According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Japanese companies are building small-scale geothermal power plants that can be completed in half the time needed for larger facilities, thanks to a more generous feed-in tariff that has made such projects more profitable.
A joint venture by JFE Engineering, Mitsui Oil Exploration, the government-backed Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp., and Japan Metals & Chemicals will break ground on a roughly 7-megawatt geothermal plant in Iwate Prefecture next month. The facility, expected to cost 8.5 billion yen (US$75.8 million), is slated to begin operation in 2018.
Unlike solar or wind, a geothermal plant's output is not dependent on the time of day or the vagaries of weather. Japan boasts the world's third-largest geothermal reserves at 23 gigawatts -- equivalent to the output of 23 nuclear reactors. Yet installed capacity totals just 500MW.
Profitability has been the main hurdle thus far. Until recently, companies could make money only with plants with output in the tens of megawatts, but such large facilities require time-consuming environmental impact studies. Assessment and construction can together take a decade or more.
The government in 2012 raised the feed-in tariff for small geothermal plants to more than one and a half times that for larger facilities. This has made it profitable to build plants with output below 7.5MW, which do not require environmental assessments.
Other Japanese companies are also taking advantage of the change. 
Leasing company Orix will sign an agreement soon to build a 4.4MW plant on the island of Hachijojima, which has been seeking a partner to replace an aging Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings facility. Orix plans to invest about 5 billion yen in the project, aiming to bring the plant online around 2022.
The company has been surveying potential geothermal energy sites since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In addition to Hachijojima, its first finalized plan, Orix is considering 10 or so small-scale projects. It is eyeing total capacity of around 30MW.
Oil company Idemitsu Kosan will start up a 5MW facility in Oita Prefecture next month.
A consortium including Electric Power Development, or J-Power, is working on Japan's first large-scale geothermal plant in 23 years: a roughly 42MW facility in Akita Prefecture slated to go online in 2019. Other proposals for larger projects remain bogged down in environmental studies or other preparations.
The government aims to have renewable energy account for 22-24% of Japan's overall energy mix in 2030, up from 11% in 2013 and on a par with the projected 20-22% share for nuclear. Though solar and wind are the focus, the plan also calls for lifting geothermal's share from 0.3% to 1%. Geothermal energy can also contribute to the nation's energy security, since it requires no fuel.
Broader adoption of small-scale geothermal plants will require better technology for efficiently locating heat reservoirs, as well as efforts by plant builders to gauge the impact on the environment and get local residents' blessing.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Small-geothermal-plants-gaining-steam-in-Japan
 
​If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4598870

According to The Australian Financial Review, Rent360 said it would be Australia's first online marketplace for property investors to access and hire independent property managers.
Former McGrath, Ray White, and LJ Hooker's Penelope Valentine along with Jared Keen, the founder of Europe's largest FMCG digital coupon company, Couponstar, co-founded the new outfit.
"We provide investment property owners with the option to skip traditional real estate agencies and access a network of top independent property managers across Australia," Mr Keen said. 
"Rent360's recommendation engine matches property investors with up to three of the best suited property managers servicing the local area to compare fees, experience, qualifications and client reviews.
"The property manager appointed by the investor on the platform is the same one responsible for leasing and managing every aspect of the investment property."
The maximum management fee for Sydney-based investment properties is 4.95 per cent inclusive of GST lower than the average fee of 6.6 per cent in the city, Mr Keen said.
Once the management agreement is signed electronically on the platform, the property investor has access to an Owner Portal that provides visibility into their property's performance including tenant information, rent collection, maintenance update and rental appraisals. 

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/new-proptech-to-disrupt-property-management-rent360-has-launched-20170227-gum8y8

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/7217705 
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, houseflies could be our answer to future food shortages, but fear not, it's not quite as bad as you think, as fish will eat maggots first, and then we will eat the fish.
Fish actually seem to prefer housefly larvae and pupae over fish meal, meaning they grow faster when fed with the product, a study has shown. In addition, fish that were raised using the product were less prone to catching diseases, as substances contained in the larvae and pupae apparently strengthen their immune system.
Also, farmed sea bream and yellowtail that were fed the maggots and pupae boasted a glossy coat similar to those found in the wild, unlike those that grew up eating fish meal.
Takeshi Miura, 54, a professor of fish reproductive physiology at Ehime University's South Ehime Fisheries Research Center in Ainan, Ehime Prefecture, has been studying how to farm fish by feeding them insect-derived products since 2008.
Today, many fisheries use fish meal as fish feed, but the material is prone to price hikes and there is a worry that it could place a greater burden on precious marine resources.
Miura believes the use of houseflies gets around this.
The researcher has been experimentally growing the insect in a facility he set up in a pig farm in Kagoshima Prefecture in 2014.
The research center is located in the Nanyo area, the western part of Ehime Prefecture facing the Bungo Channel, which is home to many fish farms raising sea bream and yellowtail, both important commercial species.
The study was spurred by a local resident looking after such aquacultures whom Miura heard complain that “it’s tough dealing with the constant rise in fish meal prices.”
Fish meal is a powder made from anchovies among other fish, but diminishing catches due to overfishing and climate change have led to price increases.
A kilogram of the fish meal was imported for about 100 yen (US 88 cents) in 2012, but the same amount fetched 285 yen two years later. Currently, it goes for about 140 yen.
In addition, experts have criticized that using mass amounts of anchovies as fish feed was wasteful, especially with rising fears of a global food shortage.
So then what rich source of protein could replace anchovies? What came to Miura’s mind were houseflies--a readily available insect species that can be multiplied rapidly.
Upon kicking off the research, the professor found that flies were a better choice than other insects, as all maggots need to grow are waste products. Ten kg of manure acquired from pig farms can be turned into 1 kg of larvae and 3 kg of fertilizer, meaning the pig manure requires no waste treatment.
Miura estimates that the total amount of manure produced from pig farms in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in a year would be enough for maggots to replace 30 percent of the fish meal circulating annually in the nation.
Fly larvae and pupae seem to enjoy a significant advantage over fish meal, but they are not without obstacles. The biggest issue would be the gross-out factor, as both consumers and farmers rarely perceive flies as the most sanitary of creatures.
Still, Miura remains hopeful.
“By using fly larvae, we will be able to produce foodstuff without adding stress to the environment,” he said. “We hope to establish the technology to farm the maggots in few years’ time.”

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201702170007.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2834300 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, a fund backed in part by Toyota Motor has invested in MJI, a venture creating a robot that can converse with and watch over its owner.
MJI has received 564 million yen (US$4.98 million) from the Mirai Creation Investment fund founded by Toyota, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sparx Group. The money will help improve artificial intelligence technology used in the voice-responsive robot that the venture has been developing since its 2015 founding. SMBC is part of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
The Tapia robot can deliver weather and news reports in response to voice commands, for example, or monitor seniors living alone. The Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki uses a custom version to interact with restaurant patrons.
The technological strength of MJI's conversation robot is "among the highest in the world," said Tomohiro Nagamori, an MJI director and son of Nidec CEO Shigenobu Nagamori. "We hope to take [Tapia] to Southeast Asia and elsewhere worldwide." The start-up aims to sell more than 100,000 of the robots.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Toyota-partners-back-talking-robot-startup

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-ai3566538 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, a major telecommunication company in Japan, NTT Docomo, has conducted successful field trials of a taxi dispatch system that uses artificial intelligence to predict demand for rides, the company announced Friday.
Taxi companies could dispatch cars more efficiently, give their drivers more business, and make customers wait less.
The Japanese wireless carrier worked with a leading taxi company to train the AI, teaching it how to predict the size and location of demand based on actual ridership data from 4,425 cabs, coupled with information about such factors as weather, and data about people's movements based on the locations of their mobile phones.
The AI ultimately learned to predict localized taxi usage demand 30 minutes out for squares 500 meters on a side in a grid. It can forecast demand for rides with 20% or less error more than 90% of the time, according to Docomo.
For the field trials, 12 drivers used tablets updated every 10 minutes with ridership predictions to decide where to go to find waiting customers. Daily business rose 20% thanks to the information, a participant said.
Docomo said it is thinking to commercialize the technology as early as the second half of fiscal 2017.
This is an example of how AI is starting to find applications in everyday life, beyond specialized areas like drug discovery.
Another is a system that can predict how late trains will come after accidents occur. Fujitsu plans to market it starting in the first half of fiscal 2017 to providers of transportation information services.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Tech-Science/Tech/Japan-cabdrivers-get-tips-on-where-they-re-needed-from-AI

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-ai4959539 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, cheese and butter import prices are climbing as exporting nations in Oceania and Europe curtail production of raw milk, while the yen's weakness against the dollar could eventually have a ripple effect on domestic retail prices.
Australian and New Zealand cheddar cheese prices covering the first half of 2017 soared to around US$4,200 a ton, up 20% from the second half of 2016, in recent negotiations between Japanese trading houses and major overseas dairies. Gouda prices climbed nearly 30%, also to US$4,200 a ton, the first time in three years that prices have risen for both.
Imports account for nearly 90% of the cheese that is consumed directly, and for more than 70% of the raw material for processed cheese. Major dairies such as Megmilk Snow Brand and Meiji Holdings use it primarily as an ingredient in processed cheese.
Producers have generally not moved to pass along the higher costs, as a Megmilk official says only that they are "considering how to respond." But continued increases in import prices likely will have an effect on consumers.
Butter import prices, which are managed by the government, also have risen since the end of 2016. Simultaneous buy and sell, or SBS, bidding conducted Thursday by independent administrative agency Agriculture & Livestock Industries yielded an average import price of 787,702 yen (US$6,980) per ton, more than 50% higher than a year earlier.
Lower butter and cheese import prices from spring 2015 to summer 2016 prompted producers in the European Union, New Zealand and Australia to cut output amid deteriorating earnings. International dairy product markets then rebounded. The Global Dairy Trade price, an indicator of the international cheddar cheese market, has risen 30% since July. Butter GDT prices have climbed 70% in the same period.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts only a 0.3% rise in raw milk production this year in the EU, and a 1% increase in New Zealand. Solid global demand offers no reason for the international market to drop.

Ref: ​http://asia.nikkei.com/Markets/Commodities/Japan-s-dairy-import-prices-soar-amid-output-cuts

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-35 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, an Adelaide company has developed a silicon storage device that it claims costs a tenth as much as a lithium ion battery to store the same energy and is eyeing a $10 million public float.
1414 Degrees had its origins in patented CSIRO research and has built a prototype molten silicon storage device which it is testing at its Tonsley Innovation Precinct site south of Adelaide.
Chairman Kevin Moriarty says 1414 Degrees' process can store 500 kilowatt hours of energy in a 70-centimetre cube of molten silicon – about 36 times as much energy as Tesla's 14KWh Powerwall 2 lithium ion home storage battery in about the same space.
Put another way, he says the company can build a 10MWh storage device for about $700,000. The 714 Tesla Powerwall 2s that would be needed to store the same amount of energy would cost $7 million before volume discounts.
"There's no comparison. Except for a few specialised circumstances it will make them totally uneconomic frankly," Mr Moriarty said. "I don't think it's dawned on the market yet and it won't until we get them into a real-world situation."
1414 Degrees has raised $500,000 of a $2 million seed capital issue that it hopes to complete by the end of next month. It is in talks with a hydroponic herb farm and wind farm suppliers about pilot commercial scale trials of its technology, and is planning a $10 million public share issue to fund construction of the first two 200 megawatt hour units.
Mr Moriarty is counting on 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the cost of these initial devices being funded by government subsidies because of the unique technology. The device stores electrical energy by using it to heat a block of pure silicon to melting point – 1414 degrees Celsius. It discharges through a heat-exchange device such as a Stirling engine or a turbine, which converts heat back to electrical energy, and recycles waste heat to lift efficiency.
Pure silicon is a shimmering, blue-grey "metalloid" – a substance that exhibits characteristics of metals and non-metals. A byproduct of smelting metal quartz ores, it is abundant and cheap. It is attractive as a storage medium because it is stable at the 1414 degree melting point, and can hold the heat for a week or two with adequate insulation although 1414 Degree's devices are designed to charge and discharge daily.
If the claims stand up at commercial scale the molten silicon storage device could be one of the technological breakthroughs that make it cheaper to store energy from wind and solar farms. This could smooth out their intermittent generation and also help prevent or isolate blackouts from transmission failures during storms such as the one that hit South Australia in September.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/news/silicon-will-blow-lithium-batteries-out-of-water-says-adelaide-firm-20170207-gu7eg7
 
If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-13901968
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According to The Australian Financial Review, people living in rural and regional Australia may soon be able to receive packages from unmanned drones, but don't expect the same service in towns and cities until the technology "improves dramatically".
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority says it's working closely with several organisations on trials involving transporting and delivering packages by drone.
"That's certainly underway," CASA spokesperson Peter Gibson said. "It will certainly start happening in non-urban environments first because the challenges of the urban environment don't exist if you're out in the bush."
At present, unlicensed drone operators are limited to flying 30 meters away from people and property, maintaining visual line of sight and not flying at night. However, accredited operators can seek exemptions from the rules based on a safety case.
"The three main risks the regulations seek to deal with are protecting people, property and other aircraft from drones. So, the rules as they stand at the moment effectively create buffer zones," Mr Gibson said.
"If the technology improves dramatically," he added, "then that's the point where you get to say the regulations need to reflect now that the capability of the drones has changed and allows them to manage these risks successfully."
As to drone deliveries in towns and cities, "it's in the future obviously, no one suggesting it's not coming, but when that is, who knows."
Australia Post is one company developing a drone delivery system for rural and regional Australia and has already conducted successful trials.
"Since our closed-field trial with CASA in April 2016, we are working toward conducting further trials this year to test real customer deliveries outside confined areas to assess commercial application," Australia Post chief technology officer Tien-Ti Mak said.
"If given permission for these customer trials, we would like to examine capabilities that are not currently permitted by CASA without specific exemption."
Using drones as delivery vehicles has drawn significant media attention and interest in drones for commercial use. Drone training provider Total RPA has seen strong demand for its remote pilot training courses, but sometimes there's a reality check.

Ref:http://www.afr.com/business/transport/aviation/drones-flying-into-regions-but-improvements-needed-for-cities-20170212-gub48n
 
If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2855387 
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According to The Courier mail, BRISBANE virtual reality company Lightweave has tripled its projected sales in its first year of business, thanks to high-profile collaborations such as with the Brisbane Heat.
Managing director Sam Hussey said the company’s growth had exceeded even its most generous expectations, with 2017 looking just as promising.
Mr Hussey said a conversation with friend Michael McClenaghan about developing apps led to the company’s creation.
“I was working in advertising so we were discussing doing some apps for businesses,” he said.
“We got on to talking about virtual reality – which he had been doing some work on – and my mind went crazy.
“We basically said let’s start a company, and I started going to the clients and showing them what we could do. It’s been pretty much non- stop since.”
Mr Hussey said Lightweave’s strength and potential comes from the way companies can use VR as a marketing tool, by way of data collection and social media.
For its collaboration with the Brisbane Heat, the company created a program so fans felt they were standing at the crease in the middle of the Gabba facing balls from fast bowler Ben Cutting.
“We chose a bit of a different path to most developers who are doing this kind of thing,” he said. “A lot of people when they think of VR, they automatically think of gamers.
“Basically, I look at the ability to work with brands that are trying to tell a story and show them how we can deliver that experience for them.
“We’re dealing with so many brands who want that, so we can go straight to them and we’re not having to chase the home user.”
Lightweave also supplies VR and augmented reality to shopping centres around the country, with some seeing up to 2200 users a week.
Mr Hussey said the first overseas licences would be issued this year.

Ref:http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/success-a-reality-for-brisbane-startup/news-story/589560c3ce73f6847783dc79cda9a5bf
 
​If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/3178004

According to The Asahi Shimbun, shoppers are saved the bother of all but picking items off the shelves at a Lawson Inc. convenience store in Japan, where the latest version of automated cash registers is on trial.
Panasonic Corp. and Lawson started a test run of the new Regirobo system at the store last week, and let reporters see it in operation on Feb. 14.
Regirobo dispenses of the need for a convenience store clerk to run a cash register or bag the purchased goods, and it even scans items for the customer.
The original Regirobo required customers to scan each item to a bar code reader attached to a shopping basket before placing it inside.
Now, an electronic tag attached to each piece of merchandise carries price information, which can be automatically scanned from inside the special shopping basket.
The project aims to reduce convenience store clerks’ workloads, as cash register operation accounts for 25 percent of their working hours.
An electronic tag built-in seal, measuring 2.5 centimeters by 4.5 cm, is attached to 3,500 kinds of products in the store, with some exceptions such as rice balls and magazines.
After placing seal-attached products into a special basket, customers place it onto the designated spot, where the tags are automatically scanned and the bill is displayed. All shoppers need to do is to pay by credit card and leave.
Panasonic and Lawson unveiled the first version of Regirobo, which also automatically calculates the bill, in December.
The latest Regirobo is expected to be introduced in several Lawson outlets by the end of fiscal 2018.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201702150050.html

​If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2587377
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