According to The Nikkei Asian Review, prices of thermal coal used in electric power generation have been riding high in Asia, with spot prices for benchmark Australian coal recently quoted around $US 95 per ton -- 30% above the 2017 low set in May.
The trend largely reflects brisk imports by China. But concerns are emerging that consolidation of the small number of coal mining companies that dominate the industry in Australia, a major producing nation, will exacerbate it.
In the January-September period, China brought in 6% more thermal coal through its seaports than a year earlier, noted Kiah Wei Giam, analyst at the U.K research firm Wood Mackenzie.
China's curbs on coal production are one reason for the higher prices. Analysts say the government scaled back production to curb mining accidents before the Communist Party's national congress in October.
As a result, China has been looking elsewhere for coal.
"Inquiries about coal from China have increased more than 20% since this summer," said an official at a major Japanese trading house.
Coal accounts for about 60% of China's energy consumption. Although the country has been increasing imports of natural gas for environmental reasons, its growing power consumption continues to rely heavily on coal. The International Energy Agency forecasts demand for thermal coal will be robust through 2030.
There have been important structural changes on the supply side as well. Traders point to the consolidation of suppliers in Australia.
In June, the major British-Australian mining company, Rio Tinto, announced a deal to sell its Australian thermal coal subsidiary to China-backed Yancoal Australia.
And in July, Swiss commodity trading and mining company Glencore reached a deal with Yancoal to acquire a 49% stake in a major mine that Yancoal had taken over from Rio Tinto.
Glencore will increase its share of Australian thermal coal mining for export to 29% from 26%, according a report in November by Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. If this trend of industry consolidation continues, price negotiations may become increasingly difficult, the agency said.
Japan relies on Australia for three-quarters of its thermal coal consumption, with Glencore supplying high-quality coal. One of Japan's largest power utilities, Tohoku Electric Power, which supplies power to much of northeastern Japan, agreed to buy Glencore coal at $US 94.75 per ton in the year from October. That was up around 10% from a deal for the year from April.
Before selling its Australian thermal coal unit, Rio Tinto competed with Glencore to supply Japan, taking the initiative in price negotiations in some years. Now that Glencore is the single major supplier, "it is difficult to shift to other suppliers," said an official at a power company in eastern Japan.
One possible counterbalance to Australia is Russia, which plans to increase coal exports to Asia as Europe turns away from coal-fired power generation. Supported by the depreciation of its currency, the ruble, Russia's share of Japan's coal market could well rise from less than 10% in 2016.
Yet spot prices -- which are of growing importance as a benchmark -- will be greatly affected by trends in China. Japan increasingly imports thermal coal on a spot basis, or under near-term contracts.
Wood Mackenzie's Giam predicts that demand in China will likely take a breather after this winter, forecasting thermal coal prices will average $US 85 to $US 90 per ton in 2018.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Markets/Commodities/Coal-prices-stay-high-in-Asia-as-Australian-industry-consolidates
 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Hitachi looks to boost representation of female and foreign executives in the company to 10% each by fiscal 2020, drawing from personnel with varying backgrounds and experiences to compete better in a global business environment.
The plan announced Tuesday involves Hitachi's 81 corporate and executive officer positions, of which just 2-3% each are held by women and non-Japanese individuals. The conglomerate has just two female corporate officers, the first named as recently as 2015, and no female executive officers. Setting numerical targets is seen helping Hitachi to appoint more diverse officers, positions that require more qualifications than managerial posts.
Hitachi debuted another initiative in 2013 to have 1,000 women in managerial jobs by fiscal 2020. Although the target has since been lowered to 800 due to operational streamlining that reduced the number of posts, the effort would increase the ratio of female managers from just over 4% currently to around 7% in either case, according to the company.
In fiscal 2012, Hitachi launched a system of standardized evaluations on all staff worldwide as part of a push to use talent better. But appointments of women have not proceeded as expected.
Hitachi will introduce a database containing information on its roughly 300,000 employees in January. With searches simplified and information updated in real time, those making appointments will have an easier time discovering talent within the group worldwide.
"We are still not using our human resources to their fullest potential," Hidenobu Nakahata, a vice president and executive officer, told reporters Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japanese businesses trail American and European counterparts in employing female and foreign talent. An August survey of some 10,000 companies by Teikoku Databank found that 59% lacked any female officers.
Though more than 10% of companies surveyed said that women represent 30% of their officer ranks, these were mainly small and midsize businesses. Major corporations still tend to lag on appointing more women.
As Japan's labor shortage worsens, companies are rapidly moving the foundation of their businesses overseas, mainly to emerging nations. Competitiveness will require mobilizing talent effectively, a task likely to become a major issue across corporate Japan.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Hitachi-pushes-to-add-more-female-foreign-executives
 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Tokyo-listed Daiwa House has expanded into Australia's volume house building sector with the acquisition of Rawson Homes, the fifth-biggest home builder in NSW.
Daiwa House, which came to the local market three years ago in a joint venture with EG Funds and Sumitomo Forestry to develop the 300-unit Flour Mill project in Sydney's Summer Hill, purchased the family-owned Rawson as part of a plan to accelerate sales by expanding into markets such as the US, Australia and ASEAN countries.
"Our group will collaborate with the Rawson Group to further expand the Rawson Group's businesses in Australia," the company said in a statement. "Further, we seek to accelerate business expansion in Australia by leveraging the Rawson Group's experience and knowledge related to the residential construction industry in Australia."
Terms of the deal, in which Baker McKenzie advised Daiwa House, were not disclosed. Rawson, Australia's 20th-largest home builder with 1188 housing starts in the year to June, according to the HIA-Colorbond Steel Housing 100 report, made net sales of $544 million and a net profit of $35 million, Daiwa House said.
It will take possession of the shares – principally owned by brothers Mark, Peter and Lawrence Rawson – in January, subject to clearance by the Foreign Investment Review Board. The chief executive is Matthew Ramaley.

Ref:​http://www.afr.com/real-estate/japans-daiwa-house-expands-in-australia-with-purchase-of-volume-builder-rawson-group-20171128-gzujte
 
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, apparel companies suffering from sluggish clothes sales are using their retail expertise to branch out to house and apartment design, at the same time expanding their reach to the homewares and furniture market.
Taking the new direction is seen as a necessity for the clothing companies to ensure profitability and survival.
According to Yano Research Institute Ltd., the Japanese clothing market has shrunk by nearly 40 percent from its peak in 1991. Thriving online trade of used clothes has also negatively affected their business.
“The housing industry has a strong affinity for the clothing business in many points, such as how to select materials and create a uniform ambiance,” said a spokesperson for Tokyo-based Baycrew's Co., operator of the Journal Standard chain.
Baycrew's new business in the homes market has yielded good results.
Its model apartment in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward boasts a wooden pattern floor, a new sofa that looks like an antique and various imported goods. The exposed concrete ceiling creates a fashionable cafe-like atmosphere.
The apartment was created to promote the home renovation business the firm launched in July, and most furniture pieces on display there are from Baycrew's as well.
The company has already received four orders for the specially designed apartment.
Meanwhile, Daytona International Corp. in Tokyo, operator of Freak's Store, released a newly constructed home designed in the image of “an ordinary house in the United States” in June, as the company’s core product is American-style garments.
“Nearly twice more people than usual have requested information (about the specially designed house), underscoring customers’ high interest in it,” said a publicity official of home design firm Betsudai in Oita, which sells Daytona’s house.
In another example, United Arrows Ltd. in Tokyo adopted floor materials and lighting devices used for its clothing stores to renovate apartments in a select shop-like style. The renovated apartments’ interiors were proposed by the company’s shop design team.
United Arrows plans to unveil a model apartment in late November.
An increasing number of consumers are currently considering refurbishing old houses and apartments, boosting the trend, according to industry sources.
One home renovation company insider said the person’s corporation “has received cooperation proposals from several firms.”
Cooperation between housing and clothing businesses is expected to grow further in the future.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201711250001.html
 
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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/4813678
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Japan's Mitsubishi Estate Asia has made its first foray into Melbourne, backing Lendlease's largest residential tower in this country, the $400 million East Tower in the Melbourne Quarter project.
Mitsubishi Estate is one of Japan's major property players and will take an equal stake beside Lendlease in developing the 44-storey skyscraper.
Work is already underway digging the foundations for the building that will rise on the Flinders Street side of the $2.5 billion urban regeneration project in Docklands.
It is the second time Lendlease has partnered with Mitsubishi Estate Asia on a major project. Last the Japanese player signed on beside Chinese insurer Ping An to back Sydney's tallest office building, the $1.5 billion Circular Quay Tower project.
"This is the first time Mitsubishi Estate Asia has invested in Melbourne," said Mitsubishi Estate Asia's managing director Shojiro Kojima.
Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, the tower will comprise 719 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
It is one of three residential towers approved for the site, with almost 1700 apartments proposed in total.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/mitsubishi-estate-signs-up-for-lendlease-skyscraper-20171124-gzs3n4

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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Sumitomo Chemical will acquire an Australia-based supplier of a natural insecticide ingredient as part of a larger push toward environmentally friendly agrochemicals.
The owners of Botanical Resources Australia, the largest player in the field, will transfer within the month a stake exceeding 80% in a deal seen valued at roughly 15 billion yen ($US 133 million). Combined with existing group holdings, Sumitomo Chemical will own all shares in the Tasmanian concern.
Botanical Resources makes pyrethrins, a natural insecticide extract found in pyrethrum flower heads that acts on the nervous systems of such pests as mosquitoes and ticks. It owns farms that grow pyrethrums to be processed.
The company is strong in improving pyrethrum yields per acre and in developing varieties that maximize pyrethrin content. Annual sales apparently reach the equivalent of 6 billion yen to 7 billion yen.
Buying out Botanical Resources will give Sumitomo Chemical full control of a production chain stretching from the pyrethrins to finished products. The future Japanese parent will also improve on pyrethrum cultivation techniques and explore broader uses for pyrethrins.
Sumitomo Chemical is pouring resources into biorationals operations with a goal of boosting their sales to 45 billion yen in fiscal 2020. Biorationals impose a lighter burden on the environment, and demand from developed countries is expected to be strong. The company announced this August the acquisition of a plant growth regulator business from Kyowa Hakko Bio. Such compounds are used for such applications as making grapes seedless.
Pyrethroids, organic compounds similar to pyrethrins, also occupy a large part of the insecticide market. Sumitomo Chemical's Olyset Net, which employs the substance to protect people from malaria-carrying mosquitoes, is in use in more than 80 countries.

Ref: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Sumitomo-Chemical-to-buy-Aussie-natural-insecticide-giant

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1501519117 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, Softbank Robotics, the conglomerate's robotics arm, released service updates for its humanoid Pepper, and also introduced a new floor cleaner controlled by artificial intelligence. The company hopes to start selling the cleaner in the summer next year.
With a growing economy and aging population, Japan is suffering from a worsening labor shortage.
The new autonomous cleaning machine represents Softbank Robotics' answer to the labor shortage.
When the company started selling Pepper in October 2015, the robot's main appeal was simply being unique. But after observing Peppers in action since then at over 2,000 companies, the company thinks that Peppers can do more.
On November 30, Softbank Robotics will begin endowing Pepper with new skills. Working with Microsoft Japan, the company is utilizing big data to come up with the new skill set, allowing Pepper to handle certain tasks, such as those performed by hotel receptionists and pavilion guides.
Pepper now provides home care and education in locales that that are too difficult for doctors or teachers to visit on a frequent basis.
The new AI-controlled cleaning machine is intended to resolve the shortage of janitors. The AI technology will be provided by U.S.-based Brain Corporation, with other parts manufactured by Chinese maker ICE.
Softbank Robotics will be the distributor. Brain's AI helps machines safely and efficiently clean the floors of large commercial facilities.
Fumihide Tomizawa, president and CEO of Softbank Robotics, told The Nikkei that he aims to sell tens of thousands of Peppers worldwide in 5 years.
Despite the company's huge ambitions, the feasibility of actually achieving its business goals is questionable. When Tomizawa was asked when the business would turn a profit, he only answered "sooner than you may think."

Ref:​ https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Softbank-uses-smart-robots-to-tackle-Japan-s-labor-shortage

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According to The Asahi Shimbun, a new test on a tiny amount of blood can determine if patients are suffering from cancer and identify the type of tumor with a probability of nearly 90 percent, a Japanese research team said.
The method only requires simple treatment and measuring processes, easing the physical burden on patients, according to the scientists from the Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute (CCCRI) and other organizations.
The technique diagnoses the precise type of tumor by measuring and comparing levels of 17 kinds of trace elements in the blood, such as sodium, iron and zinc. The levels differ depending on the kind of carcinoma the patients are suffering from.
“We will commercialize the technique after conducting research on more patients through cancer screening and on other occasions and then carrying out clinical trials,” said Hiroki Nagase, director of the CCCRI.
The team also included scientists from the Kanagawa Cancer Center Research Institute and photocatalyst deodorizing equipment maker Renatech Co. based in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Based on a machine that produces semiconductors, they created equipment that can measure levels of the trace elements in blood.
When the team examined the sera of 960 patients with pancreatic, prostate, colorectal, breast and uterine cancers as well as 550 healthy individuals, the device identified the type of tumor with a probability of nearly 90 percent, they said.
The scientists are also conducting research on gastric, pulmonary, ovarian and other cancers, and they said the method will eventually be able to detect eight to 10 kinds of carcinoma.
Haruo Mikami, a senior CCCRI official, said the new technique’s accuracy is higher than that of existing tumor marker detection methods for prostate and colorectal cancers, which can find 25 to 50 percent of tumors.
No definitive tumor markers have been established to identify uterine, breast and pancreatic cancers. The team’s method is expected to help detect those difficult-to-find tumors, Mikami said.
The researchers said they intend to obtain approval from the government to release the trace element measuring equipment as a medical device by spring 2019.
They used a subsidy from the economy ministry to develop the test method.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201711190001.html
 
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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/97381352
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Australians are building ever-bigger houses even as the growing number of apartments in densifying cities pulls the average home size to its lowest in 20 years.
The average new home built in the year to June was 189.8 square metres, down 2.7 per cent over the past year and the smallest since 1997, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures analysed by CommSec, but this masked a tale of bigger houses and smaller apartments. 
But the size of a new house built in Australia rose 1.2 per cent last year to 233.3sq m from 230.5sq m, with the biggest increases coming in ACT, SA and WA. Apartments, which have grown from a quarter of all new housing stock seven years ago to nearly half last year, became smaller. They fell 2.3 per cent last year alone to 128.3sq m, having averaged 140sq m a decade ago. 
House sizes rose 1.5 per cent in NSW and Victoria – the two states that have seen the strongest price growth – over the year. They fell in 4.4 per cent Queensland and 1.3 per cent in NT and rose 8.2 per cent in ACT, 6.7 per cent in WA and 5.5 per cent in SA. 

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/supersize-me-australias-houses-get-bigger-even-as-apartments-shrink-20171117-gznkqy

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/5872204 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Tesla unveiled a prototype for a battery-powered, nearly self-driving semi truck that the company said would prove more efficient and less costly to operate than the diesel trucks that haul goods across the country. And of course, it will emit no exhaust.
He said the truck would be no less groundbreaking, claiming it would have a single-charge range of 500 miles, greater than many analysts had expected and enough to serve in many typical trucking routes.
The truck can go from zero to 60 mph in five seconds without a trailer, and in 20 seconds when carrying a maximum load of 80,000 pounds, less than a third of the time required for a diesel truck, he said.
He gave no price for the truck but hinted it would be costly.
"Tesla stuff is expensive," Musk said, drawing another cheer from the crowd, gathered at an airfield outside of Los Angeles.
But he also said the electric truck would be less expensive to operate, in part because it has fewer components that require regular maintenance (no engine, transmission or drive shaft).
As a result, Tesla is estimating it will cost $US1.26 per mile to operate, compared with $US1.51 a mile for a diesel truck. The cost can fall further - to 85 cents a mile, according to Tesla - if groups of trucks travel together in convoys, reducing wind drag. "This beats rail," Musk said.
In typical Tesla fashion, the truck is a sharp departure from industry norms. The cabin is spacious enough for a driver and passenger to stand. The driver's seat is in the centre of the cab, not on the left side. It is flanked by two laptop-size video screens providing navigation and scheduling data as well as images of blind spots and other areas around the truck.
It will be equipped with radar sensors, cameras and processors to enable drivers to use a version of Autopilot, the advanced driver-assistance system featured in Tesla cars such as the Model S and the new Model 3.

Ref:​http://www.afr.com/business/transport/automobile/tesla-sees-semitruck-production-starting-in-late-2019-20171117-gzo0k7

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
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