According to The Australian Financial Review, residential sales nationally are outpacing fresh listings of properties for sale as buyers take advantage of low mortgage rates, one of several indicators pointing to a rebound in the housing market.
AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said that despite declining immigration and the end of financial support measures hanging over the property market, the confidence that it is the right time to buy is there.
Dr Oliver said record low-interest rates and federal government support for first home buyers would contribute to a "continued improvement in transactions through the run-up to Christmas".

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/buyers-return-to-the-housing-market-20201020-p566pa

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/8173547.html?lang=ja
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia's solar power boom sent records tumbling across three states for low demand for grid-based power in the September quarter, including one hour in South Australia where solar power fuelled the entirety of the state's electricity needs.
The Australian Energy Market Operator reported that South Australia recorded a first for any major jurisdiction globally between midday and 1pm on Sunday October 11 when it was wholly run on solar power. Rooftop solar panels contributed 77 per cent of the total, providing 992 megawatts, while large-scale solar provided 313MW.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/south-australia-records-100pc-solar-in-world-first-20201021-p567al

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1004261281.html?lang=ja
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, the Japanese government is working on plans to spur companies to recycle their plastic waste and kick their bad trash habits to the wayside.
Measures are being drafted that could be in place as early as April 2022 to entice companies that produce and sell plastic products into taking more responsibility for collecting and recycling the waste.
This might involve companies having to install large waste generators for recycling.
Voluntary collection of plastic waste in Japan has mostly taken place on a small scale, such as collecting food trays at supermarkets.
The Environment Ministry and the industry ministry presented draft policy proposals to their joint advisory panel of experts on Oct. 20 to significantly bolster plastic recycling.
Under the proposal, the government plans to require businesses that produce huge amounts of plastic waste at their factories or construction sites to recycle it to encourage companies to reprocess the plastic garbage generated from their manufacturing processes.
It also plans to help enable companies to collect and recycle used plastic items they have produced, as well as those manufactured by other firms. The government would provide support for companies that award consumers points for cooperating with voluntary waste collection or take other measures to collect more garbage.
The government will also draw up guidelines on measures that companies should take when they design and commercialize their products.
The measures include reducing the amount of plastics used in products, replacing plastics with alternative materials, and opting to use materials that can be easily recycled. The guidelines are aimed at urging industries to standardize product designs and make them more environmentally friendly.
The ministries will wrap up their discussions by the end of this fiscal year to submit a bill to next year’s ordinary Diet session. They aim to introduce the new plastic recycling policy measures in fiscal 2022 or later.
The government set a goal to reduce the amount of disposable plastic waste by 25 percent by 2030. In July, it began requiring retail stores and other businesses to charge consumers for plastic bags as a measure to cut back on plastic garbage.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13856742

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/7967827.html?lang=ja
​

According to The Asahi Shimbun, researchers used iPS cells to treat a cancer patient for the first time in Japan earlier this month at Chiba University Hospital.
Chiba University and Riken science research institute researchers transplanted immune cells made from iPS cells into a patient with head and neck cancer via injection to attack cancer cells, sources said on Oct. 22.
The transplant, performed on Oct. 14, was part of a clinical trial for using iPS cells against cancer approved in June.
The transplant was done using immune cells called Natural Killer T (NKT) cells. The cells, which attack cancer cells and activate other immune cells, are in short supply inside the human body.
For the treatment, iPS cells were made from NKT cells collected from the blood of a healthy person and cultured into a large amount. Following that, they were changed again into NKT cells and transplanted into the patient.
About 50 million cells are scheduled to be injected into a patient at one time. Patients get a total of three injections, one every two weeks.
The patient who underwent the transplant via injection on Oct. 14 will get their second and third injections later after researchers confirm all has gone well by their response to the first.
Four to 18 patients who have cancers in their head and neck areas, such as the mouth or nose, will undergo the treatment for two years in the clinical trials.
Expectations are high for many people that iPS cells can be used to treat cancer, the number one cause of death among Japanese.
But hurdles remain in the use of iPS cells in cancer treatment, including that iPS cells are believed to run a risk of becoming cancerous themselves and patients' bodies might reject cells they receive in a transplant created based on cells from another person.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13863282

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ips7827497.html?lang=ja

According to The Fresh Plaza, an Australian robotics company, LYRO Robotics, has successfully deployed its technology in commercial trials at Sunnyspot Packhouse avocado facility in Queensland.
LYRO Robotics, based in Brisbane, say their world-leading picking and packing technology combines computer vision with machine learning. The robotic grasping mechanism can see an avocado coming down the line, make a decision on how to grasp the fruit correctly, pick it up and place it perfectly into the cardboard box.
While the main focus is packing of the fruit, in this case, avocados, Dr Leitner says the robots can also perform other useful tasks for fresh produce companies, in terms of measuring volumes, weights and sizes. In addition, multiple packs can be sorted at the same time, depending on the end customer; whether it is food service, supermarkets, processing or home consumers.
LYRO Robotics adds that a major advantage, having built the system themselves, is that the robots can be customised to the individual client company's needs.

https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9260685/commercial-trials-underway-for-new-packing-and-sorting-technology-at-australian-avocado-packhouse/

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/qld9895958.html
​

`According to The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese company is flushed with success, responding to U.S. consumers' fears of runs on toilet paper amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Toto Ltd.'s hi-tech Washlet toilets come with a bidet function that washes the user's rear end with warm water.
Washlet sales in the United States, where demand has typically been low, more than doubled year-on-year between January and June this year.
“Even in the U.S., people panic-bought toilet paper in March, resulting in a shortage of it. Since then, more people have become interested in the Washlet,” said Katsuhito Nojima, vice president of Toto U.S.A. Holdings Inc., who said the toilets have recently sold well there.
Few in the United States are familiar with toilets like the Washlet that include the bidet feature. Many American homes also don't have electrical outlets in their restrooms, making it difficult to install a Washlet there.
But U.S. interest soared in Washlets after toilet paper disappeared from store shelves during the pandemic.
Despite the hurdle of stay-home polices in place to prevent the virus from spreading, Toto in the United States is still seeing a rise in orders.
“People are using their homes as offices due to the pandemic, and their lifestyles are changing,” Nojima said. “We'd like to meet the demand from people who want more comfortable toilets.”
This year marks the 40th anniversary since Toto, the world’s leading toilet manufacturer, debuted the Washlet, which led the way for consumers to become accustomed to washing their behinds while they used the toilet, utilizing its warm-water shower function.
The Washlet has been popular among households and offices in Japan since hitting the market in 1980. At present, 80 percent of general households use toilets that have a warm-water bidet function.
Numerous luxury hotels outside Japan now have Washlets as well. High-grade Washlets have been a hit with wealthy customers in China, where knock-offs of the toilets are also available.
Last year, shipments of Washlets worldwide topped 50 million units.
Toto officials are hoping visiting foreigners in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics next year will be favorably impressed by Washlets, leading to a further sales bump abroad.
Annual shipments of Washlets abroad were 580,000 units in fiscal 2018, but the toilet maker plans to ship 2 million units in fiscal 2022.
“Technologies for hygiene, cleanness and avoiding contact will play decisive roles during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Toto President Noriaki Kiyota.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13800156

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1097785.html 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, home buying confidence at its highest in more than 12 months as would-be purchasers accelerate out of the pandemic lockdown, buoyed by cheap debt and the belief that next year will be better than this.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment, the first taken since the federal budget and its package of business and household support, includes a "time to buy a dwelling" measure which has increased 10.6 per cent to its highest level since September 2019.
"Confidence in the housing market has boomed," Westpac said.
House price expectations have risen strongly while house-buying confidence is riding high in Western Australia and South Australia, the two states which typically lag the eastern states but have got the coronavirus under control.
Such is the level of confidence that even Victorians, who are still lumbered with a strict lockdown, have lifted in their home-buying confidence.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/home-buying-sentiment-surges-putting-bears-to-flight-20201013-p564tj

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/9820827.html
​

According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Japan plans to build a hydrogen supply network that includes Australia and Brunei as it aims to import 300,000 tons of the fuel a year by around 2030.
Hiroshi Kajiyama, minister of economy, trade and industry, laid out a vision of a hydrogen-based society Wednesday at the virtual Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting. Proof-of-concept trials will be conducted ahead of the full-fledged launch of shipments.
The three countries will work together to bring down costs for hydrogen to make it competitive with fossil fuels, laying a feasible path to reducing the carbon footprint.
Key to low-cost hydrogen will be its extraction from lignite coal, which is abundant in Australia. Because of its poor quality, lignite is not extensively shipped around the world and costs are low.
A trial operation will be set up in Australia to separate hydrogen from lignite. Carbon emissions during the hydrogen production process will be reduced via capture and storage technologies.
The world's first liquid hydrogen carrier ship, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, will start transporting the hydrogen to Japan as early as February or March.
In Brunei, a plant that extracts hydrogen from natural gas was completed in 2019, and shipments to Japan have already begun.
The Japanese government aims to lower the cost of hydrogen to 30 yen (28 cents) per so-called normal cubic meter by around 2030. The eventual goal is approximately 20 yen.
Hydrogen would then be considered a fuel competitive with liquefied natural gas after factoring in the lighter burden on the environment.
The targeted 300,000 tons of hydrogen would be roughly equivalent in output to a nuclear reactor.
The government looks to have hydrogen achieve the same cost-competitiveness as LNG power generation. For this to happen, the volume of hydrogen procured would have to reach roughly 5 million tons to 10 million tons a year.
While Japan looks abroad for hydrogen, more domestic companies are starting to produce it at home. This year, one of the biggest hydrogen extraction facilities began operation in Fukushima Prefecture. Electricity derived from solar panels separate hydrogen from water. Output of the hydrogen is said to be enough to fill up 560 fuel cell vehicles a day.
Both Australia and Brunei depend on exports of coal and crude oil. Facing pressure to back away from coal, they will partner with Japan in trading hydrogen.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Japan-taps-Australia-and-Brunei-for-hydrogen-import-goal

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/30-30.html
​

According to The Asahi Shimbun, offering a look to the future of driving, Kyocera Corp.'s new technology renders the automobile dashboard “transparent” so the driver can have a much wider view of the road and surroundings ahead.
The system, unveiled in late September, uses the so-called optical camouflage technique by projecting the outdoor landscape on the dashboard, allowing motorists to easily detect obstacles before starting their cars.
Also rolled out the same day was the Moeye concept vehicle fitted with the transparency technology. It has eight cameras on its front to show images taken from them projected on the dashboard.
According to Kyocera, the prototype car was developed with Masahiko Inami, a human informatics professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology of the University of Tokyo.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13777654

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/5970128.html
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, Brisbane-based vaccine technology company Vaxxas has scored $30.6 million ($US22 million) in funding from a US government biomedical research body to advance its needle-free vaccine technology in preparation for future pandemics.
The fresh funding injection from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will support its preclinical studies and a large phase one human clinical trial of its micro-patch technology using an influenza vaccine.
The company, which was spun out of the University of Queensland in 2011, has created technology that allows vaccines to be administered via a one-square-centimetre patch with 5000 tiny projections invisible to the naked eye.
These projections are coated in a dry version of the vaccine, rather than a liquid, and prick the skin when applied. Early Vaxxas research suggests this method causes a far greater immunological response to the vaccine, thanks to the high proportion of immune cells found in the skin. This means a substantially smaller dose would be required for immunity.
Its early studies have shown comparable immune responses with a sixth of the vaccine dose.

https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/fresh-funds-for-qld-needle-free-vaccine-tech-start-up-vaxxas-20201004-p561wg

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/qld7564477.html
​