According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Toyota Motor will be a key investor in a Sparx Group renewable-energy fund announced Wednesday, aiming to reduce carbon emissions from its auto factories and dealerships.
The Mirai Renewable Energy Fund will aim to raise 30 billion yen (US$ 267 million) in capital, with Toyota supplying 10 billion yen. Sparx will manage the fund from November and solicit other investors.
The fund will target a variety of facilities, such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal power plants. Rather than investing in existing facilities, it will target new ones to be involved in from the initial stages. Power generated may be sent to Toyota factories or dealerships.
Toyota has long-term goals of selling almost no autos powered solely by internal combustion engines and emitting no carbon dioxide from its factories by 2050. It aims to increase annual sales of electrified vehicles to 5.5 million units by 2030.
The automaker formed the Mirai Creation Fund in 2015 with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sparx. That fund has invested in startups in such fields as artificial intelligence and robotics.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Toyota-to-chip-in-for-270m-renewables-fund

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4175290 
​

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Kyoto University got the health ministry go-ahead Sept. 21 to begin the world's first clinical study to infuse blood platelets made from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into a patient suffering from aplastic anemia, an intractable disease.
The university said it plans to transfuse the platelets, which work to stop bleeding, into the patient within a year as the individual is unable to produce sufficient blood cells.
Hospitals rely on blood donors for supplies of blood, such as platelet products. But blood donors are dwindling due to the declining birthrate and aging population, researchers said.
Producing blood products from iPS cells would help ensure a stable supply, researchers added.
Aplastic anemia is very difficult to treat because patients with the disease are unable to produce white blood cells and platelets in sufficient quantities due to immunity and other problems.
It is estimated that 10,000 people across Japan suffer from the disease.
Koji Eto, a professor of hematology at Kyoto University, is a member of the team that will oversee the clinical test.
Team members said the individual chosen for the treatment had shown a strong rejection reaction to blood cells from donors. The team has no plans at present to seek more patients for the clinical study.
After the team created platelets from iPS cells, the patient will be infused three times during a roughly six-month period. Researchers will spend a year confirming the effectiveness and safety of the treatment.
“This method has the potential to be used widely as there are other diseases in which patients are unable to create platelets,” said Shinji Nakao, a professor of hematology at Kanazawa University.
Nakao also noted that medical organizations sometimes seek blood donors whose immune system is the same as patients unable to produce platelets.
“The burden on those donors will be reduced by this new method. In that respect, it will have huge significance,” he said.
Regenerative medicine that uses iPS cells started in 2014 with the transplant of retinal tissue to a patient suffering from an intractable eye disease.
Plans also began making headway this year for iPS treatment of patients who suffer from heart failure and Parkinson’s disease. Similar treatment for cornea diseases and damaged spinal cords are also in the cards.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201809220047.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ips-1
​

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Japanese researchers have created hens that can lay eggs worth nearly 300 million yen (US$ 2.73 million) each because they contain an expensive protein used as a therapeutic agent for cancer and hepatitis.
The “golden” eggs are a result of new genome editing technology, which produces a larger amount of the protein, human interferon beta, at low cost, the scientists said.
The new technique can save on costs because it uses the eggs of hens, an easy-to-breed species, instead of a huge dedicated facility needed for the conventional method based on colon bacilli or cultured cells, they said.
“The latest technology will enable hens to generate various useful proteins,” said Isao Oishi, a senior official at the Biomedical Research Institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
Oishi and his colleagues collected cells that would turn into sperm from rooster embryos. After the cells were cultured, the scientists inserted a gene into the cells to produce human interferon beta. The cells were then returned to the embryos of other roosters.
The hatched roosters were later made to mate with wild hens. The team discovered that female offspring of these couples could lay eggs with human interferon beta contained in the albumen surrounding the yolks.
The quantity of the protein in each egg ranged from 30 to 60 milligrams. Considering the market price of human interferon beta, the eggs are each worth an estimated 60 million yen to nearly 300 million yen.
The use of cells that will turn into sperm enabled the team to avoid the difficulty of manipulating fertilized eggs of fowl through genome editing.
An official of Cosmo Bio Co., a reagent maker working with the scientists, said the team’s technique will help slash production costs of the protein.
“If drugs are developed based on the new method, their prices would be half or one-third of those of conventional drugs,” the official said.
The effectiveness and safety of such drugs must be carefully examined before they can be marketed as medicine. Cosmo Bio for now is looking to use the hen-based protein to produce reagents.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201809180004.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/3409413 
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, Fortescue Metals Group's new higher grade iron ore product will hit markets sooner than expected and will make up almost 6 per cent of its export volumes this year and 23.5 per cent of export volumes in the future, under new details published by the miner on Thursday.
Dubbed "West Pilbara Fines", the new product will have an iron content of 60.1 per cent and looms as the company's central response to China's recent preference for ore with higher iron grades, which has seen wider-than-normal price discounts applied to Fortescue's existing products.
Fortescue said in August that first shipments of the new product should leave Port Hedland in the six months to June 30, 2019, but on Thursday the miner said its first shipment would take place in December 2018.
Fortescue also provided volume guidance for the first time, saying it would export between 5 million and 10 million tonnes in fiscal 2019.

https://www.afr.com/business/mining/fmg-flags-earlier-start-to-higher-grade-exports-20180920-h15nop

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4242103 
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, Brisbane and Melbourne prime industrial rents are forecast to rise between 16 and 20 per cent over the next five years to compensate for rising land costs and weaker returns, according to the latest forecasts from BIS Oxford Economics.
This "significant turnaround" will follow five years of almost no change in rents with higher prices likely to be supported by rising demand from e-commerce providers and third-party logistics operators, appetite which has helped boost the profits of Amazon landlord Goodman Group and others.
"The prime reason for rising land values is competition for land amongst an increasing number of developers, concentration of land ownership which limits the amount of land offered for sale, and, in the case of Melbourne, planning uncertainty and delays in the rollout of infrastructure needed to service land," report author Christian Schilling said.
As a result of this competition, land values in Brisbane's Trade Coast region increased by 30 per cent over the past two years to almost $500 per square metre and are now back to pre-GFC boom levels.

https://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/leasing/sunshine-for-brisbane-melbourne-rents-to-rise-20-pc-over-five-years-20180919-h15kxw

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/520 
​

According to The Nikkei Asian Review, ANA Holdings, parent of All Nippon Airways, plans to launch a tour guide matching service for overseas travelers to Japan, together with tour specialist Huber.
ANA already has tourism partnerships with companies such as Airbnb and Gaiax, an experience-based travel service. With the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games coming in 2020, the Japanese airline hopes to offer customized travel services to flyers.
Huber, a startup founded in 2015, in early September raised tens of millions of yen (several hundred thousand dollars) from ANA through a private share placement. Other stakeholders include Tokyo-based railway operator Tokyu.
Huber specializes in matching visitors to Japan with local guides, including college students looking to practice speaking foreign languages. The platform helps users find guides according to their interests and travel plans.
The partners aim to launch the matching service for ANA customers by the end of the year. The platform will also be used to gather data on the activities travelers engage in during their stays.
Japan recently relaxed regulations on the tour guide business. Unlicensed guides can now offer paid services. The change has prompted more companies to jump into the market. Huber believes its large pool of students and other guides will give it an edge over its competitors.
ANA hopes the tie-up will help it grab a bigger slice of the overseas travel market in Japan. The government has set a goal of attracting 40 million overseas travelers by 2020, and 60 million by 2030. More tourists should translate to greater demand for air travel within Japan, something ANA wants to capitalize on.
The airline will also work with Huber to improve the communication and customer service skills of its employees. ANA will encourage staff to sign up as guides on the platform to give them more opportunities to interact with overseas visitors. Huber will help it incorporate tour guide work into its staff training program.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/ANA-to-launch-tour-guide-matching-service

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ana9402243 
​

According to The Nikkei Asian Review, France is joining the fray to develop autonomous trains, an area where it would likely take on Chinese and Japanese rivals if it exports the technology.
State-owned railway SNCF said Wednesday that it plans to begin operating trains in 2023 that handle acceleration and deceleration on their own but still have operators on board. The railway aims to expand the project to its TGV high-speed intercity service in 2025, and roll out fully autonomous service on regional lines that year.
Autonomous trains will be able to transport more people using less energy, SNCF President Guillaume Pepy told reporters.
The project's cost is estimated at 57 million euros (US$ 66 million), with the French government and SNCF shouldering 30% each. The remaining 40% of the costs will be taken on by private-sector participants including Hitachi's Italian subsidiary Ansaldo STS; French multinationals Alstom, a train builder, and Thales, a defense equipment maker; and German auto parts maker Robert Bosch.
Cameras and radars will capture the trains' surroundings to read traffic signals and identify obstacles, and artificial intelligence will be used to adjust speed. Security mechanisms will also be developed to block system hijacking.
An autonomous subway system is already operating in France, but factors such as snowfall make it difficult to run above ground. Train speeds often operate faster than cars, so the system must be able to respond instantly -- such as when an obstacle suddenly appears.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/France-to-develop-autonomous-trains-with-help-from-Hitachi

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1933103 
​

According to The Asahi Shimbun, in a possible breakthrough in pest control, Japanese scientists have uncovered the mechanism of how a unique protein in mulberry leaves kills most bugs--but not the silkworm.
The protein is also harmless to humans, according to the study team led by Kotaro Konno, a senior researcher at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.
“In the future, the protein may be artificially compounded to spray (on crops), or vegetables could be genetically modified to produce this protein themselves to ward off insects,” Konno said.
Over millennia, humans have enjoyed the mysterious fiber produced by the soft, white silkworms.
But only in recent years have Japanese scientists discovered that mulberry leaves, the only food source for silkworms, is poisonous to all other insects.
In earlier studies, mulberry latex--the white liquid secreted from the leaves--was fed to the larvae of other moths, including spodoptera litura and mamestra brassicae, a known garden pest.
These larvae stopped growing with even a tiny amount of the latex ingested, and they died within few days.
The latex had no ill-effects on silk moth larvae.
A further analysis of the latex led to the discovery of a protein named MLX56.
The latest study showed the protein bonds to and thickens the peritrophic membrane that most insects have inside their digestive organs. The digestive system eventually fails, and the insects die.
So far, MLX56 has been found only in mulberry leaves.
The compound’s effectiveness to ward off pests may not be as instantaneous as chemical pesticides. But since it is derived from a plant, it is more environmental friendly.
Humans do not have a peritrophic membrane, so the protein does not affect them.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201809150009.html

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2913992 
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, Perth residents will be among the first people in Australia to summon driverless cars on a mobile phone app and zoom around local streets after a French "Intellicar" arrived in the Western Australian capital.
Perth is one of only three cities, along with Paris and an undisclosed North American city, to trial the autonomous on-demand electric car, which is made by France's NAVYA, after WA automobile club RAC successfully introduced the Intellibus in 2016.
The Intellicar, which will start trials in controlled spaces this week, is "substantially more complex" to operate than the Intellibus because it doesn't follow a fixed route, RAC Group's chief executive Terry Agnew told The Australian Financial Review.
"It's time to build on what we've done with the Intellibus," Mr Agnew said. Other states have been running trials of driverless shuttle buses, but have not yet put driverless cars on public roads.
The Intellicars can carry up to six passengers each, and have a maximum operating speed of 90 km/h with a recommended operating speed of 20 to 50 km/h.

Ref: https://www.afr.com/business/driverless-cars-are-coming-as-ondemand-intellicar-prepares-to-hit-perth-streets-20180912-h15a43

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
​https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1449814
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, Japanese brewer Kirin appears to be finally losing patience with its $2 billion Australian dairy business, Lion Dairy & Drinks.
Lion, which is 100 per cent owned by Kirin, has launched a strategic review of Dairy & Drinks and is considering options including selling the business entirely after completing a three-year restructuring process.
Lion Dairy & Drinks is Australia's second-largest milk processor after Murray Goulburn, with an estimated 19 per cent share of the milk processing market, and buys close to 1 billion litres of milk a year, according to IBISWorld.
However, sales and earnings have been in decline for years as the business struggled to recoup rising costs amid stiff competition from other processors and pricing pressure from Coles and Woolworths, including $1 a litre milk.
Kirin paid $2.8 billion for the then National Foods in 2007 and $910 million for NSW-based co-operative Dairy Farmers in 2008, but has struggled to achieve a satisfactory return on its investment.

Ref: https://www.afr.com/business/retail/kirin-launches-strategic-review-of-lion-dairy--drinks-20180911-h157pa

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