According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Toshiba expects to root out trouble spots in production much more quickly thanks to a new analytics system based on artificial intelligence at its mainstay flash memory plant in Japan.
At the Yokkaichi plant in Mie Prefecture, AI is being used in processes that chiefly monitor the semiconductor yield rate. For circuit-containing wafers that fail to meet quality standards, AI will automatically classify the defects, detect causes and analyse incident trends, among other tasks.
Up until now, the wafers' surface temperatures and voltages would be collected and scrutinized by technicians during major steps of the fabrication process, such as lithographic exposure and polishing. During the testing phase of the AI system, the time needed to discover faulty manufacturing processes or equipment was cut to less than two hours from the five or six hours it used to take, according to the Tokyo-based electronics maker.
The company will also incorporate AI technology into wafer defect tests sometime this fiscal year. The AI program will engage in deep learning by reading and analysing image data of defective wafers and other components beforehand. This will allow it to automatically detect specks of dust or irregular surface colours on wafers.
Toshiba is looking to adopt the system in other production facilities, as well as sell it to other manufacturers.
Technologies advance quickly in the semiconductor field, resulting in smaller chips with greater circuit densities. Combined with other innovations, the manufacturing process has become increasingly complex. Fabrication can take around three months and incorporate 20,000 steps both minor and major. Because of this, many companies see wide latitude for process streamlining using AI.
Since 2005, Sony has been using AI analysis to identify causes of defective products in semiconductor fabrication. Its Nagasaki Prefecture production centre has reportedly seen the yield rate increase by 3%, leading to 3.6 billion yen (US$35 million) in annual cost savings. The company's image sensor plant in Kumamoto Prefecture also employs an AI-based system.
Renesas Electronics employs AI to predict when defective products will be created by looking at voltages to ascertain surface conditions of wafers when special gases are applied to them.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Tech-Science/Tech/Toshiba-taps-AI-to-boost-productivity-at-memory-plant

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According to The Australian Financial Review today, cost reductions in project design and contracting have allowed Woodside Petroleum and partner Mitsui to give the green light for a new $US1.9 billion oil project off Western Australia, despite the slump in oil prices.
The 69 million barrel Greater Enfield project, which lies 60 kilometre off Exmouth, will involve a development cost of less than $US28 a barrel, making it "an attractive project in a low price environment," said Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman, who in April flagged a likely final go-ahead decision about the end of June.
Woodside's $US1.1 billion share of the total cost is less than the circa $US1.2 billion that some analysts had been assuming. Still, it will probably require about $US57 a barrel to break even, a price that is higher than current spot prices and so making it relatively high risk, said Credit Suisse analyst Mark Samter.
"This project enhances the value of our portfolio through low production costs, associated high cash margins and monetising contingent resources," Mr Coleman said. "We are using our strong capabilities and balance sheet to prudently progress attractive investments."
The project had earlier been deferred and the design reworked to take advantage of using an existing production ship operating at the Vincent oil field nearby, and in a phased development that involves initially recovering about two-thirds of the oil in the fields. The decline in drilling and equipment cost due to the soft oil price also improved the cost competitiveness of the project, said Mitsui, which owns 40 per cent.
"These factors have led to our view that economic feasibility of the Greater Enfield Project can be sustained even under prolonged current market conditions, and therefore to our decision to commercially develop these reserves," Mitsui said from Tokyo.
Production is due to start in mid-2019, with the crude expected to be marketed jointly with Woodside through Mitsui's trading arm in Singapore, just as for Vincent.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/business/energy/oil/woodside-petroleum-to-build-us19b-oil-project-despite-low-prices-20160627-gpsp5d

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http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/8319833

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According to The Australian Financial Review today, Brexit will boost Australia's residential property market as the UK decision to leave the European Union will increase perceptions of the market's safe-haven status, observers say.
Nerida Conisbee, the chief economist at property-listing company REA Group, shrugged off a question that uncertainty created by the UK's unexpected vote to leave the 28-nation EU bloc would trigger a sharp fall in Australian property prices.
If anything, it would boost demand for Australian real estate assets, Ms Conisbee said.
"If you're a pension fund in Europe, and you're looking at London or you're looking at Australia – whether Sydney or Melbourne – then all that turmoil makes Sydney or Melbourne look like a great investment," she said at a lunch hosted by the Australian Israel Chamber of Commerce.
"Overall, I'm pretty optimistic about Australian property. I'm really optimistic about Sydney, just given the supply issues, and Melbourne, to a limited extent."
Chris Mourd, LJ Hooker's head of real estate said "The reality is there isn't going to be an immediate impact to Australian property. What you're probably going to see is the investor saying, 'We want to go somewhere we can project out over the next few years and with some level of stability'."
"Most people would have woken up following the Brexit announcement and been very concerned about their superannuation," Mr Mourd said. "People will be seriously looking at bricks and mortar as a serious option."
But the benefit to Australia's property market may not be uniform. Buyers' agency Secret Agent said demand for top-end properties could stall as global high net-worth investors – who typically buy prestige bolt holes in a handful of different cities – could go into lockdown while they wait to see the effect of the Brexit vote on their UK holdings.
Brexit-related uncertainty meant more potential vendors would keep their premium homes off the market for longer while they assessed the fallout, he said.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/residential/brexit-to-boost-propertys-safehaven-status-20160626-gps5k7

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http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-eu
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, Fujitsu Ltd. might be most commonly associated with computers, but the electronics giant has adapted an information technology system that has led it into a surprising field: kale farming.
The company is embarking on the full-fledged production and sale of kale, grown on a farm in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, to be eaten raw in salads, Fujitsu said June 2. And this could be just the beginning for Fujitsu’s foray into farming.
“We hope to venture out into other geographic areas to grow vegetables, flowers and other plants that meet the conditions of those locales,” said Fujitsu Senior Vice President Mitsutoshi Hirono.
The green leaf vegetable will be grown using an IT-based farming system, developed by a Fujitsu-led team, which uses sensors to monitor temperatures and humidity levels in greenhouses.
Automated heating controls, shade curtains and other components are also used, allowing disease-prone kale to be grown under optimal conditions at all times.
The company said it has adapted the information technology system to be used in farming to enable a stable supply of kale, which is considered a difficult vegetable to grow.
While kale intended for being processed into green juices is being produced on an expanding scale, this will be the first large-scale production in Japan of kale intended to be eaten fresh and uncooked, Fujitsu officials said.
The vegetable will be grown by Smart Agriculture Iwata Co., an agricultural corporation set up in April jointly by Fujitsu, major leasing company Orix Corp., and Masuda Seed Co., a local seed and seedlings dealer.
The kale will be marketed under the brand name of B-Food for retailers, restaurants and other establishments.
Analysis of accumulated growth data will make it possible to meet consumer needs, such as demands for larger leaves, the officials said, adding that growth and shipment of bell peppers and tomatoes will also begin by the end of fiscal 2016. They anticipate annual proceeds of about 70 million yen (US$650,000) from the sale of kale alone.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606230006.html

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http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-it4960291

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According to The Asahi Shimbun, a Tokyo company has released a speaker system that produces sound that can be heard by hearing-impaired people without the volume being cranked up.
Developed by startup firm SoundFun Corp., the” Mirai Speaker” is being used in a new public address system installed in March in a reception area of Resona Bank’s Tokyo Chuo branch in the capital’s Nihonbashi district.
“We have introduced the product as part of our barrier-free measures,” said Ritsuko Inoue, who heads sales division No. 5 at the bank branch. “It is also turning out to be useful to people without disabilities, because it can send sound to all corners of our branch office."
A push to try the speaker came from a new law on the elimination of discrimination against persons with disabilities, which took effect in April.
Kazunori Sato, the 59-year-old CEO of SoundFun, began studying speakers while working at a computer manufacturer in 2013 to help his father, who was suffering from age-related hearing loss. He set up SoundFun later the same year.
Sato learned that the sound of a gramophone is easily audible by those who are hard of hearing. His research found that passing sound through a speaker curved like the bell of a trumpet produces a sound quality that barely attenuates with distance. Sato decided to bring that finding to a practical application.
“The principle is so simple, but it was a total blind spot for existing electronics makers,” the entrepreneur said.
Using a prototype speaker to watch TV, Sato’s father said it allowed him to hear the sound without using a hearing aid. During a test session with some 300 hearing-impaired people, about 80 percent of the subjects said that the appliance allowed them to hear clearly without turning up the volume, Sato said.
A 50-year-old Tokyo office worker has been hearing-impaired since he was 5. He cannot hear sounds coming from multiple directions at the same time, so he could not have conversations with his family while watching TV alongside them. When he tried the Mirai Speaker last autumn, though, he found that he was actually hearing sounds with his left ear.
“Tears came to my eyes, because I had never expected something like that could happen,” the man said.
The man now uses the Mirai Speaker at his home.
“It makes me so happy that I can talk with my family while watching television or listening to music,” he said.
The Mirai Speaker was released in October last year. Sales soared after the law on the elimination of discrimination against persons with disabilities took effect, calling on both the public and private sectors to exercise “reasonable accommodation” to remove barriers that people with disabilities are facing. More than 250 units have been sold.
Although the speaker is currently made to order, Sato’s company plans to have it manufactured on commission at a plant so that 300 units can be churned out every month.
“I hope to see our product mounted on nursing-care robots and on trains and have it penetrate overseas markets,” Sato said.
The Mirai Speaker costs 150,000 yen, excluding tax, when purchased directly from the company’s website.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606230004.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2909733

According to The Australian Financial Review, Japanese-backed home builder Sekisui House has finalised the acquisition of an 8.1-hectare site next to the Castle Hill Country Club in Baulkham Hills in Sydney's northwest for $210 million.
As foreshadowed by The Australian Financial Review in February, Sekisui bought the land from property developer Tony Merhi to develop it into a masterplanned mixed-use residential community with 1300 apartments.
Apartment building heights up to 36 metres are being considered by the NSW Department of Planning.
The site at 47 Spurway Drive is in the Norwest Business Park, one of Sydney's biggest business parks alongside Macquarie Park.
It is also 500 metres from the future Norwest metro station due to complete in 2019. The $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest will drive a population boom in the area for the next two decades and the reason Sekisui House recognises Sydney's northwest and west as growth areas.
​"The acquisition of this exceptional development land marks the start of a new era for Baulkham Hills and Norwest," Sekisui House Australia chief executive Toru Abe said.
"As the construction of the North West Rail Link continues at pace, we intend to create a masterplanned community set within beautifully landscaped gardens and natural forest.
Sekisui House has many projects in Sydney including the Central Park development in the CBD with Frasers Property.
Starwood will open a new five-star, $100 million Westin hotel at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast by 2021 as part of a $1 billion mixed-use development planned by Japanese real estate giant Sekisui House.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/sekisui-house-buys-8hectare-site-in-baulkham-hills-for-210m-20160621-gpodmy
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/hotels-and-leisure/starwood-brings-westin-to-sunshine-coast-first-new-build-5star-hotel-in-27-yrs-20160621-gpnxp9

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http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4781032
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, Japanese researchers have developed technology that can easily identify nascent signs of pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly diseases that often goes undetected in the early stages.
Inspired by a U.S. report that said a special ribonucleic acid (RNA) was found in large amounts in tissue of pancreatic tumours, a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo developed a method that uses chemical processing to single out only sequences characteristic of the RNA, precisely measuring the levels of the special RNA in blood samples.
“If the technology eventually allows physicians to identify individuals who have likely developed pancreatic cancer through blood analysis at health check-ups, the disease will be able to be detected in its early stages through subsequent detailed testing,” said Takahiro Kishikawa, a specially appointed clinician at the gastroenterology department of the University of Tokyo Hospital.
The team’s findings were published in the online edition of the U.S. scientific journal JCI Insight on June 2.
Comparing 30 pancreatic cancer patients with 30 healthy individuals, the researchers found those suffering from the carcinoma had five times higher levels of the special RNA than healthy people.
The scientists then set a certain criterion of the RNA level in blood to judge whether one is likely suffering from pancreatic cancer based on the results of a blood test.
According to the standard, 22 patients with pancreatic cancer tested positive, while the test was negative for 27 healthy individuals.
Meanwhile, six of the 10 people who had benign tumours that could develop into pancreatic carcinoma showed positive reactions to the test.
According to the National Cancer Centre, 39,000 individuals are estimated to have been newly diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer in the last year alone.
The research team said it will continue working to improve the accuracy of the method by testing it with more people.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606210003.html

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According to The Australian Financial Review today, wealthy property developer Ross Nielson's Nielson Properties is selling a Brisbane waterfront development site called The Quay with expectations it could fetch about $60 million.
A scheme of twin towers with a total project value of up to $750 million has been drawn up for the 2961 square metre site overlooking the Brisbane River, but approvals have yet to be received. 
Mr Nielson said "It's a project that is not planned for the current cycle but the future," he said. "In the meantime it can generate substantial holding income from the existing buildings."
The existing property delivers a holding net income of $1.72 million a year.
"We are selling preferably 50 per cent but will also sell 100 per cent," Mr Nielson said. "Ideally we are looking for somebody to partner with given the magnitude of 'The Quay'.
Last year Mr Nielson sold a 13-storey, B-grade office building at 420 George Street nearly 90 per cent empty for $20 million.
The northern end of Brisbane's CBD will see major changes over the next five years, chief among them being the redevelopment of the waterfront resort and casino precinct known as Queens Wharf. Adjacent to Queens Wharf is the $1 billion Brisbane Quarter.
Further north there are plans for a redevelopment of the Brisbane Transit Centre with the world's largest entertainment venue operator, AEG, seeking to transform a site into "Brisbane Live" – a $2 billion ultra-entertainment precinct.
The proposed "Brisbane Live" would be of a similar scale and calibre to New York's Madison Square Garden and Melbourne's Federation Square.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/nielson-properties-to-sell-prime-brisbane-waterfront-development-site-20160617-gplizo
 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, a Mori Trust group investment company will develop a large extended-stay resort in Hokkaido targeting affluent visitors to Japan.
MA Platform, funded solely by Mori Trust President Akira Mori, will spend 60 billion yen (US$575 million) on the project, aiming for partial opening in 2020 and completion in 2026, the year Hokkaido's capital of Sapporo hopes to host the Winter Olympics.
The resort, to be established in the Uenae area of Tomakomai city, will feature hotels and large cottages as well as health-care facilities to cater to medical tourism. It will target affluent foreigners looking to stay in Hokkaido for a week or more.
MA Platform bought the 1,057-hectare site in March from another developer that had planned a resort there. The project will be funded by loans, and the resort's operation will be outsourced to a specialty company from abroad.
Initial construction will involve a hotel with 150 guest rooms and several cottages. Hotel stays likely will be priced at over 100,000 yen a night. Hotel rooms are to increase to 330 and cottages to 40 by 2026.
The cottages will be for sale and can be designed to meet buyer preferences. A two-story cottage with total floor space of 1,000 sq. meters could be built on an 8,000-sq.-meter lot, for instance. The layout might assume that the owner is accompanied by chefs or other service providers. The owner also could rent the cottage to other travellers.
Many golf courses are nearby, and ski facilities are available as well. The resort also may offer to manage guests' yachts docked at nearby marinas. Tourists could base their Hokkaido sightseeing from this resort, which will be a 15-minute drive from New Chitose Airport.
Foreign tourism to Japan has surged over the past few years, and some of the visitors are ultrarich. MA Platform saw a shortage in resorts that cater to such demographics. The changing spending habits of foreigners visiting Japan, with their focus shifting from shopping to experiences, also appears to have contributed.
To better accommodate foreign tourists outside of Japan's major metropolitan areas, Mori Trust plans to convert the majority of its Laforet extended-stay hotels and resorts into the American brand Marriott. Mori Trust seeks to open a facility in Nara Prefecture under top-of-the-line luxury brand JW Marriott in 2020.

Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Hokkaido-resort-for-rich-foreigners-planned

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According to The Asahi Shimbun, breast and colon cancers may soon be detected through non-invasive urine tests in a technique developed by Hitachi Ltd., Sumitomo Corp. and Summit Pharmaceuticals International Corp.
The new process, announced by the companies on June 14, could become a game changer in the fight against the diseases.
It would enable a simple testing process where potential patients can post urine samples taken at home to medical facilities for examination, leading to easy and early diagnoses. The firms plan to have the method ready for practical use within a few years.
“Cancer checkups today need to be done at medical facilities, and different methods are used for each area of the body,” said Minoru Sakairi, a chief scientist at Hitachi’s Centre for Exploratory Research. “If cancers could be detected through urine samples, there would be less stress on the examinee’s body and an increased number of opportunities for examinations.”
Researchers with the companies came up with the process by comparing the 1,300 or so sugars, lipids and other substances released from the body in urine samples taken from 15 healthy people, 15 breast cancer patients and 15 colon cancer patients.
The study revealed that the three groups can be distinguished by comparing around 10 of those substances.
The scientists plan to continue with their research to determine if the process could also detect the progression of the illness and if other types of cancers could be identified.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606150033.html
 
If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4779353