Takeda, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Shiseido Co., Komatsu Ltd. and Asahi Breweries Ltd. -- finishing third, fourth, sixth, eighth and 10th -- are all driving forces in their fields.
A number of other high-ranking blue chips, like seventh-place Panasonic Corp., managed to make up for weakness in earnings with strength in other areas, including brand recognition and treatment of employees.
Developed with Nikkei Research Inc. and Nikkei Digital Media Inc., the NICES comprehensive corporate ranking was first published in April, with some modifications made since for the latest version.
Each firm received a composite score determining its position on the list. The five evaluation categories get 200 points apiece, for a maximum possible score of 1,000.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 9,2010
Big Firms At Most Pessimistic In 6Q: MOF
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Sentiment among big Japanese firms worsened to its lowest point in a year and a half in the Oct.-Dec. quarter due to worries over the strong yen and slowing exports, adding to concerns that the nation's economic recovery is running out of steam.
A joint quarterly survey released Friday by the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet Office indicated that the sentiment index for large firms stood at minus 5.0 in the fourth quarter, compared with plus 7.1 in the third quarter. The result marks the lowest reading since minus 22.4 in Apr.-Jun 2009.
One main reason for the pessimism is the yen's strength against other currencies, which makes Japanese exports--a key engine of growth--less competitive at a time when overseas demand is weakening, the survey showed. The country's big automakers were particularly gloomy as they also face tumbling domestic demand after the September expiry of government subsidies for fuel-efficient cars.
The deterioration in the index, which measures the percentage of companies saying business conditions are better minus those saying they are worse, is the latest in a series of weak indicators--including employment, industrial production and machinery orders data--that have raised concerns over whether the Japanese economy can sustain its fragile recovery.
Some economists forecast that the economy will shrink a price-adjusted annualized 1% to 2% in the Oct.-Dec. quarter, although few predict a serious recession ahead due to expectations that overseas demand may pick up from next year. Japan's economy grew a solid 4.5% in the Jul.-Sep. period.
Friday's data showed that big companies expect the business conditions index to improve to minus 0.9 in the January-March quarter, then to plus 0.8 in Apr.-Jun. During the Oct.-Dec. period, the index for sentiment among large manufacturers dropped to minus 8.0 from plus 13.3 in previous quarter, logging the worst reading since a minus 13.2 in Apr.-Jun. 2009.
The index for large car makers and automobile-parts producers tanked to minus 54.2 from plus 17.8.
The mood among telecommunications equipment makers fell to minus 20.7 from plus 24.8. The big non-manufacturers' index downed to minus 3.4 from plus 3.8, the first negative reading since minus 6.3 in the Jan.-Mar. period of this year.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 10,2010
Health business lines up for licorice
Major chemical company Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. will start growing licorice, an essential ingredient in many herbal remedies, on a commercial basis for the first time in this country, it has been learned.
There is growing concern that in the near future Japan's pharmaceutical industry may struggle to secure sufficient imports of the plant from China, the world's largest producer of licorice.
Licorice, or kanzo in Japanese, is a pulse that is native to China and Afghanistan. As it has done recently with rare earths, China has restricted exports of licorice, regarding it as a precious resource.
Licorice is an ingredient in about 70 percent of herbal remedies sold in Japan. Most of the 1,600 tons of licorice imported annually comes from China.
Well-known herbal remedies that contain licorice include the traditional Chinese medicine kakkonto, Coccoapo, which is manufactured by Kracie Pharmaceutical, Ltd., and Naishi Toru, which is manufactured by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. Coccoapo and Naishi Toru are said to help the body burn fat.
Mitsubishi Plastics has already established licorice crops on a trial basis, and has confirmed its home-grown licorice has the same pharmaceutical potency as Chinese licorice. The company will begin commercial growth next year and plans to increase production to meet all the domestic demand within a few years. It will even consider exporting licorice to China.
The Chinese government has restricted the harvesting and exporting of licorice since around 2000, insisting the measure is intended to prevent the country's biological resources from being overexploited.
The import price of licorice has nearly quadrupled over the past five years, and with demand for herbal remedies increasing, ensuring the stable supply of licorice is an urgent task for the domestic pharmaceutical industry.
Source : The Yomiuri Dec. 7, 2010
State Portion Of Corp Tax To Fall To 25.5%
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The government tax commission plans to lower the nominal rate of the state's portion of the corporate tax from the current 30% to 25.5%, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said at a press conference Tuesday.
The 4.5-percentage-point reduction is in line with Prime Minister Naoto Kan's telling his ministers Monday to reduce the corporate tax 5 points. With local levies included, the tax effectively stands at about 40%. The tax commission, which Noda heads, is dealing with the details of the cut so the cabinet can approve the fiscal 2011 tax reform outlines that include the corporate tax reduction Thursday.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks at a DPJ meeting Tuesday morning. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has come up with several measures to finance the tax cut that would increase the burden on companies but generate only 650 billion yen, far less than the amount needed to cover the revenue shortfall created by planned reduction. Noda indicated the government is as yet unable to fully cover the tax reduction.
At a separate press conference, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Banri Kaieda praised Kan's decision on the 5-point cut, saying, "It is an important step to bring the Japanese economy to a stable recovery path."
The tax commission, which previously wanted to terminate tax breaks on profits from stock trading at the end of 2011 as scheduled, is now discussing an extension with the Financial Services Agency.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 14,2010
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