According to The Asahi Shimbun, larger monitors and private rooms are some of the features on Japan Airlines Co.’s new passenger aircraft that will be used for international flights by the year’s end.
JAL revealed the interior design and services of the A350-1000 of the Europe-based Airbus.
The jumbo model will be the first JAL-operated plane with door-fitted personal rooms for extra privacy for its 60 first-class and business-class seats.
With 239 seats, the A350-1000 will boast new seating designs in all four categories, including economy class and premium economy class.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15021037
 

According to The Australian Financial Review, global giants ATCO and BOC Linde have been named preferred contractors to build a $593 million hydrogen plant and storage facility near Whyalla in South Australia, just 6km from billionaire Sanjeev Gupta’s Whyalla steelworks.
The two foreign players, which represent a larger consortium, were chosen from a field of 29 proposals for the plant, to be owned by SA taxpayers and operating by early 2026.
Canada’s ATCO has a large Australian business, while European industrial gas and engineering group BOC Linde is part of the $US179 billion ($283 billion) Linde Group. They are the preferred contractors to build a 250-megawatt hydrogen production facility, 200-megawatt hydrogen power plant and a hydrogen storage facility.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/atco-and-boc-linde-win-593m-sa-hydrogen-job-forrest-misses-out-20231022-p5ee2d
 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, on the back of the weak yen, tourists visiting Japan are spending more than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time, with Chinese visitors leading the tourism recovery, data showed.
Inbound tourists spent 1.39 trillion yen (US$9.28 billion) between July and September, an increase of 17.7 percent compared with the same period in 2019, according to the data released by the Tourism Agency recently.
Chinese tourists spent the most, at 282.7 billion yen, or 20.3 percent of the total, followed by visitors from Taiwan at 204.6 billion yen and those from South Korea at 195.5 billion yen.
Average spending per visitor was 210,810 yen, up 29.4 percent, exceeding the government’s goal of 200,000 yen by 2025.
Japan is on track to achieve its goal of 5 trillion yen in total annual tourist spending.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15032267

According to The Australian Financial Review, housing demand is set to soar across the country’s four most-populous states over the next two decades fuelled by a predicted 7.4 million national spike in population, analysis by PEXA-owned Informed Decisions shows.
Victoria is poised to rack up the largest increase in population with two million people to be added by 2041. NSW is set to rise by 1.7 million, Queensland by 1.6 million and WA by 904,000, spurred by strong net migration.
Melbourne is forecast to add 1.6 million people during the same period, outpacing Sydney’s predicted population growth of 1.2 million. Brisbane’s population is set to increase by 974,000 while Perth is expected to gain 979,000.
To meet the housing demand for those increases in population, an estimated 723,000 homes would be needed across Melbourne.
Sydney would need an additional 582000. Across Brisbane, an extra 381,000 homes are required while Perth would need 334,000.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/where-property-demand-is-set-to-soar-20231019-p5edif
 

According to The Jiji News, Toyota Motor Corp. and oil company Idemitsu Kosan Co. said that they have agreed to work together for the mass production of all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.
The Japanese leading automaker plans to put next-generation all-solid-state batteries into practical use for EVs in 2027 or 2028, aiming to make up ground in the EV field, led by Chinese and U.S. rivals.

https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/28966
 

According to The Nikkei Asia, Mitsubishi Electric has signed an agreement with the Australian Defence Department for joint equipment development, the company announced Thursday, the first time a Japanese company has entered a defense contract with a foreign government.
Subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Australia and the Australian military will combine laser technologies to enhance surveillance capabilities for fighter jets and vehicles. The development timeline and cost estimates were not disclosed.
Up to now, Japanese defense manufacturers have participated in developing equipment for foreign governments through Japan's Defense Ministry.
Japan's defense industry faces high investment costs in equipment and human resources to maintain technological standards, and its only customers have been domestic ones.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Aerospace-Defense-Industries/Mitsubishi-Electric-lands-Australia-defense-contract-in-industry-first

According to The Australian Financial Review, Rio iron ore boss Simon Trott said that it was willing to work with POSCO and others on green iron production in the Pilbara.
POSCO is studying the feasibility of using green hydrogen to power a hot briquette iron plant near Port Hedland, with a proposal for the multi-billion dollar project before WA’s environmental watchdog.
“POSCO is obviously a customer of Rio’s and this is an industry-wide challenge,” Mr Trott said. “We are doing some works with POSCO already and if there’s an opportunity that meets our needs and meet their needs, we’re absolutely open-minded to that.”

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/rio-opens-door-to-working-with-posco-on-green-iron-plant-in-pilbara-20231018-p5edd6
 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australian coal export sales will fall faster than expected because higher volumes over the next two years will not be enough to offset a 46 per cent collapse in shipment values, official forecasts show.
The value of thermal coal exports is expected to fall from $66 billion to $28 billion in the 12 months to the end of June 2025, almost 7 per cent below previous forecasts. Metallurgical coal will fall from $62 billion to $41 billion in that time.
Economists at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources earlier this year predicted that the value of commodity exports would slump over the next two years, as weaker demand brought prices down. Those forecasts have been tempered slightly in their latest analysis, with solid growth in export volumes delivering more than was expected just three months ago.
The value of Australian commodity exports in 2025 is now projected to be $352 billion, up from the June prediction of $344 billion.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/coal-export-values-slide-faster-than-expected-but-volumes-to-rise-20231001-p5e8xp
 

According to The Australian Financial Review, the nationwide residential rental vacancy rate returnedto a record low of 0.8 per cent in the September quarter, pushing rents up to new heights, Domain Group data shows.
Vacancy rates slumped to their worst ever levels in Sydney and Perth at just 0.9 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively, while Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin fell close to new lows at less than 1 per cent.
“We’ve seen vacancy rates tighten over the recent months, and they’re dropping further because we’re not seeing new supply come into the rental market,” said Nicola Powell, Domain chief of research and economics.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/rents-soar-to-new-highs-as-vacancy-rate-slumps-to-record-20231004-p5e9ko
 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, when a trading company receives an order for screws, a massive carousel goes in motion and the required pieces are delivered to waiting workers below. 
This eliminates the need for workers at Sunco Industries Co., a trading company that handles 1.94 million kinds of screws and bolts, to scurry about searching for them. 
“The need to rush around the warehouse within limited hours has decreased, resulting in a reduced physical burden. So, we’ve seen an increase in female applicants, making our recruitment process smoother,” said Sunco President Yoshihide Okuyama, 49.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15004677