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 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, 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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According to The Australian Financial Review, we are one of the most innovative industries in the world with globally recognised strengths from exploration and minerals processing to autonomy, artificial intelligence and data analytics. Looking forward, we’re harnessing this technology and capability to tackle the challenge of achieving carbon neutrality with a sense of urgency.
As an example, the Pilbara has more sunshine hours in a day compared to anywhere else in Australia. This brings considerable opportunities for renewables, especially solar. Practical initiatives like the development of wind and solar energy, as well as gas, battery storage and the next phase of hydrogen and electric mobility will help us meet some real stretch targets in carbon reduction.
Fortescue, together with our partners, has announced investments of well over $US800 million in a number of energy infrastructure projects which, when completed, will see 25-30 per cent of our stationary energy requirements powered by solar while also allowing the flexibility to increase our use of renewable energy in the future.
Reducing our use of diesel fuel also provides a huge opportunity. We’ve started the conversation with our suppliers about how we can be diesel-free by 2030 and they are bringing their ideas to the table.

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/business-can-take-the-lead-on-the-energy-challenge-20200309-p5489a

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/5580162.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, a US weather analytics start-up that claims it can provide ''hyper-local'' forecasts with minute-by-minute accuracy, is setting its sights on Australian expansion after seeing a surge of downloads during the recent bushfire emergency.
ClimaCell has raised $US80 million since it was founded in 2015.
While Australians have become accustomed to having weather information at the tap of a button on their phones, from websites like the Bureau of Meteorology, ClimaCell claims its Weather Assistant app provides more detailed, up-to-date and useful information.
It presents up to three hours of forecasts with a minute-to-minute view of how the weather conditions are changing, including the air quality, wind conditions, humidity and cloud cover.
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https://www.afr.com/technology/start-up-promises-aussies-minute-by-minute-weather-forecasts-20200227-p544wo

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2206995.html 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia will take a long-term technology-based emissions reduction plan to international climate talks in Glasgow later this year, but it won't back Labor's net zero emissions by 2050 pledge, according to federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor.
Mr Taylor says the government would be setting goals for each technology, such as hydrogen or carbon capture and storage, to be reached to show when they will be commercially viable.
But there would not be "massive government subsidies" for the next wave of technologies, he adds, saying he wants the private sector to fund the bulk of the investment.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/technology-the-key-to-reducing-emissions-angus-taylor-20200227-p54533

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2864014.html?lang=ja 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, despite growing global pushback against coal-fired power plants, the state-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation plans to continue financing such projects overseas, bucking growing divestment efforts among private-sector lenders.
"Is divestment the solution?" JBIC Gov. Tadashi Maeda asked at a news conference.
"If Japan does not provide financial assistance, another country will," he stressed. Many emerging economies still have underdeveloped electrical grids, the governor explained.
Many financial institutions in rich nations are divesting from coal, given its carbon footprint. Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has announced that Japan will consider tightening rules for assisting in the export of coal-fired power plants.
But Maeda does not seem to be swayed by the trend. "Our duty is to promote more advanced technology that has less of an environmental impact," he said, signaling that bank will continue to back facilities that have adopted such technologies.
He voiced frustration with big Japanese banks over freezing new lending on coal power projects. These banks are part of the same projects that JBIC is involved in, and the state lender "is saddled with the responsibility," he said.
On bringing new coal power technology to emerging economies, Maeda said projects that build and operate facilities locally will be prioritized over simple exports to these markets.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Japan-government-lender-won-t-get-out-of-coal-overseas

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/8725292.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Rio Tinto will spend $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) on climate initiatives over the next five years as part of the miner's approach to working in a world challenged by anthropogenic climate change.
The action came as Rio set new emissions reduction targets for 2030 and joined British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese and BHP in stating an ambition to reduce emissions to ''net zero'' by 2050.
Rio's updated climate change policies are dominated by the $US1 billion spend, which dwarfs the $US400 million BHP has pledged to spend on climate investment projects over the next five years.
While BHP has taken equity investments in start-up companies trialling climate technologies such as direct air capture, Rio's fund is expected to be more focused on emissions reduction or avoidance within its own assets and supply chains.
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https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/rio-embraces-net-zero-by-2050-with-us1b-climate-fund-20200226-p544k0

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/102318624.html
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, the Japanese government will cooperate with the U.S. and Australia on investing in processing facilities for rare-earth metals, looking to ease reliance on imports from China.
Rare earths are essential to such high-tech machinery as motors for electric vehicles. But Japan imports 58% of its supply from China, leaving it vulnerable to manipulation by Beijing. Tokyo plans to bring the Chinese share down to 50% or less by 2025.
Tokyo is discussing a cooperation deal with the U.S. and Australia. Smelting facilities under construction in the U.S. state of Texas that will be operated by Australian rare-earths miner Lynas are a probable investment target. That site is scheduled to come online in the middle of the decade.
Other investment targets will be considered, primarily in the U.S. and Australia.
Japan will conduct the financing through a government-owned resource investment company: the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp., or Jogmec. Legislation will be revised to allow it to take stakes in rare-earths smelting projects.
Processing facilities, which have a large environmental impact, are now primarily concentrated in China. And Beijing has employed its dominance in rare earths to exert pressure before. In 2010, it quietly cut exports to Japan amid a dust-up over a territorial issue.
Jogmec will also take steps to ensure Japan's stable access to cobalt, a mineral used in lithium-ion batteries, to counter Chinese enterprises securing rights in Congo. The resource company could spend up to around 20 billion yen (US$ 182 million) in all on both efforts.
The U.S. relies on China for 80% of its imports of rare earths. Since they are essential for such military equipment as missiles, President Donald Trump's administration has announced plans to support domestic rare-earths mines and processing facilities.
Under an agreement announced in November, the U.S. and Australia will improve capabilities in developing such "critical mineral assets" as rare earths. Canberra will support mines and processing facilities owned by domestic companies through an export-financing scheme.
Chinese President Xi Jinping took a high-profile inspection tour of a magnet maker in Jiangxi Province last year as the trade war raged on. The area is rich in rare-earth deposits, so the U.S. saw this as a signal that Beijing was willing to use the resource as a bargaining chip.
The new coronavirus has emerged as a threat to the industry, since the outbreak could force Chinese rare-earth facilities to shut down. Such an event would impact the global supply chain for electric vehicles and smartphones.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Japan-to-pour-investment-into-non-China-rare-earth-projects

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/3745822.html
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