According to The Asahi Shimbun, just 17 centimeters tall, a durable competitor on Aug. 7 will attempt to eclipse the Olympic record for the triathlon at the event’s venue for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.
But he will receive some help, namely from a shortened course, two partners and two AA-size dry cell batteries.
Panasonic Corp.’s robot, named Mr. Evolta Neo, will take the challenge in Tokyo’s Odaiba district, the major electronic appliance maker said on June 28.
The triathlon is a grueling endurance race that consists of three components: swimming, cycling and running. The Olympic record is one hour, 45 minutes and one second.
Panasonic plans to prepare three different Mr. Evolta Neo robots, one for each leg of the course at the 2020 Olympic venue.
However, the same two AA-size dry cell batteries will be used in all three robots.
The height of the robots is about one-10th of that for an adult male, so the distances for the race components will be reduced by 90 percent to 150 meters for swimming, 4 kilometers for cycling and 1 km for running.
Since 2008, Panasonic has put its Evolta series of batteries to challenges every year to show their endurance and other qualities.
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907210012.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/24436038 
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, Visceral Fat Fighter (Naishi Support), a diet supplement targeted to both men and women, has proved to be a huge hit for natural beauty-care product company Fancl Corp., known for its additive-free cosmetics in Japan.
The Yokohama-based firm released the product in 2017, which Fancl says works to improve intestinal health by featuring two kinds of active bifidobacteria.
Bifidobacteria is sometimes used as probiotics, live bacteria in items such as yogurt that benefit health, particularly the digestive system.
The supplement was found to reduce obese people's visceral fat and subcutaneous fat in the company’s clinical trials.
The slimming supplement has been labeled a health food in the category “Foods with Function Claims,” a certification issued by the governmental Consumer Affairs Agency.
Taking preventive measures to fight obesity, which increases the risk to health is a global challenge.
Fancl won the hearts of middle-aged men looking to lose weight and 10,000 packs of the fat burner were sold within the first month it was available on the market. It was an unexpected boon for Fancl, founded as a cosmetics company, which had struggled to attract male customers.
Visceral Fat Fighter originally took in 400 million yen (US$3.7 million) in fiscal 2017 when Fancl released it.
But after Fancl ran ads for it featuring a male actor, sales soared to 4.3 billion yen in fiscal 2018, more than double the expected amount.
“Studies of bifidobacteria, which increases short-chain fatty acids that improves the intestinal environment and facilitates fat burning, have progressed further in recent years," said Kota Nakagawa, 45, a member of Fancl’s research center of Foods with Function Claims.
Bifidobacteria has a poor defense against heat and acid. Consuming a lot of it just causes it to mostly die in the stomach.
Based on the company's policy stressing “efficacy in the body,” Nakagawa researched how to allow live bifidobacteria to reach the bowels so it can work there.
“It's meaningless if bifidobacteria doesn’t function in the body,” Nakagawa said.
In a trial using enteric-coated capsules, which don’t melt in the stomach, stomach acid entered the capsules and killed the bifidobacteria. A prior technique where capsules were coated also risked raising the temperature and killing the bacteria.
Nakagawa's breakthrough in figuring out the process came after he was drenched in a downpour while out riding his bicycle. He noticed that the bike’s chain didn't get wet since it was coated with oil. Oil rejects water. A simple truth.
Fancl then patented a pharmaceutical technique to coat bifidobacteria with edible fat and oil, and neutralize stomach acid entering it with calcium.
The supplement costs 3,888 yen, including tax, which covers use for a period of 30 days.
Yoshimi Igarashi, 38, a Fancl marketing division official, said that since bifidobacteria is expensive, the firm considered selling it for close to 5,000 yen.
“But in the 4,000-yen range it would give the impression of being a luxury as we are aiming to keep it affordable,” said Igarashi.
The firm was able to lower the price to under 4,000 yen by squeezing the amount of the bifidobacteria in the supplement's capsules made possible because more of the bacteria reaches the intestines.
Fancl then pitched the product, emphasizing its ability to retain bifidobacteria in the stomach.
Supplements to prevent obesity usually feature images of slim women on the package. But the Visceral Fat Fighter package bears a unisex character colored green, a look that the company hopes will set it apart from cosmetics the firm usually sells aimed at women.
“We hope men won't hesitate to buy it,” said Igarashi.
Fancl, founded in 1980, has two business pillars--non-additive cosmetics and nutritional supplements focusing on “efficacy in the body.”
The firm with 1,018 employees develops products domestically and outside Japan. It had sales of 122.4 billion yen in fiscal 2018.
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907270005.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4262007

According to The Australian Financial Review, Anglo American has reiterated its faith in Australian coking coal with a commitment to spend $US226 million ($324 million) reviving a Queensland mine that was a victim of the global financial crisis.
More than 10 years after it was suspended because of concerns about the health of the global economy, Anglo's Aquila hard coking coal mine is finally set to return with a different mining method.
The project is expected to have a total capital cost of about $400 million, with Japanese giant Mitsui set to fund 30 per cent of the project that Anglo is not funding, in line with its minority ownership stake.
The decision highlights the strength of coking coal prices, with hard coking coal from Queensland fetching an average of $US205 per tonne in the first six months of 2019.
Macquarie expects the steelmaking ingredient to fetch higher than $US150 per tonne until 2024 at the earliest.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/anglo-and-mitsui-in-400m-australian-coal-boost-20190725-p52ar1
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If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/6172473

According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Japanese logistics company Nippon Express will begin road tests of automated trucks with a Volvo subsidiary next month, a step toward addressing the industry's severe shortage of drivers.
Nippon Express and local Volvo unit UD Trucks will carry out the testing with the Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, headquartered in Hokkaido. The trials will start out in the northern Japanese island's town of Shari, along a stretch connecting a sugar plant of the co-op group to a processing line 1.3 km away.
The trucks will operate at level 4 automation, just one notch below full autonomy. This will mark the first test in Japan using trucks at that level, often described as "high automation." For Volvo -- the Swedish commercial-vehicle maker on the forefront of self-driving trucking technology, along with Germany's Daimler -- it will mark the first such test in Asia.
Japanese law allows only level 1 and 2 vehicles on public roads, since these levels of automation still require substantial driver involvement. Nippon Express' testing is exempt because it will be done on private land. A staffer will sit in the driver's seat to handle unforeseen obstacles, but the goal is for the vehicle to handle everything itself.
The Japanese trucking industry is strapped for personnel. There were 2.86 driver job openings this May per applicant, more than double the 1.35 ratio for the labor market as a whole.
As the national population grays, Japan will face a shortage of 240,000 truck drivers by 2027 due to such factors as mass retirements, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Testing of level 4 vehicles is already allowed on public roads in the U.S. Only this May did Japan make legal changes to permit level 3 driving as early as next year.
Hokkaido has been pitching itself as an ideal testing grounds for automated vehicles, thanks to its wide-open spaces as well as its snow, chilly weather and other environmental extremes. The prefecture is now home to the highest concentration of testing areas at 28. Apart from public roads, a portion of the testing is being carried out at sparsely attended driving schools and vacant ski slopes.
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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Nippon-Express-readies-first-road-test-of-highly-autonomous-trucks

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1675024
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According to The Australian Financial Review, the building industry faces a period of re-regulation – and consequently higher costs – following an agreement by federal and state ministers.
They agreed to co-operate to prevent the recurrence of problems such as combustible cladding, crumbling buildings and lax self-regulation.
Reforms to come likely include mandatory registration of engineers, who at this stage only have to be registered in Queensland, although Victoria has laws under way to do the same. There will also likely be a new model for the design, construction and certification of new large buildings, which will demand greater scrutiny and independent verification of certification.
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https://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/federal-government-scraps-new-taskforce-plan-20190718-p528d5

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/8853204
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, summer spells fun for many, but not for air conditioner repair workers, who face incessant calls during the peak service period and often have to make repeated visits to fix a single problem.
And since the average air conditioner has 2,000 or so components embedded inside, it's no easy task to figure out which parts they need to take with them when heading out on a repair call.
To simplify life for those sweating to keep customers cool, leading air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries Ltd., based here, is relying on an artificial intelligence (AI) system to pick the parts.
Few other firms in Japan are utilizing an AI system on such a large scale for repairs, Daikin officials said.
As summer nears, the company's call center in Osaka’s Chuo Ward begins being bombarded with calls from households and businesses requesting repairs. Callers typically complain that their air conditioner is emitting an odor or isn't effectively cooling their room.
In response, Daikin’s service centers across Japan arrange necessary replacement parts and assign repair personnel to visit customers. The company gets 2,000 to 3,000 repair requests on average every summer, Daikin officials said.
Repair workers rely on experience to decide which parts to take with them, but often realize once they are at a job site that some necessary parts are missing.
Only 53 percent of all repairs Daikin did last summer that required component parts were wrapped up with a single visit.
To reduce parts mismatches, Daikin introduced an AI system from Abeja Inc., a Tokyo-based business venture. In a trial, the system was fed 10 years of data on repairs and made the right selection in 64 percent of all repair requests that Daikin received last summer.
Additional learning by the system is expected to further improve its accuracy, so Daikin has decided to leave all the selection work to it starting from June.
Fewer mismatches are expected to also cut expenses. It costs about 700 yen ($6.49) to return every single unnecessary part to a warehouse, officials explained.
Daikin also plans to rely on an AI system to assign tasks to repair workers in accordance with their skills, the officials added.
“Although there are calls for more use of AI systems, few workers in manufacturing industries have any know-how on how to use them,” said Hitoshi Yamamoto, head of planning with Daikin’s services headquarters. “It remains quite uncommon to have an AI system learn how to select component parts and assess what skills engineers have. We hope to remain the industry leader into the future.”
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907140003.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ai1574921

According to The Asahi Shimbun, a factory operated by Total Care System Co. in Japan draws a constant stream of visitors from across the country to see the recycling of a product that most people thought would be impossible.
The curiosity is how the company treats and recycles used disposable diapers, which are commonly thought to be discarded and incinerated.
“There is a stereotypical view that diapers contain excrement and are thus dirty so they are difficult to recycle,” said Takeshi Cho, 74, president of Total Care System. “But even diapers made by different manufacturers use the same ingredients and are typically discarded after being separated. They are the easiest article to recycle.”
Based in Fukuoka city, Total Care System started on a quest to recycle disposable diapers, as the products’ consumption rapidly increases in tandem with the aging of Japanese society. The company extracts pulp from used diapers for sale.
It is also looking to establish the technology to convert the polymer and other materials to absorb urine into sheets to deal with pets’ urine and other items.
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907190001.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/6133397
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According to The Australian Financial Review, iconic local beer company Carlton and United Breweries will be sold to Asahi Group Holdings for $16 billion, meaning Japanese drinks giants will soon own both of Australia's major brewers.
CUB is the Australian subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's biggest beer company and brews beers such as Melbourne Bitter, Victoria Bitter and Carlton Draught.
The $16 billion sale is expected to be finalised by the first quarter of 2020, according to a statement from AB InBev. The sale price represents an implied multiple of 14.9 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, suggesting CUB's underlying trading profits were in the order of $1 billion.
Japanese companies now own both of Australia's major brewers. Kirin purchased Lion, brewer of XXXX and Toohey's, in 2009.
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https://www.afr.com/business/retail/fmcg/asahi-buys-carlton-and-united-breweries-for-16b-20190719-p528xa

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1603014217
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, an influx of foreign workers has helped Japan cope with the nation's labor shortage, as working-age Japanese decline to their smallest share of the country's population on record.
The number of Japanese aged 15-64, or the working-age population, stood at 74.23 million as of Jan. 1, the internal affairs ministry reported Wednesday, a decrease of 613,028 from a year earlier. This represents a mere 59.5% of the total population, an all-time low that reflects the aging of Japan's public.
By contrast, the population of working-age foreigners in Japan jumped by 149,650 to reach 2.26 million. This group encompasses 85.1% of all foreigners in the country, and a full 31% of Japan's foreigners are in their 20s.
Over the past five years, the number of working-age Japanese shrank by 4.13 million, a loss partly offset by the addition of 580,000 working-age foreigners in that time.
The Japanese population, excluding foreign residents, shrank for the 10th year in a row, to 124.77 million last year. The decline of 433,239 people is the largest since the government started tracking the data in 1968. Deaths also outnumbered births in Japan last year by a record 442,564.
The number of foreigners climbed by 169,543 to an all-time high of 2.66 million. They make up 2.1% of Japan's public, crossing the 2% threshold for the first time.
Reflecting the trend, some localities have seen a surge in foreign-born residents. The foreign population in Shimane Prefecture on the western Sea of Japan coast grew by 15.4% last year, the fastest rate among all prefectures. A Murata Manufacturing subsidiary in the city of Izumo reportedly added hundreds of Brazilians of Japanese descent to its workforce, tasked with producing electronic capacitors.
Shimukappu, a village on the northern island of Hokkaido, boasts the highest concentration of foreigners among all Japan's localities at 26.1%. The village is home to a major ski resort popular among inbound tourists, and the foreign employees who serve the clientele live in the area. Shimukappu is one of 12 municipalities nationwide where foreigners make up at least 10% of the population.
Foreign workers also are bringing high-level skill sets. NEC's central research laboratories have hired graduates directly from India's technology institutes since 2012. The company says it plans to expand recruitment from the schools, which have become a source of tech talent for employers globally.
At the end of last year, 350,000 foreigners held visas reserved for those demonstrating expert knowledge in management, technology, the humanities, international affairs and other areas, data from the Ministry of Justice shows. That number grew by 110,000 over three years due to efforts by Japan's government and business community.
Japan's prevailing labor crunch also has compelled companies to invest resources in labor-saving technology. RPA Holdings, which provides support for businesses automating routine digital tasks, boosted sales by 95% during the financial year ended in February. RPA's clients hail from a wide range of sectors, including finance.
The annual population survey by the internal affairs ministry is based on data contained in basic resident registries. A full census is conducted every five years.
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https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Foreign-workforce-of-2.2m-helps-Japan-ease-labor-crunch

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/266203

According to The Australian Financial Review, an electronic shelf label tells the customers not only the price but the provenance – where the lamb or beef came from, whether it's grass-fed or organic – when it was made and how many calories it contains.
If the meal kit is close to its use-by date, the price on the electronic ticket might be a few dollars lower than it was earlier in the week, having been automatically updated by store staff.
The woman drops the meal kit as she scrambles to scan it with her smart phone to skip the checkout queue, but within seconds a robot scoots over to clean up the mess.
It’s not a scene from The Jetsons; it’s coming to a supermarket near you, and probably sooner than you think.

https://www.afr.com/business/retail/fmcg/the-robots-coming-to-an-aisle-near-you-20190711-p5267l
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If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/9773361