According to The Nikkei Asian Review, cold-storage facilities in the greater Tokyo area are operating beyond capacity as recent free trade agreements have led to a surge in meat imports.
Freezer and refrigerated warehouses in Tokyo logged an inventory ratio of 40.4% for January, or above the 38% deemed as the capacity threshold, according to the Japan Association of Refrigerated Warehouses. The ratio in the Yokohama area was worse at 44.9%.
Japan's meat imports topped 2.23 million tons last year, up roughly 40% from 2009. This follows the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement going into force at the end of 2018, and Japan's economic partnership agreement with the European Union taking effect in February 2019.
The growth is also due in part to increased consumption, as well as shipments pushed forward in response to African swine fever.
On the other hand, nationwide cold-storage capacity totaled around 40 million cu. meters at the end of this past December -- up just 10% or so from 2015.
"The cost of storage is rising, which will likely impact earnings," said a representative at a frozen-food affiliate of Maruha Nichiro.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, "logistics between China and Japan has slowed, so the storage crunch is not as intense as it was at one point, but that does not mean the problem is resolved," said an official at the Japan Association of Refrigerated Warehouses. Certain corporations considered halting meat imports in December, the source said.
Meat warehouses are normally built near ports serving major markets, such as Tokyo and Osaka. But there is almost no space left in those areas to expand infrastructure.
Frozen-food producer Nichirei spent about 10 billion yen (US$ 94 million) to build a massive warehouse in Nagoya in central Japan that will begin operations next month.
"There are merchants that ask us to store freight headed for Tokyo in Nagoya," a Nichirei manager said.
Domestic competitor Yokohama Reito, or Yokorei, opened its own storage complex this February in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo. The company invested an estimated 6 billion yen to capture demand for cargo headed for Tokyo.
"It is becoming not so unusual to have Tokyo-bound freight be held" as far away as Hokkaido, said Masami Yasuda, a Yokorei executive in charge of the cold-storage operation.
The market for refrigerated logistics will exceed 2 trillion yen in fiscal 2021, according to the Yano Research Institute -- up 18% from fiscal 2018.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade/Imported-meat-fills-Japan-s-cold-warehouses-to-the-seams

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-tpp5141492.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, while many service-related businesses are crumbling as a result of the pandemic, the niche strata cleaning sector is thriving amid surging demand for extra cleaning and sanitation in strata buildings.
Bill Coles, managing director of strata and commercial cleaning service Cleaning & Caretaking Corporation said they had been getting a large number of extra cleaning and disinfection jobs in strata complexes due to the increased usage of the main areas as more people work from home.
"We've received an increased uptake in additional sanitation jobs in the common touch points of strata buildings like entry doors, exit doors, bathrooms and bin areas. There's definitely a growing need to disinfect these daily," he said.
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https://www.afr.com/property/residential/demand-for-strata-cleaning-surges-as-people-work-from-home-20200323-p54cwd

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/7733348.html
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​According to The Asahi Shimbun, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. have agreed to work together on developing smart cities and will invest 200 billion yen (US$ 1.8 billion) in each other to cement the relationship, the two companies.
The two companies will develop a data platform which will compile and analyze information from homes, vehicles, and public institutions, which will be used to create new services focusing on transportation, health, and energy usage.
Under the agreement, Toyota will take a 2.07% stake in Japan’s biggest telecoms company, while NTT will take a 0.9% stake in the automaker.
The platform will be rolled out at the prototype, zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered city near Mt. Fuji in Japan which Toyota is developing to incorporate smart homes, robotics as well as autonomous driving and AI technologies.
After decades spent focusing on making and selling cars, Toyota is increasingly turning to partners in the technology sector to help develop expensive new vehicle technologies as it tries to transform itself into a mobility services company.
“It is necessary not only for each company to engage in its own projects but also for both companies to work closely in jointly building and operating the ‘Smart City Platform,’” the companies said in a statement.
A growing number of global tech giants including China’s Tencent Holdings, Alphabet, Samsung Electronics, and Panasonic, are looking at developing hi-tech, connected cities, although many remain in the early planning stages.
The partnership between Toyota and NTT will build on an existing collaboration under which the companies are jointly developing technology for connected cars.
Toyota has also tied up with other domestic telecoms firms to come up with new technologies, including its partnership with SoftBank Corp to design and market an on-demand, self-driving service platform which will be used in Toyota’s prototype city.
NTT sees smart city-related solutions as a growth area as phone usage plateaus at home. It has partnered with the city of Las Vegas to use its data systems technology to analyze real-time car traffic and crowd density data to enhance public security.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13242549

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ntt-2000-it.html 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, in the latest hope for people troubled by hair loss and thinning hair, researchers have successfully generated hair by transplanting patients' own hair cells into their scalps.
Ryoji Tsuboi, head of the Department of Dermatology at Tokyo Medical University Hospital, worked with Toho University and cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. to boost hair growth by transplanting cells that stimulate hair generation into the scalp.
“The result of our study was very encouraging,” Tsuboi said. “We were able to show that the study could help develop a new treatment for hair loss.”
The researchers collected skin tissues of 50 men and 15 women from the back of their heads and took out special cells inside a hair follicle from the tissues to culture and modify the cells.
The scientists injected those cells into the scalp of the participants of the study and measured the extent of hair regeneration after one year.
The researchers said they confirmed that the density and diameter of hair increased where the cells were transplanted, with the density rising by up to about 8 percent.
Hair loss associated with aging is the most frequent occurrence and has a great impact on people's quality of life.
Many patients with hair loss linked to aging are treated with medicine in Japan. However, patients undergoing this treatment need to regularly take medicine and there are limited treatment options available for female patients.
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13246906

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/5032788.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, farmers are among the big winners from worldwide panic buying that has sent wheat prices soaring.
The surge in demand and prices for wheat has been fuelled by concerns about food security and suggestions major exporters Russia and the Ukraine could withhold supply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
China has also returned to the global market with orders for wheat, corn and soybeans from the US as part of the initial trade war peace deal between the two countries.
Grain Growers Ltd chairman Brett Hosking said the weak Australian dollar was working in favour of Australian farmers as nations around the world looked to secure supply.

https://www.afr.com/companies/agriculture/farmers-win-as-toilet-roll-effect-hits-wheat-markets-20200326-p54e40

​If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/5658272.html
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According to the Trade and Investment Queensland website, Brisbane company LYRO Robotics has secured seed funding from a major Japanese company.
Japanese manufacturer Toyo Kanetsu will provide funding through its corporate venture capital fund Toyo Kanetsu Corporate Venture Fund Ⅱ (TKCVII) for LYRO Robotics to commercialise their products.
The Brisbane-based start-up, which was only incorporated in August 2019, specialises in developing robotic picking and packing technology for warehouses, supply chains and logistics operations.
LYRO Robotics will use the seed funding to expand its team and deploy robots with early adopters while further developing globally competitive picking and packing solutions.
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https://www.tiq.qld.gov.au/lyro-robotics-secures-japanese-investment/

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/3698008.html?lang=ja

According to The Australian Financial Review, real estate auctions are being brought forward, switched to boardrooms or replaced by digital technologies in a bid to counter the impact of the coronavirus on sales, according to market specialists.
Buyers’ and real estate agents claim demand continues to be buoyant but are developing alternative strategies for the possibility that the government introduces tougher controls on crowd numbers, which could inhibit public auctions.
In the event of a government ordering a lockdown, it is experimenting with digital auctions such as Zoom, a cloud-based video conferencing service, and technologies that allow contracts to be signed remotely.
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https://www.afr.com/property/residential/real-estate-sellers-revise-tactics-in-response-to-virus-impact-20200318-p54bcc

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/8627473.html?lang=ja
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, medical experts are turning to existing treatments for the flu, Ebola and other illnesses to save patients from the spreading pandemic amid a global push to develop a cure for the new coronavirus.
The Chinese government announced Tuesday that the influenza drug favipiravir, developed by a Fujifilm Holdings subsidiary and sold under the name Avigan, is effective against the coronavirus, based on a clinical trial of 200 patients.
Some Japanese doctors have also been treating coronavirus patients with Avigan. Tokyo has stockpiled enough of the drug to treat 2 million patients. "We have been asked by the government to consider increasing production," Fujifilm said, though logistical hurdles are believed to stand in the way.
Avigan was approved to treat influenza in Japan in March 2014. Fujifilm signed a license agreement with China's Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical in 2016, and the latter is now gearing up to mass-produce the drug. Beijing is already recommending the drug to health care providers.
Meanwhile, American biotech company Gilead Sciences is conducting a clinical trial for remdesivir, originally developed to treat Ebola, on 1,000 coronavirus patients. The drug is being tested in the U.S., Japan, China and elsewhere. Chinese results are anticipated in April, Gilead said.
Remdesivir is still not approved anywhere for any use. It could become available in Japan within a few months if the health ministry fast tracks the drug for conditional approval. But because it is not for commercial use, there is no large-scale production framework in place.
Kaletra, an HIV treatment made by U.S.-based AbbVie, has also been used to treat the coronavirus in China in conjunction with other drugs. If proven effective, production could potentially be ramped up quickly.
The Institute of Medical Science at the University of Tokyo will start experimentally treating coronavirus patients with nafamostat, a pancreatitis treatment, by the end of the week. The drug had previously been found effective in keeping a coronavirus strain that caused the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, from infecting cells.
However, many of these treatments have serious potential side effects, and may not be appropriate for coronavirus patients with milder symptoms.
Avigan, for example, caused birth defects during animal testing and is not recommended for use by pregnant women. Liver damage and pancreatitis have been observed in Kaletra users. Side effects for remdesivir are still unclear, but could include lowered blood pressure.
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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/Search-for-coronavirus-cure-boosted-by-go-ahead-for-Fujifilm-drug

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/8531558.html?lang=ja 
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According to The Asahi Shimbun, a drug development startup has begun working on a DNA vaccine against the new coronavirus, aiming to begin clinical trials in six months.
AnGes Inc., which was founded by an Osaka University researcher, announced in Tokyo that the company is working with the university to develop the vaccine.
The vaccine under development will produce antibodies against the new coronavirus inside a person’s body through the use of synthetic DNA.
Proteins created by the DNA develop antibodies, which are expected to help immunize a recipient and prevent a patient’s condition from worsening.
“The advantage of a DNA vaccine is that it can be manufactured quickly,” said Ryuichi Morishita, a professor of clinical gene therapy at Osaka University who founded AnGes. “We’ll first check how many antibodies the vaccine can create in mice over two months.”
DNA vaccines can be manufactured in a span of several weeks. It takes about half a year to culture conventional vaccines, which use attenuated pathogens or those that are altered to prevent them from multiplying.
AnGes has started joint manufacturing of the DNA vaccine for the new coronavirus with Takara Bio Inc., a leading reagent company, based on its genetic information. In theory, DNA vaccines can trigger a strong immune reaction, but in some cases, the vaccines failed to fully immunize those who received vaccinations.
DNA vaccines have yet to be commercialized for human use.
However, Morishita said, “No safety concerns regarding a DNA vaccine have been confirmed in clinical trials on more than 1,400 people.”
As for the effects of DNA vaccines, he said, “In some cases, three to four vaccinations may be necessary to increase the production of antibodies. The vaccine can still be effective even if the virus mutates slightly.”

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13192839

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/7081509.html?lang=ja
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According to The Australian Financial Review, BHP is hiring 1500 workers to shore up its mining operations in the face of coronavirus.
The mining giant announced the move on Friday in a welcome sign it was determined to keep Australia's biggest export industries working through the crisis despite shutdowns and thousands of job losses in other sectors.
BHP said it was hiring to support its workforce operating across Australia in iron ore, coal and copper production.
The 1500 jobs will be offered as six-month contracts and cover a range of skills needed by BHP operations in the short term.
It is anticipated about 1000 of the jobs will be in Queensland and at least 400 in the WA iron ore operations.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/bhp-hiring-1500-workers-to-keep-mines-running-20200320-p54ca3

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/bhp1500.html?lang=ja 
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