According to The PV magazine, both New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland handed down their 2022-23 state budgets on Tuesday pushing the line that clean energy investments would lead the states to future prosperity.
The NSW government has allocated $1.2 billion to fast-track priority transmission and energy storage projects, an announcement it made earlier this month.
In total, the QLD government said its 2022-23 budget delivers more than $2 billion for large-scale storage, renewable energy projects and generation and transmission investment, though this total seems to build on previous pledges and schemes.

https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2022/06/22/nsw-queensland-budgets-handed-down-both-link-clean-energy-investments-to-prosperity/

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, the NSW budget housing policies will give a shot in the arm to outer-suburban houses and inner-city apartments as the stimulus spreads across different housing types, CoreLogic director of research Tim Lawless said.
The twin stimuli for first home buyers of a shared equity scheme and the opportunity to pay an annual land tax instead of an upfront stamp duty would play out most strongly in lifestyle areas such as the Central Coast and affordable areas where prices were lower, Mr Lawless said.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/sydney-units-central-coast-and-outer-suburban-homes-get-budget-boost-20220621-p5avf8

 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, a self-driving wheeled robot can now deliver groceries and daily necessities to about 1,000 households in central Tsukuba.
The delivery service, provided by Rakuten Group Inc., Panasonic Holdings Corp. and Seiyu Co., started on May 28 and covers an 850-meter radius from the Tsukuba Takezono outlet of the Seiyu supermarket chain.
The deliveries are made only on Saturdays, and the service will end on July 30.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14638837

 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) will adopt remote working as its standard work style, in principle, from July 1, with employees no longer being required to reside within commuting distance of the office.
About 30,000 employees of its group companies who work in departments where teleworking is already introduced will be eligible at first. The firm plans to expand the operation later.
The firms currently require employees to reside within a two-hour commute of the office. However, that limitation will be removed and the firms will allow them to live anywhere in Japan.
Any visits to the office will be deemed business trips. The transportation costs will basically have no limits.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14649286

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Japan’s Mitsui says it is seeking to optimise its coking coal portfolio as it mulls the sale of its Queensland coal assets and seeks to ramp up investments in clean energy sources.
However, analysts said that while Japanese companies wanted to reduce their exposure to coal, the country faced a crippling energy shortage, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and would still need Australian fossil fuels in the medium term.

https://www.afr.com/world/asia/japan-divests-some-coal-but-still-needs-fossil-fuels-analysts-20220620-p5av3f

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Japan finally opened its borders to tourists, but with strict rules.
Tour groups from 98 countries, including Australia, can now visit the country – but only if they wear masks, have insurance and are closely monitored by guides from “arrival to departure”. The visa application is complex and Japan has a daily cap on arrivals of 20,000.

https://www.afr.com/world/asia/japan-inches-the-door-open-to-tourists-20220612-p5at2t

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, the face of Australian housing is changing, with new home creation spreading beyond traditional residential areas as demand for homes close to work – and the need for more affordable dwellings – grows.
“The takeaway is that we are delivering more dwellings in non-residential areas like city and mixed-use type areas through apartments – that change is happening,” ABS director of construction statistics Daniel Rossi told The Australian Financial Review.

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/the-face-of-australian-housing-is-changing-20220615-p5att3

 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Sony Group Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have officially signed a joint venture agreement to set up a new company that will start selling electric vehicles in 2025.
They aim to establish Sony Honda Mobility Inc. by the end of this year with each company owning 50 percent, the two partners announced.
Honda will manufacture the electric vehicles at its plants, while Sony will provide in-car services, such as music and video accessories.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14647085

 

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Japanese researchers announced the development of precision diagnostic testing equipment for COVID-19 that produces a result in only 9 minutes.
They added that the method has the potential to “be applied to earlier detection of cancer and other disorders as well.”
The team, comprised primarily of members from the Riken research institute, the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Jichi Medical University in Tochigi Prefecture, said the test has an accuracy rate of more than 98 percent.
Aside from producing a result far faster than a typical polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, the procedure costs about the same, just US$2 (269 yen).

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14635073

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, AGL Energy has joined with local manufacturers such as Brickworks as well as major LNG buyers such as Japan’s Inpex to examine a potential green hydrogen plant in South Australia that could serve domestic and export markets with clean fuel.
The country’s biggest cement manufacturer Adbri and Japan’s Osaka Gas are also part of the consortium that will study the project, which fits with AGL’s plans to repurpose its Torrens Island power station site in Adelaide for low-carbon energy. AGL gave no potential cost of timing for the project.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/agl-brickworks-plan-hydrogen-hub-in-adelaide-20220617-p5aujv