According to The Nikkei Asian Review, four Toyota Motor group members including Denso and Aisin Seiki intend to combine their research and development operations for self-driving vehicles in a joint venture, according to sources.
The new entity -- to be set up by the end of the year at the earliest -- will develop technologies for controlling acceleration, braking and steering based on the judgment of artificial intelligence. The idea is to pool the companies' resources to develop integrated packages of self-driving systems.
The players aim to better compete with European autoparts suppliers such as Germany's Robert Bosch. The autonomous driving competition has also attracted powerful companies from outside the auto industry, including a Google affiliate and China's Baidu. AI -- a focus for the world's tech giants -- plays a crucial role in self-driving systems.
The joint venture will also take investment from Jtekt and Advics, an Aisin subsidiary that produces brakes. Denso is expected to hold the majority stake.
The partnership will primarily supply Toyota but also target European, U.S. and Chinese automakers, aiming to raise the competitiveness of the Toyota group as a whole.
Toyota plans to commercially introduce its self-driving technology, which will enable cars to shift lanes without human intervention on expressways, in its Lexus luxury brand models as early as 2020. By the middle of the next decade, the company aims to develop a more advanced version capable of functioning on ordinary roads and achieve what is known as level 4 automation technology, which enables complete self-driving in limited areas.
In 2016, Toyota set up a subsidiary in Silicon Valley dedicated to artificial intelligence. Another subsidiary set up in Tokyo with Denso and Aisin this past March develops software for implementing AI technologies in cars. The new partnership will incorporate the technology with automotive hardware.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-Deals/Toyota-group-companies-to-team-up-on-self-driving-tech

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​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-48962896 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings has made a string of investments in domestic startups in hopes of developing new business tie-ins beyond the shrinking alcohol market.
The maker of Kirin Ichiban beer has in recent weeks bought into Load&Road, which sells smart water bottles that regulate temperature; O:Inc., a provider of a sleep wellness app, and Connected Robotics, a developer of cooking robots
All three are young Tokyo-area companies that have yet to break above 100 million yen ($900,000) in annual revenue. Kirin's individual stakes amount to less than 10%, and add up to roughly 50 million yen.
Japan's beverage market faces receding long-term demand as the population ages and declines. Meanwhile, consolidation and acquisitions by the world's biggest brewers have left fewer beer companies for Kirin -- whose net profit fell by half for the first half of this year -- to buy.
That prompted Japan's largest listed beverage group by sales to look beyond food and drink to areas like tech that hold the promise of synergies with its existing businesses.
Kirin will weigh opportunities to use its sales networks to market the startups' goods and services to restaurants. Further investment is a possibility if the partnerships work out.
Kirin is also building up its health business, which includes pharmaceuticals and biochemicals. It plans to invest several billion yen in U.S. supplement maker Thorne Research in a deal with Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. slated to close in October.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-Deals/Kirin-dips-toes-into-tech-investment-as-beer-market-slumps

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-45036634 
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, several times a month, a 34-year-old working mother in Tokyo shops on the Japanese arm of Amazon.com Inc., mostly for diapers for her child and large bottled beverages.
Amazon offers convenience as it spares her and other mothers from having to carry bulky items home from the store.
“It is difficult to find a mother around me who manages their daily lives without turning to Amazon,” the company employee said.
However, the downside is that thriving businesses of Amazon.com and other IT companies operating globally pose a major headache for Japanese tax authorities and their counterparts in developed countries.
They say the current taxation system makes it almost impossible for them to collect taxes from these companies thoroughly as they exploit differences in taxation between countries and implement elaborate tax-saving schemes.
Shigeki Morinobu, specially appointed professor of tax law at Chuo University Law School, said the existing tax rules established in bygone days are outdated in today’s digital society.
“It is a serious problem for Japan not to be able to impose corporate taxes on online companies at a time when funds for paying into social security programs and public annuities are drying up,” he said. “It is time to have a sweeping review of the taxation system.”
Japan is seeking to raise the difficulty of taxing online retailers as a key agenda item when the country hosts a Group of 20 summit in Osaka next year.
In 2017, Amazon Japan KK's sales totaled $11.9 billion (about 1.34 trillion yen), 1.5 times higher than the figure five years earlier, exceeding that of Takashimaya Co., operator of department stores.
The financial results of Amazon.com showed that the Japanese arm’s overall sales in 2014 stood at $7.9 billion. The same year, Amazon Japan paid about 1.1 billion yen in corporate taxes.
It was the latest year in which the Japanese arm’s corporate taxes were listed in the U.S. company’s financial results.
Making a side-by-side comparison with other retailers’ tax figures is difficult, but Amazon Japan’s corporate taxes total less than one-10th of a Japanese retailing company that logs a similar sales figure.
Amazon.com provides a same-day or next-day delivery service for customers by stocking a vast array of goods, ranging from daily merchandise and food to books and magazines, at huge warehouses.
The U.S.-based Amazon.com considers such a sales system as intellectual property and has Amazon Japan pay a large sum to the parent company for “using” the system, according to Japanese taxation officials. That allows the Japanese company to significantly reduce its taxable earnings as a result.
“Most of Amazon Japan’s profits will be offset by the payment of the usage charge,” a tax official said.
Under the Japan-U.S. Tax Treaty, the Japanese tax agency cannot levy taxes on the payment of using intellectual property made to a U.S. company.
It effectively leaves Japanese tax officials with no recourse for collecting corporate taxes from a company raking in large sums of money.
Amazon.com does pay corporate taxes overseas.
The company has not revealed where it pays corporate taxes, but experts believe it is most likely in countries and regions known for their low taxation rates.
For Japanese tax authorities, the spread of online businesses is adding difficulty to their jobs.
Japanese shoppers contract with the U.S.-based Amazon.com when they purchase e-books, according to Amazon.com’s policy.
Under the setup, Amazon Japan does not have to pay corporate taxes on the sale of e-books because the tax payment will be only required when Japanese branches or centers for transmission are involved in the e-book business.
Airbnb Inc., a U.S. online lodging rental service for travelers, takes a similar approach to Amazon.
Japanese users of Airbnb have to set up contracts with its affiliate in Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is low.
The money they paid as fees is not subject to corporate taxes in Japan.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201808200033.html

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​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/it-1411 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, a freshly shaken up leadership team is likely to report earnings at the top end of guidance.
The country's largest listed developer, which said residential head Andrew Whitson would also take over the retirement portfolio, is likely to report funds from operations, the industry's preferred revenue measure, rose about 6.5 per cent, at the top end of the 5 per cent to 6.5 per cent range it previously predicted in April.
The updated outlook made last month based on full-year settlements of 6400 dwellings is good news for a residential market that shows signs of slowing and sets the company's residential business up well for the current year.
Stockland's return to medium-density housing is also likely to shore up its residential business, said Deutsche analysts Leanne Truong and Lee Power.
"Although we are forecasting a fall in settlements in FY19, it is important to highlight that Stockland has been shifting its residential mix to now include more town homes," Ms Truong and Mr Power wrote. "As such, despite estimating a 1.2 per cent fall in settlements, we estimate revenue growth to remain relatively flat in FY19 (- 0.6 per cent)".
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Ref: https://www.afr.com/real-estate/residential/stockland-earnings-to-hit-top-end-of-guidance-20180820-h148nw

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According to The Australian Financial Review, Scott Morrison has pledged the "new generation" of leadership will heal the party, the Parliament and the nation, after he emerged from an ugly internal brawl as Australia's 30th prime minister and its fifth in as many years.
Former Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg is the new deputy Liberal leader and succeeds Mr Morrison as Treasurer.
In a blow to conservatives who sided with Peter Dutton in a move to oust Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Morrison won the final ballot by 45 votes to 40.
He immediately signalled no major shifts in policy, but was open to some changes, and he was conciliatory towards Mr Dutton and the conservatives in general.

Ref: https://www.afr.com/news/new-generation-of-liberal-leaders-vow-to-heal-the-party-20180823-h14f4p

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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Japanese power supplier eRex will build its largest biomass power plant to date in Japan, hoping the facility's scale will provide healthy margins and a means of skipping the government's feed-in tariff program.
The Tokyo-based electric company is in the process of selecting a location, most likely in eastern Japan. It aims to open the plant around 2024 or 2025 following a feasibility study. The facility will cost an estimated 90 billion yen (US$812 million) or so, and have an output of 300 megawatts -- enough to supply about 700,000 households. ERex may work with a regional utility or other partner.
The biggest biomass power plant operating in Japan currently has an output of 100 MW. With roughly triple that output, the new facility will rank among the world's largest.
Nearly all biomass power facilities in Japan sell their output through the government-mediated feed-in tariff program, which requires utilities to buy renewable energy at a fixed price. For large biomass plants that burn wood or agricultural waste, the rate is set at 21 yen per kilowatt-hour. But the program costs the Japanese public more than 2 trillion yen a year, and is said to hamper price competition.
ERex aims to forgo the feed-in tariff with its new plant by reaping economies of scale in operation and fuel procurement. The goal is to make the undertaking as economical as coal energy, which costs around 12 yen per kilowatt-hour.
Much of the renewable energy available in Japan is solar power, which fluctuates widely according to weather conditions. Biomass plants, which use such materials as wood chips and palm kernel shells as fuel, offer a more stable alternative.
Demand for reliable sources of renewable energy is on the rise in the business world, as shown by the RE100 initiative, in which 100 of the world's biggest companies have announced their commitment to get 100% of their power from renewable sources. ERex's new facility may spur competition.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Japan-to-host-one-of-world-s-largest-biomass-power-plants

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​http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4489723 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Amazon has opened its second Australian fulfilment centre in Moorebank in south-west Sydney as it looks to ramp up what has to date been an underwhelming launch of its dedicated Australian business.
Its much larger Sydney distribution hub, which follows the opening of a 24,000 square metre Melbourne fulfilment centre in Dandenong South late last year, comprises two high-clearance warehouses offering a combined 43,000 sq m of space at 7-21 Centenary Avenue.
The premises are leased from industrial heavyweight Goodman Group, Amazon's global warehousing development partner, which will report its full-year result on Friday.
"This is an exciting milestone for Amazon in Australia. The Sydney facility in Moorebank will help Amazon ensure that customers enjoy fast and reliable delivery across more areas of the country," said Robert Bruce, Amazon director of operations.

Ref: https://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/leasing/amazon-opens-43000-sq-m-sydney-hub-as-online-delivery-battle-heats-up-20180815-h13zrf

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According to The Asahi Shimbun, in appetizing news for those who can't help indulging their sweet tooths, scientists recommend they satisfy their cravings during the day to limit the risk of metabolic syndrome.
A study team at Nagoya University discovered that when mice consumed sugar only at times when they were active, they suppressed the fat in their liver and blood more than when they were allowed to consume the sweet stuff anytime.
Refraining from consuming sweets during times when the body is at rest could reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and other diseases, according to the researchers.
“Even if we know for a fact that consuming too much sugar is bad for the health, it’s hard not to do so,” said Hiroaki Oda, a member of the team and an associate professor of chrono-nutrition at Nagoya University.
“However, in humans, for example, it is likely to reduce the harmful effect, if people limit the time to eat sugar only during the day.”
The study results were published in the U.S. scientific journal Plos One on Aug. 16.
According to Oda, during hours of rest, fat is likely to accumulate because activity to break down sugar in the body becomes weaker and it is not converted in the blood for energy needs.
Excessive intake of sugar has been recognized as increasing the amount of fat in the liver and the blood.
World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend adults and children reduce their daily intake of sugars to less than 10 percent of their total energy intake to help with lifestyle-related diseases.
It also says a further reduction to below 5 percent, or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons), per day would provide additional health benefits.
In the study, scientists fed rats either sugars or starches. Rats were divided into two groups: those fed only during the night when rats are active; and those allowed to eat sugars or starches anytime they desired.
Four weeks later, the study team examined the level of fat in the livers and blood of those rats.
As a result, rats with time-restricted sucrose intake had about 20 percent less amount of fat in their livers and blood than those allowed to eat sugar anytime.
Nevertheless, even if rats were fed only sugar during times they are active, the level of fat in their livers and blood was higher than those fed starches.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201808160035.html

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​http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/9126198 
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, Japanese Scientists have developed technology to create metal denture frames with a 3-D printer, a breakthrough that could mean false teeth will be provided more cheaply and quickly than with current methods.
Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) said under their new method the oral structure is measured with a special scanner to make high-quality dentures at less than half the cost of conventional techniques.
They are looking to make the technology eligible to be covered by public health insurance within two years, enabling the innovative method to become widespread among patients.
Chikahiro Okubo, a dentistry professor at Tsurumi University’s School of Dental Medicine in Yokohama, began offering dentures made with the new technology to his patients in the spring.
“A denture currently costs as much as hundreds of thousands of yen (thousands of dollars), but the price will drop drastically if the new method is covered by public health insurance and becomes common,” Okubo said. “The technology is essential, as the number of dental technicians is on the decline.”
Yoshimitsu Okazaki, a chief senior researcher at the AIST’s Biomaterials Research Group, worked with Tokyo-based dental alloy maker Ids Co. to 3-D-print denture frames by applying laser light to heat and dissolve powdered cobalt-chromium alloy for printing.
Dentures are completed by adding ceramic teeth and resin gums to the frames.
The scientists obtained government approval for use of the powdered alloy in April.
To produce conventional cast denture frames, dental technicians first make prototype models based on gypsum molds of the oral cavity and metal is then poured into the models.
As the processes require much manual work, it is difficult to create accurate dentures. Because of that, only skilled technicians can produce precise artificial teeth under existing methods.
In contrast, the new technique can automatically create accurate frames based on measured data with a 3-D printer.
While conventional technologies require nearly two weeks to finish a frame, denture frames can be completed within several days under the newly developed method. Materials costs can be more than halved as well, according to the researchers.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201808160006.html

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According to The Australian Financial review, researchers from Melbourne's Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and Harvard Medical School have engineered a novel mechanism that homes in on a clot that has begun to form and blocks its progression.
Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is caused by a blood clot, most commonly in the legs.
Sitting in the same position for hours on a plane, together with lower air pressure, less oxygen and less hydration, increases the risk of a DVT developing.
"The drug can do two things," Professor Wang said. "It can prevent a clot from forming and break down one already formed.
"Our hope is that a patient at high risk of DVT, about to take a long-haul flight, can be injected with it. If a clotting process begins, the drug will find its way to the clot, bind to it and prevent it forming."
The same mechanism applies to a heart attack and stroke.
The drug has been proven to work in mice and in human blood.
"From what we have seen so far, there is no reason why it wouldn't work in patients at risk," Professor Wang said.

https://www.afr.com/news/new-drug-will-protect-against-deep-vein-thrombosis-on-longhaul-flights-20180816-h142fm

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​http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2955383 
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