17 Fukuoka Now #141 September 2010
Kyushu Headline News Get Kyushu News Now! !Mobile phone:
http://www.fukuoka-now.com/mobileHP: www.fukuoka-now.com/news
English language summaries of last month's top Kyushu area news
stories. 1
JAS Garlic Fields Certified OrganicKagoshima City-based
Kenkokazoku, Japans leading merchant of foods with health claims,
announced that all of their garlic fields used to produce the
garlic for their popular Ninniku Rano product have been certified
as organic un-der the Japanese Agricultural Standard system. It is
difficult to grow garlic organically because it is susceptible to
disease, but Kenkokazoku has been conducting trials in Miyazaki
through an affiliate. The certification includes the provision that
no prohibited agrichemicals or chemical fertilizers have been used
to produce the crops for at least two years after seeds were
sown.
R&D for Solar Panel RecyclingThe city of Kitakyushu
announced it will begin in November research and development into
tech-nology for the low cost recycling of solar energy panels. It
will be a four-year project, and the city said it hopes to develop
a new business model for a resource recycling society. The first
such effort of its kind in Japan, the project has been outsourced
by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
Organization (NEDO).
Fukuoka-Busan Flights SoarAir Busan of Busan, South Korea,
announced that as of the end of June, the occupancy on the Fukuoka
City-Busan route on which it began service on March 29 has been
72.9%. The airlines initial projections were at the break-even
point, or 60%, which means traffic has greatly exceeded
expectations. They attribute this to customer perceptions that
their flights are inexpensive. More than 60% of the passengers are
from Busan, however, and the airline wants to focus more on
attracting Fukuoka City passengers.
350 Bank Repays 35 Billion Yen in Public FundsThe Deposit
Insurance Corporation of Japan announced it will approve Fukuoka
City-based Nishi-Nippon City Banks payback of public funds it
received in 2006 through the purchase of preferred stock to offset
the problems of the former Fukuoka City Bank which was absorbed by
the new entity. The bank will repurchase its preferred stock held
by the DIC. After the buy-back, the bank will eliminate its
preferred stock.
2010 3 5 5Best Denki Back in the BlackFukuoka City-based
consumer electronics mass merchandiser Best Denki reported that in
the first quarter of the current fiscal year (March to
May) it had recorded both a current profit and a net profit for
the first time in five years. The company also boosted sales for
the first time in two years. Same-store sales were particularly
good, with double-digit increases. Cited as reasons for the
turnaround were the success of discount sales at large remodeled
outlets, the governments eco-point program, and demand for
televisions with the capability to view ter-restrial digital
broadcasts.
Ippudo to Take up FarmingChikaranomoto Company of Fukuoka City,
op-erators of the Hakata Ippudo ramen chain, have signed an
agreement with the city of Taketa, Oita Prefecture, to go into the
agriculture busi-ness. In addition to growing the crops that will
be used as food ingredients in their shops, the company plans to
operate tourist farms. It is their first agricultural venture.
& Natural Gas for Home Power GenerationFukuoka City-based
Saibu Gas is focusing its resources on promoting what it calls
double power generation, which combines fuel cells for home use
that use natural gas and solar power generation. The fuel cells
extract hydrogen from the gas and cause a chemical reaction with
the oxygen in the air to create electric power. This generates
almost no CO2. The company is working to get this system adopted as
the standard in the single-family dwellings in the New Town
development in the citys Higashi Ward, and in the condominiums
built on Island City. It is part of the companys strategy to
compete with the all-electric systems of the electric
utilities.
2009 97% Plunge in Regional Shipbuilding OrdersThe Kyushu
District Transport Bureau reports that the 56 shipyards in Kyushu
and western Yama-guchi Prefecture suffered a plunge in orders in FY
2009 to 75,000 tons, or 27 ships. Thats a 97.8% drop from the
previou s year, and the worst since statistics have been kept
starting in 1980. The bureau says a sharp drop in ship prices has
made the shipyards hesitant to accept new orders.
2010 1 3 3.7% Lodgers in Kyushu RiseThe Kyushu District
Transport Bureau released statistics showing that the number of
overnight lodgers in Kyushu in the January March quarter totaled
roughly 7.70 million people, a 3.7% rise from the previous year.
This exceeds the national increase of 2.4% during the same period.
This was attributed to a sharp increase in tourists
from South Korea, which account for 60% of the regions foreign
tourists. The number of South Korean tourists soared by 2.4 times,
resulting in a 68.5% year-on-year increase in foreign tourists. The
bureau said the depreciation of the won had settled, and tourism
from South Korea re-turned to normal levels.
Chinese Solar Company Opens in FukuokaSuntech Power Japan, the
Japanese subsidiary of the large Chinese solar power company
Sun-tech Power, opened an office in Fukuoka City as a headquarters
for its western Japan operations. The company sells the solar power
systems it manufactures in Wuxi. The branch is starting with four
sales personnel, and plans call for an expansion to 10 people to
offer products with both residential and industrial
applications.
First Overseas Hotto Motto Shop to OpenFukuoka City-based
Plenus, which operates the Hotto Motto takeout bento chain, said it
will open its first overseas shop in Beijing, China, on the 29th.
The company has had a franchising agreement for family restaurants
in Thailand since 2006, but this will be their first overseas bento
shop. The company also says that no other Japanese takeout bento
chain has opened a Chinese outlet.
Students in the Dark about Kyushu CompaniesThe Kyushu Economic
Research Center sur-veyed students at universities and vocational
schools in Fukuoka City and Kumamoto City on their knowledge of
local companies by asking them to name at least five. Only 30%
could do so, and more than half of the companies they named were
food product companies, depart-ment stores, and restaurant chains.
The center said that the students lack of knowledge about
manufacturing or construction companies indicated those companies
recruiting efforts among students were insufficient.
Tire Recycling Plant Opens in SagaBridgestone Tire Sales
Nishinihon has opened its second Kyushu factory for manufacturing
recycled tires, in which new treads are placed on worn-out truck
and bus tires, in Kamimine-cho, Saga Prefecture. Recycling these
tires results in a resource saving of 68% and reduces CO2
emissions. Recycled tires account for 40% of those used in Europe
and 53% in the United States, much higher than the 17% in
Japan.
18Fukuoka Now #141 September 2010
8 Miyazaki Livestock Industry Recovery: Eight YearsIn an
interview with the Nishinippon Shimbun, an official with the
Miyazaki JA central council said it would take the Miyazaki
Prefecture livestock industry at least eight years to recover from
the recent foot-and-mouth epidemic. Mi-yazaki JA plans to formulate
a special program to assist the recovery. It reportedly will
include measures to ameliorate the problem of keep-ing the animals
in a concentrated space, one reason cited for the spread of the
epidemic. They also will recommend that some in the industry switch
to a different business.
12 Fukuoka Bank to Reopen New York OfficeFukuoka City-based
Fukuoka Bank announced it will reopen its New York City office next
spring. They closed their previous office in the city 11 years ago.
Their objective is to provide support for their customers who have
estab-lished a presence in the local market, and to gather
information from financial markets.
Panasonic Subsidiary Brings Employees to KyushuTokyo-based
Panasonic subsidiary Panasonic S y s t e m N e t w o r k s a n n o
u n c e d a m a j o r reorganization of its R&D and
manufacturing units in Japan. As a result, the number of employees
at its Fukuoka City site could rise by as many as 1,300, and by 250
at its site in Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The company develops and
manufactures security cameras and e-money systems.
Nishitetsu to Form Dutch SubsidiaryFukuoka City-based
Nishi-Nippon Railway (Nishitetsu) announced it will launch in
Septem-ber a subsidiary in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for the
international logistics business. Amster-dam is an important
distribution hub in Europe, and it is expected to handle growing
quantities of freight from Asia. It will be capitalized at about
150 million yen and be wholly owned by Nishitetsus American
subsidiary. They project 2.2 billion worth of revenue by 2012. The
company, to be known as NNR Global Logistics Netherlands, will be
Nishitetsus fourth overseas subsidiary.
News source: With permission from the morning editions of the
Nishinippon Newspaper.
6 Rice Harvest Forecast Somewhat PoorRice Databank of Tokyo
offered their forecasts for this years rice crop nationwide, which
gave the national average a score of 102. In contrast, six Kyushu
prefectures were rated as somewhat poor with scores of 96-98. This
was attributed to the large rainfall and lack of sunshine since
June. Miyazaki was the only exception, receiving a score of 100,
within the range of the national average. The lowest ranked
prefectures in the country with scores of 96 were Nagasaki, Saga,
and Okinawa.
Honda Motors Signs Pact with KumamotoHonda Motors and Kumamoto
Prefecture signed an agreement on the 5th to conduct trials of
vehicles for what was referred to as next generation personal
mobility. These include an electric car and Monpal, a plug-in
hybrid vehicle for one rider, both under development. The vehicles,
slated to go on sale in 2012, will be tested for carbon emissions
and other factors on prefecture roads. The Monpal in particular
will be tested for use at facilities for the aged.
