Mainichi Daily News
Feb 14, 2008
Japan appealed to the United Nations member states the importance of not keeping wasteful lifestyles, or "Mottainai", on Wednesday as part of the UN's thematic debate on climate change.
"We must recognize that there are things we can do right now, and get to work on them. Most importantly, we should promote eco-lifestyles - Mottainai (not wasteful) lifestyle," said Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu to the UN audience.
Mottainai is a Japanese term that can be roughly interpreted in English as "What a waste!" The word was spread by Kenyan environmentalist and Noble Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai as a catchphrase for promoting lifestyles of reducing waste, reusing resources, and recycling, according to the Mottainai campaign office in Japan.
"Recycling should be encouraged, and our homes and offices could be maintained in an energy-efficient manner," Takasu appealed to the member states.
Takasu also said Japan is willing to transfer high standard environmental technology to other countries to conserve energy and reduce the amount of CO2 emissions there.
The UN thematic debate was aimed at discussing how the United Nations can collaborate with member states, the private sector and civil society to collectively address the issue of climate change. The debate started Feb. 11 and ended Wednesday. (By Atsuko Teramoto, Mainichi New York Bureau)
（Mainichi Japan） February 14, 2008
Showing posts with label Energy and Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Energy and Environment. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Pollution in China: China's hazardous exports
Mainichi Daily News
Feb 9, 2008
China has come under strong international criticism for its exports of products and foodstuffs found to contain toxic materials. The governments of many Western countries and Japan have demanded that Beijing take tougher steps to ensure product safety. With the Beijing Olympics coming up in August 2008, the Chinese government is eager to restore the tarnished image of products made in China.
In spring 2007, over 100 people died in Panama after taking cough syrup that was found to contain diethylene glycol that had been manufactured in China. Many dogs and cats in the United States and Canada also died after eating pet food made with ingredients imported from China. And toxic lead was detected in paint used in children's toys, leading to the large-scale recall of such toys. To allay the fears of American consumers concerned about tainted Chinese products, some products sold in US shops now carry a "China-free" label indicating that none of the ingredients are from China.
In Japan, residual pesticides were found in frozen spinach imported from China in 2002. This prompted the introduction of a "positive list" in May 2006 calling for stricter standards regarding agricultural chemicals. Between June 2006 and May 2007, detection of residual chemicals in violation of the Food Sanitation Law has resulted in 761 measures, including the disposal of the contaminated food items. A third of all such products were from China.
Even in China, concern about food safety is growing. This was prompted by a 2004 incident involving fake powdered milk in Fuyang, Anhui Province. Thirteen infants died since 2003 after drinking the contaminated milk. Also in 2004, 14 people died in Guangdong after drinking contaminated alcohol.
These incidents, though, are just the tip of the iceberg. They are caused by unscrupulous merchants who give overriding priority to profits and have no qualms about using illegal or counterfeit ingredients. In July 2007, an uproar erupted over allegations that cardboard had been used to make meat dumplings. This charge itself was later revealed to have been "faked" by a TV station, but the fact that many viewers fell for this story in itself is an indication of the strong concern people harbor about what they eat.
The Beijing government has outlined policies to address these problems and to win back the trust of the international community. In July 2007, China's State Council announced special provisions to strengthen the supervision and administration of safety standards covering foodstuffs and other products. And the following month a supervisory task force on product quality and food safety was established in the State Council, headed by Vice Premier Wu Yi. A nationwide campaign was launched, and a system of food and toy recalls was introduced.
Feb 9, 2008
China has come under strong international criticism for its exports of products and foodstuffs found to contain toxic materials. The governments of many Western countries and Japan have demanded that Beijing take tougher steps to ensure product safety. With the Beijing Olympics coming up in August 2008, the Chinese government is eager to restore the tarnished image of products made in China.
In spring 2007, over 100 people died in Panama after taking cough syrup that was found to contain diethylene glycol that had been manufactured in China. Many dogs and cats in the United States and Canada also died after eating pet food made with ingredients imported from China. And toxic lead was detected in paint used in children's toys, leading to the large-scale recall of such toys. To allay the fears of American consumers concerned about tainted Chinese products, some products sold in US shops now carry a "China-free" label indicating that none of the ingredients are from China.
In Japan, residual pesticides were found in frozen spinach imported from China in 2002. This prompted the introduction of a "positive list" in May 2006 calling for stricter standards regarding agricultural chemicals. Between June 2006 and May 2007, detection of residual chemicals in violation of the Food Sanitation Law has resulted in 761 measures, including the disposal of the contaminated food items. A third of all such products were from China.
Even in China, concern about food safety is growing. This was prompted by a 2004 incident involving fake powdered milk in Fuyang, Anhui Province. Thirteen infants died since 2003 after drinking the contaminated milk. Also in 2004, 14 people died in Guangdong after drinking contaminated alcohol.
These incidents, though, are just the tip of the iceberg. They are caused by unscrupulous merchants who give overriding priority to profits and have no qualms about using illegal or counterfeit ingredients. In July 2007, an uproar erupted over allegations that cardboard had been used to make meat dumplings. This charge itself was later revealed to have been "faked" by a TV station, but the fact that many viewers fell for this story in itself is an indication of the strong concern people harbor about what they eat.
The Beijing government has outlined policies to address these problems and to win back the trust of the international community. In July 2007, China's State Council announced special provisions to strengthen the supervision and administration of safety standards covering foodstuffs and other products. And the following month a supervisory task force on product quality and food safety was established in the State Council, headed by Vice Premier Wu Yi. A nationwide campaign was launched, and a system of food and toy recalls was introduced.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Chinese dumplings sicken 10 Japanese
Jan 30, 2008
TOKYO - Ten Japanese were sickened, including a child who fell into a coma, after eating Chinese-made dumplings contaminated with insecticide, police and health officials said Wednesday.
Three people in western Hyogo prefecture (state) and seven in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo suffered severe abdominal pains, vomiting and diarrhea after eating the frozen dumplings imported from China by a Japanese company, the Health Ministry said.
A 5-year-old girl in Chiba regained consciousness after falling into a coma, and her mother, two brothers and a sister were in serious condition, Chiba police official Masaru Hiratsu said.
Investigators found traces of an organic phosphorus insecticide called methamidophos in the dumplings, their containers and the patients' vomit, the ministry said in a statement. Authorities were attempting to determine the source of contamination.
The ministry ordered the dumplings' importer and distributor, JT Foods Co. Ltd. — an affiliate of Japan's largest tobacco company — to recall the product.
The dumplings were imported in November from Chinese manufacturer Hebei Foodstuffs Import & Export Group Tianyang Food Processing, the ministry said.
In Beijing, telephones were not answered at the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which oversees the safety of China's exports. The agency's Web site made no mention of the incident.
Japan's minister in charge of food safety, Fumio Kishida, said the incident prompted "grave concerns" and vowed to take urgent measures, though he did not elaborate.
JT Foods distributed 13 tons of dumplings each in Chiba and Hyogo, the ministry said.
JT Foods voluntarily began recalling the dumplings and 22 other products imported from the Chinese company and dispatched officials to investigate the Chinese plant, JT spokeswoman Yukiko Seto said.
China's exports have come under intense scrutiny in the past year after a number of potentially deadly chemicals were found in goods including toothpaste, toys, pet food and seafood.
China's government launched a four-month campaign last August to improve the quality of Chinese products and restore international confidence in its goods. Officials termed the campaign a success.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
India ODA project to aid Japan's Kyoto obligations
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Jan 11, 2008
The amount of carbon dioxide emissions calculated to be cut through the application of Japanese technology in a subway system built in India with official development assistance from Japan is to be counted as a reduction in Japanese greenhouse gas emissions under a U.N. system.
The clean development mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol in which companies in industrialized countries can obtain emission credits by financing emission-reducing projects in developing countries.
An application by the governments of Japan and India to have an annual reduction in emissions of about 40,000 tons in this project covered by the CDM was approved last month by the United Nations' CDM executive board.
This is the first time a railway project anywhere in the world has been approved in the CDM, and only the second time Japanese ODA has been approved under the mechanism, the first time being for a wind-power plant project in Egypt last year.
The idea of having ODA projects recognized under the CDM is contentious, but it seems likely a wide range of these projects will gain such approval in the future.
The Delhi Metro runs through India's capital, New Delhi, and its suburbs. Construction began in 1997, and Phase 1--three lines of track covering 59 kilometers--went fully into operation in 2006. About 163 billion yen of the about 278 billion yen project cost was financed by yen loans.
When the brakes of a train on the ODA-funded subway system are applied, the electricity produced from the rotation of motors is extracted and reused elsewhere on the train, reducing CO2 emissions and cutting energy consumption by about one-third.
This technology is used on trains in Japan, but has not been used in India before.
India can sell this reduction in CO2 emissions to industrialized nations under the CDM, and it has signed a deal with Japan Carbon Finance, Ltd., a private firm that is financed by 33 companies including Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Nippon Oil Corp., to sell credits for 200,000 tons, or five years' worth of emission credits.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is obliged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 6 percent between fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2012 from fiscal 1990 levels.
The emission credits gained from the subway system in India are believed to be earmarked to help meet targets set in voluntary action plans to reduce CO2 emissions by each industry in the industrial sector.
(Jan. 11, 2008)
Jan 11, 2008
The amount of carbon dioxide emissions calculated to be cut through the application of Japanese technology in a subway system built in India with official development assistance from Japan is to be counted as a reduction in Japanese greenhouse gas emissions under a U.N. system.
The clean development mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol in which companies in industrialized countries can obtain emission credits by financing emission-reducing projects in developing countries.
An application by the governments of Japan and India to have an annual reduction in emissions of about 40,000 tons in this project covered by the CDM was approved last month by the United Nations' CDM executive board.
This is the first time a railway project anywhere in the world has been approved in the CDM, and only the second time Japanese ODA has been approved under the mechanism, the first time being for a wind-power plant project in Egypt last year.
The idea of having ODA projects recognized under the CDM is contentious, but it seems likely a wide range of these projects will gain such approval in the future.
The Delhi Metro runs through India's capital, New Delhi, and its suburbs. Construction began in 1997, and Phase 1--three lines of track covering 59 kilometers--went fully into operation in 2006. About 163 billion yen of the about 278 billion yen project cost was financed by yen loans.
When the brakes of a train on the ODA-funded subway system are applied, the electricity produced from the rotation of motors is extracted and reused elsewhere on the train, reducing CO2 emissions and cutting energy consumption by about one-third.
This technology is used on trains in Japan, but has not been used in India before.
India can sell this reduction in CO2 emissions to industrialized nations under the CDM, and it has signed a deal with Japan Carbon Finance, Ltd., a private firm that is financed by 33 companies including Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Nippon Oil Corp., to sell credits for 200,000 tons, or five years' worth of emission credits.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is obliged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 6 percent between fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2012 from fiscal 1990 levels.
The emission credits gained from the subway system in India are believed to be earmarked to help meet targets set in voluntary action plans to reduce CO2 emissions by each industry in the industrial sector.
(Jan. 11, 2008)
Friday, January 11, 2008
Japan LNG Prices From Australia, Brunei Jump to Records on Oil
Jan. 11, 2008 (Bloomberg) -- Japan paid record prices for liquefied natural gas in November from Australia, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia to meet soaring demand after a nuclear power plant was shut for safety checks.
The world's largest LNG buyer imported 5.57 million metric tons in November at a cost of as much as $9.17 a million British thermal units, according to data from LNG Japan Corp., calculated from Japan's customs statistics. Brunei led price increases, earning 38 percent more than a month earlier.
Japan's LNG costs rose as crude oil benchmarks jumped to records and an accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant prompted increased output from gas- fired power plants. LNG projects in Australia, Malaysia and Brunei are renegotiating prices with Japanese utilities under multiyear contracts that allow for periodic reviews.
``LNG prices will perhaps continue heading north or hover at currently high level for years ahead as long as crude oil strength is sustainable,'' said Shigeki Matsumoto, an energy analyst at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo.
LNG prices in Asia are typically linked to a measure of Japan's crude oil import costs, known as the Japan Crude Cocktail, based on data published by the Ministry of Finance. LNG pricing formulas linked to the JCC may include a floor and a ceiling to manage price volatility. In November, the JCC rose to $81.19 a barrel, a gain of 6.5 percent from October and 36 percent from a year earlier.
Annual Growth
Japan's LNG imports may rise by 8 percent a year, or about twice the average annual growth of the fuel in the last five years, because of a slowdown in nuclear-fired generators, Bernstein Research said in a report in November. Imports of LNG by Japan rose 12 percent in November from a year ago, according to LNG Japan, an energy trading joint venture of Sumitomo Corp. and Sojitz Corp.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Australia, which fetched record prices from Japan in November, accounted for 65 percent of supplies in November. Prices of LNG from Brunei climbed to $8.48 a million British thermal units in November, from $6.14 in October, according to LNG Japan.
Tokyo Electric Power, Tokyo Gas Co. and Osaka Gas Co. will pay more for LNG from Brunei than the price set by the current contract until they conclude price-review talks, an official involved in Brunei's LNG project said, asking not to be identified because of company rules.
Japan's price for Australian LNG jumped to $9.02 a million British thermal units in November, from $8.63 in October and $6.49 in September, according to the data from LNG Japan available on Bloomberg. That's a jump of 33 percent in October and 4.5 percent in November.
To contact the reporters on this story: Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at dinakar@bloomberg.net ; Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net .
The world's largest LNG buyer imported 5.57 million metric tons in November at a cost of as much as $9.17 a million British thermal units, according to data from LNG Japan Corp., calculated from Japan's customs statistics. Brunei led price increases, earning 38 percent more than a month earlier.
Japan's LNG costs rose as crude oil benchmarks jumped to records and an accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant prompted increased output from gas- fired power plants. LNG projects in Australia, Malaysia and Brunei are renegotiating prices with Japanese utilities under multiyear contracts that allow for periodic reviews.
``LNG prices will perhaps continue heading north or hover at currently high level for years ahead as long as crude oil strength is sustainable,'' said Shigeki Matsumoto, an energy analyst at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo.
LNG prices in Asia are typically linked to a measure of Japan's crude oil import costs, known as the Japan Crude Cocktail, based on data published by the Ministry of Finance. LNG pricing formulas linked to the JCC may include a floor and a ceiling to manage price volatility. In November, the JCC rose to $81.19 a barrel, a gain of 6.5 percent from October and 36 percent from a year earlier.
Annual Growth
Japan's LNG imports may rise by 8 percent a year, or about twice the average annual growth of the fuel in the last five years, because of a slowdown in nuclear-fired generators, Bernstein Research said in a report in November. Imports of LNG by Japan rose 12 percent in November from a year ago, according to LNG Japan, an energy trading joint venture of Sumitomo Corp. and Sojitz Corp.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Australia, which fetched record prices from Japan in November, accounted for 65 percent of supplies in November. Prices of LNG from Brunei climbed to $8.48 a million British thermal units in November, from $6.14 in October, according to LNG Japan.
Tokyo Electric Power, Tokyo Gas Co. and Osaka Gas Co. will pay more for LNG from Brunei than the price set by the current contract until they conclude price-review talks, an official involved in Brunei's LNG project said, asking not to be identified because of company rules.
Japan's price for Australian LNG jumped to $9.02 a million British thermal units in November, from $8.63 in October and $6.49 in September, according to the data from LNG Japan available on Bloomberg. That's a jump of 33 percent in October and 4.5 percent in November.
To contact the reporters on this story: Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at dinakar@bloomberg.net ; Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net .
Monday, January 7, 2008
Japan to help train 10,000 Chinese on energy-saving technologies
December 28, 2007
Japan will help China train 10,000 people on energy-saving and environmental protection technologies, said visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday. "Japan has accumulated a lot of experience in improving the energy efficiency that can be shared with China," said Fukuda during a speech at the prestigious Peking University. He told the students he had very candid talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the topics covered a wide scope, including personnel and technological exchange. "Fortunately, Japan has started to tackle environmental problems seriously from an early date ... and is now one of the most efficient users of energy resources in the world," Fukuda said, noting his country would make every effort to assist China in this field. The two sides had already signed a cooperation document on climate change and issued a joint communique on technology transfer in the environmental and energy sectors. The training of 10,000 Chinese on energy-saving and environmental protection technologies would be completed in three years starting from 2008, according to the communique. Joint research and projects on emission cutting, greenhouse reduction and sandstorm control would also be improved. Japan would help China check and upgrade energy-saving technologies in the steel, cement and thermal power industries. The two sides would also cooperate in water pollution control in major river valleys, such as the Yangtze, and in the new city development mode based on the "recycled economy", it said. The two sides would strengthen cooperation in forestry administration as well as wild training and nature returning of crested ibises so as to help maintain bio-diversity in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world, it said. The document on climate change featured exchanges of related scientific technologies, with about 50 Chinese young researchers to be invited to visit Japan annually in the following four years. Cooperation in scientific technologies, part of the joint efforts to build the "strategic and mutually beneficial China-Japan relations", could play a key role in coping with climate change as they may help cut waste, promote energy recycling and develop new energy resources, the document said. Premier Wen held talks with Fukuda for 2.5 hours on Friday morning and the two witnessed the signing of three cooperation documents in fields of youth exchange, technical cooperation on climate change, and a new joint research on magnetic fusion energy. Fukuda arrived in Beijing on Thursday afternoon for the start of an official visit which runs through Sunday.
Source: Xinhua
Japan will help China train 10,000 people on energy-saving and environmental protection technologies, said visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday. "Japan has accumulated a lot of experience in improving the energy efficiency that can be shared with China," said Fukuda during a speech at the prestigious Peking University. He told the students he had very candid talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the topics covered a wide scope, including personnel and technological exchange. "Fortunately, Japan has started to tackle environmental problems seriously from an early date ... and is now one of the most efficient users of energy resources in the world," Fukuda said, noting his country would make every effort to assist China in this field. The two sides had already signed a cooperation document on climate change and issued a joint communique on technology transfer in the environmental and energy sectors. The training of 10,000 Chinese on energy-saving and environmental protection technologies would be completed in three years starting from 2008, according to the communique. Joint research and projects on emission cutting, greenhouse reduction and sandstorm control would also be improved. Japan would help China check and upgrade energy-saving technologies in the steel, cement and thermal power industries. The two sides would also cooperate in water pollution control in major river valleys, such as the Yangtze, and in the new city development mode based on the "recycled economy", it said. The two sides would strengthen cooperation in forestry administration as well as wild training and nature returning of crested ibises so as to help maintain bio-diversity in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world, it said. The document on climate change featured exchanges of related scientific technologies, with about 50 Chinese young researchers to be invited to visit Japan annually in the following four years. Cooperation in scientific technologies, part of the joint efforts to build the "strategic and mutually beneficial China-Japan relations", could play a key role in coping with climate change as they may help cut waste, promote energy recycling and develop new energy resources, the document said. Premier Wen held talks with Fukuda for 2.5 hours on Friday morning and the two witnessed the signing of three cooperation documents in fields of youth exchange, technical cooperation on climate change, and a new joint research on magnetic fusion energy. Fukuda arrived in Beijing on Thursday afternoon for the start of an official visit which runs through Sunday.
Source: Xinhua
Japan's eco-technology to take flight
Mikiko Miyakawa Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
Japan has finally freed itself from the shackles of its "lost decade" from the 1990s to the early 2000s--a period during which the country was battered by a series of financial crises and a stagnant economy.
During that decade, many Japanese lost the confidence they gained during the "economic miracle" that transformed the country from the 1960s to '80s.
But now that Japan's society and economy have matured as a postindustrial nation, Japanese are rediscovering their strengths and finding new ways to make their country shine.
In the New Year's "Currents Special," The Daily Yomiuri examines the latest energy-saving technologies, the nation's flourishing blogging culture, and its cutting-edge small and midsize firms, all of which can be regarded, in some aspect, as "No. 1 in the world."
The sliding door of a huge, capsule-shaped autoclave opens, ready for the soon-to-be "baked" parts of a Boeing 787 to enter along a conveyor belt at Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.'s Nagoya No. 1 plant in Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture.
It is difficult when seeing the sheet of black material about to enter the autoclave to imagine how it will eventually become an integral part of the groundbreaking "Dreamliner."
But Boeing Co.'s super fuel-efficient aircraft, which utilizes carbon fiber to make it considerably lighter, more durable and less prone to corrosion than its aluminum cousins, is set to make its maiden flight this year.
It already looks like being a hit, with the company reporting that the long-haul, midsized 787 had already amassed nearly 800 orders, faster than any other commercial airplane in history and way ahead of rival Airbus' A-350, which is still under development.
With skyrocketing crude oil prices hitting the aviation industry hard, and as international pressure grows to cut carbon emissions, Boeing says worldwide orders have passed the 787-mark.
Though the plant where the molded parts of coiled carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) are forged by the extreme temperatures and pressure of the autoclave is surprisingly quiet, the rush of orders has meant it is operating around the clock.
"It's very difficult to automate the whole process in this factory," says Masanori Tokuda, manager of KHI's Commercial Aircraft Section. "So a lot of the work is carried out manually."
KHI, one of three Japanese heavy industry firms involved with the Dreamliner, produces about 10 percent of the 787's parts--the main landing gear wheel well, the main wing fixed trailing edge and part of the forward fuselage.
While conventional aluminum airplanes require a large number of nuts and bolts during assembly, the use of carbon fiber requires fewer such parts as the material can be molded into shape as necessary. "The use of carbon fiber revolutionalized the manufacturing process," Tokuda says.
KHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. will together be producing 35 percent of the parts for the 787, prompting some Japanese commentators to dub the Dreamliner a "quasi-domestic aircraft."
MHI is supplying the wing box, marking the first time Boeing has outsourced the production of this key part, while FHI is providing the center wing box.
In addition to the three heavy industry firms, a number of other Japanese firms are involved in the project. Affiliates of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., for example, are supplying the cabin service system and the in-flight entertainment system, while Bridgestone Corp. will provide the aircraft's tires.
"We're calling this 'made with Japan,'" says Naoko Masuda of Boeing International Corp. in Tokyo.
She says the firm is confident about using CFRP, as 12 percent of its 777s are made of the material. However, with 50 percent of the 787 in terms of weight to be constructed from CFRP--about 35 tons--the Dreamliner is taking use of the material to new levels.
Boeing chose Toray Industries, Inc., its long-time partner and the world's largest carbon fiber manufacturer, as the sole supplier of the material for its latest aircraft.
The emphasis on fuel efficiency has proved far more alluring to airlines than the speedy Sonic Cruiser that Boeing floated, but later abandoned because of lack of interest.
"Most customers preferred the idea of fuel efficiency to speed," Masuda says.
===
Carbon fiber's long history
Japan is a world leader in the carbon fiber industry, producing and selling about 70 percent of the product.
The U.S. inventor Thomas Edison is said to have first produced carbon fiber in 1879. But it was not until Japanese researcher Akio Shindo developed polyacrylonitrile (PAN) carbon fiber in 1961 that the material found its way into common industrial use. Today, most carbon fiber being used is PAN.
Following joint research with Shindo, Toray began commercially producing the product in 1971, followed by Hercules (now Hexcel Corp.) in 1972, Toho Rayon Co. (now Toho Tenax Co.) in 1973 and Mitsubishi Rayon Co. in 1983.
Although the material was used in the 1970s for sporting goods such as golf club shafts and fishing gear, it was a while before it caught on for aircraft.
According to Yoshitaka Yamagata of Toray, the big technological breakthrough for the firm's carbon fiber product came in the late 1980s, when it created reinforced prepreg, a shock-absorbent material formed by impregnating carbon fiber with an epoxy resin composition.
"This technology made it possible to apply carbon fiber for use as primary structural components in aircraft," Yamagata says.
The success of the material was made possible by the Toray management's decision to continue investing in research and development of the once money-losing product out of a belief that it was the material of the future, Yamagata says. The firm also manufactures acrylic fibers, an essential technology required for carbon fiber as the quality of the finished product depends on the fineness of the denier.
===
Domestic influence
All Nippon Airways Co. is another Japanese firm that had a hand in the 787 project, this time in influencing the design.
Osamu Shinobe, ANA's executive vice president and head of the 787 Launch Project, says the company decided to introduce the aircraft to its fleet because of its high fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs and midsize yet long-haul capacity suitable for both domestic and international flights.
Shinobe says many airlines are torn between the pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time increasing the number of destinations to improve sales. He believes the greater fuel efficiency offered by the 787 could hold the key to resolving these apparently conflicting aims.
"We're trying to cut CO2 emissions as much as possible by introducing aircraft with the best possible fuel efficiency," he says.
As the Dreamliner project began to take shape, Boeing, faced with a dearth of new orders for its aircraft and having had to shelve two earlier commercial jet programs, found itself at a crossroads. Masuda says the 787 would not have become a reality if it were not for ANA's early commitment to the project.
In April 2004, ANA ordered 50 Dreamliners, the biggest-ever initial order for a new Boeing model.
As a "launching customer," ANA became closely involved in the project, meaning that it was able to get a number of special features installed in the planes it ordered, including electric toilet warmers.
===
Good for business and the planet?
Under the Kyoto Protocol, which was agreed on in 1997, industrialized countries are obliged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012, with Japan expected to cut 6 percent. Therefore, the signatories should begin this year to honor their commitments under the protocol.
Though emissions from international aviation are not subject to the accord, countries are still compiling reports on aviation emissions for the office of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In 2005, about 21.3 million tons of CO2 were emitted by international flights fueled in Japan.
With such vast amounts of carbon in mind, efforts have been intensifying to curb CO2 emissions from aircraft by making them subject to restrictions under a post-Kyoto framework.
EU environment ministers agreed late in December to impose CO2 emissions curbs on airlines flying to or from the 27-nation bloc from 2012.
Looking ahead, the big issue at July's Group of Eight summit meeting at Lake Toya in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, will be how best to formulate a post-Kyoto framework.
Japan wants to use its chairmanship of the G-8 this year to take a lead in convincing the world that it is possible to reduce emissions through energy-saving technologies.
The government also intends to showcase the nation's achievements in the field, and explain how Japan, which has few energy resources of its own, has become a world leader in energy conservation since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
Hiroaki Takaoka, an official at the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, believes that if other nations can achieve efficiency rates per gross domestic product as high as Japan's, global energy consumption could be reduced significantly.
But he believes that if this goal is to be achieved, everyone will need to be on board.
"If there's to be a new international framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, major greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States, China and India, will have to be involved," he says. "So it's important to build a framework where these countries will be able to join."
Another ministry official says the government plans to allocate about 63 billion yen in the fiscal 2008 budget on developing innovative technologies with the aim of halving global CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2050.
On Friday, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to establish centers in major Chinese cities to introduce Japanese energy conservation and environmental technologies.
The government is undoubtedly hoping that Japan's existing energy-saving technology, combined with the development of cutting-edge materials such as carbon fiber, offer the nation a chance to stimulate industry while still contributing to the fight against global warming.
(Jan. 1, 2008)
Japan has finally freed itself from the shackles of its "lost decade" from the 1990s to the early 2000s--a period during which the country was battered by a series of financial crises and a stagnant economy.
During that decade, many Japanese lost the confidence they gained during the "economic miracle" that transformed the country from the 1960s to '80s.
But now that Japan's society and economy have matured as a postindustrial nation, Japanese are rediscovering their strengths and finding new ways to make their country shine.
In the New Year's "Currents Special," The Daily Yomiuri examines the latest energy-saving technologies, the nation's flourishing blogging culture, and its cutting-edge small and midsize firms, all of which can be regarded, in some aspect, as "No. 1 in the world."
The sliding door of a huge, capsule-shaped autoclave opens, ready for the soon-to-be "baked" parts of a Boeing 787 to enter along a conveyor belt at Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.'s Nagoya No. 1 plant in Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture.
It is difficult when seeing the sheet of black material about to enter the autoclave to imagine how it will eventually become an integral part of the groundbreaking "Dreamliner."
But Boeing Co.'s super fuel-efficient aircraft, which utilizes carbon fiber to make it considerably lighter, more durable and less prone to corrosion than its aluminum cousins, is set to make its maiden flight this year.
It already looks like being a hit, with the company reporting that the long-haul, midsized 787 had already amassed nearly 800 orders, faster than any other commercial airplane in history and way ahead of rival Airbus' A-350, which is still under development.
With skyrocketing crude oil prices hitting the aviation industry hard, and as international pressure grows to cut carbon emissions, Boeing says worldwide orders have passed the 787-mark.
Though the plant where the molded parts of coiled carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) are forged by the extreme temperatures and pressure of the autoclave is surprisingly quiet, the rush of orders has meant it is operating around the clock.
"It's very difficult to automate the whole process in this factory," says Masanori Tokuda, manager of KHI's Commercial Aircraft Section. "So a lot of the work is carried out manually."
KHI, one of three Japanese heavy industry firms involved with the Dreamliner, produces about 10 percent of the 787's parts--the main landing gear wheel well, the main wing fixed trailing edge and part of the forward fuselage.
While conventional aluminum airplanes require a large number of nuts and bolts during assembly, the use of carbon fiber requires fewer such parts as the material can be molded into shape as necessary. "The use of carbon fiber revolutionalized the manufacturing process," Tokuda says.
KHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. will together be producing 35 percent of the parts for the 787, prompting some Japanese commentators to dub the Dreamliner a "quasi-domestic aircraft."
MHI is supplying the wing box, marking the first time Boeing has outsourced the production of this key part, while FHI is providing the center wing box.
In addition to the three heavy industry firms, a number of other Japanese firms are involved in the project. Affiliates of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., for example, are supplying the cabin service system and the in-flight entertainment system, while Bridgestone Corp. will provide the aircraft's tires.
"We're calling this 'made with Japan,'" says Naoko Masuda of Boeing International Corp. in Tokyo.
She says the firm is confident about using CFRP, as 12 percent of its 777s are made of the material. However, with 50 percent of the 787 in terms of weight to be constructed from CFRP--about 35 tons--the Dreamliner is taking use of the material to new levels.
Boeing chose Toray Industries, Inc., its long-time partner and the world's largest carbon fiber manufacturer, as the sole supplier of the material for its latest aircraft.
The emphasis on fuel efficiency has proved far more alluring to airlines than the speedy Sonic Cruiser that Boeing floated, but later abandoned because of lack of interest.
"Most customers preferred the idea of fuel efficiency to speed," Masuda says.
===
Carbon fiber's long history
Japan is a world leader in the carbon fiber industry, producing and selling about 70 percent of the product.
The U.S. inventor Thomas Edison is said to have first produced carbon fiber in 1879. But it was not until Japanese researcher Akio Shindo developed polyacrylonitrile (PAN) carbon fiber in 1961 that the material found its way into common industrial use. Today, most carbon fiber being used is PAN.
Following joint research with Shindo, Toray began commercially producing the product in 1971, followed by Hercules (now Hexcel Corp.) in 1972, Toho Rayon Co. (now Toho Tenax Co.) in 1973 and Mitsubishi Rayon Co. in 1983.
Although the material was used in the 1970s for sporting goods such as golf club shafts and fishing gear, it was a while before it caught on for aircraft.
According to Yoshitaka Yamagata of Toray, the big technological breakthrough for the firm's carbon fiber product came in the late 1980s, when it created reinforced prepreg, a shock-absorbent material formed by impregnating carbon fiber with an epoxy resin composition.
"This technology made it possible to apply carbon fiber for use as primary structural components in aircraft," Yamagata says.
The success of the material was made possible by the Toray management's decision to continue investing in research and development of the once money-losing product out of a belief that it was the material of the future, Yamagata says. The firm also manufactures acrylic fibers, an essential technology required for carbon fiber as the quality of the finished product depends on the fineness of the denier.
===
Domestic influence
All Nippon Airways Co. is another Japanese firm that had a hand in the 787 project, this time in influencing the design.
Osamu Shinobe, ANA's executive vice president and head of the 787 Launch Project, says the company decided to introduce the aircraft to its fleet because of its high fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs and midsize yet long-haul capacity suitable for both domestic and international flights.
Shinobe says many airlines are torn between the pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time increasing the number of destinations to improve sales. He believes the greater fuel efficiency offered by the 787 could hold the key to resolving these apparently conflicting aims.
"We're trying to cut CO2 emissions as much as possible by introducing aircraft with the best possible fuel efficiency," he says.
As the Dreamliner project began to take shape, Boeing, faced with a dearth of new orders for its aircraft and having had to shelve two earlier commercial jet programs, found itself at a crossroads. Masuda says the 787 would not have become a reality if it were not for ANA's early commitment to the project.
In April 2004, ANA ordered 50 Dreamliners, the biggest-ever initial order for a new Boeing model.
As a "launching customer," ANA became closely involved in the project, meaning that it was able to get a number of special features installed in the planes it ordered, including electric toilet warmers.
===
Good for business and the planet?
Under the Kyoto Protocol, which was agreed on in 1997, industrialized countries are obliged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012, with Japan expected to cut 6 percent. Therefore, the signatories should begin this year to honor their commitments under the protocol.
Though emissions from international aviation are not subject to the accord, countries are still compiling reports on aviation emissions for the office of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In 2005, about 21.3 million tons of CO2 were emitted by international flights fueled in Japan.
With such vast amounts of carbon in mind, efforts have been intensifying to curb CO2 emissions from aircraft by making them subject to restrictions under a post-Kyoto framework.
EU environment ministers agreed late in December to impose CO2 emissions curbs on airlines flying to or from the 27-nation bloc from 2012.
Looking ahead, the big issue at July's Group of Eight summit meeting at Lake Toya in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, will be how best to formulate a post-Kyoto framework.
Japan wants to use its chairmanship of the G-8 this year to take a lead in convincing the world that it is possible to reduce emissions through energy-saving technologies.
The government also intends to showcase the nation's achievements in the field, and explain how Japan, which has few energy resources of its own, has become a world leader in energy conservation since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
Hiroaki Takaoka, an official at the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, believes that if other nations can achieve efficiency rates per gross domestic product as high as Japan's, global energy consumption could be reduced significantly.
But he believes that if this goal is to be achieved, everyone will need to be on board.
"If there's to be a new international framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, major greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States, China and India, will have to be involved," he says. "So it's important to build a framework where these countries will be able to join."
Another ministry official says the government plans to allocate about 63 billion yen in the fiscal 2008 budget on developing innovative technologies with the aim of halving global CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2050.
On Friday, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to establish centers in major Chinese cities to introduce Japanese energy conservation and environmental technologies.
The government is undoubtedly hoping that Japan's existing energy-saving technology, combined with the development of cutting-edge materials such as carbon fiber, offer the nation a chance to stimulate industry while still contributing to the fight against global warming.
(Jan. 1, 2008)
Japan to buy China rights on emissions / ODA projects to help fulfill Kyoto targets
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Japanese and Chinese governments reached a basic agreement Wednesday under which the Japanese government and domestic firms would purchase a portion of China's greenhouse gas emissions quotas that fall under reductions achieved by the country through Japanese yen-loan projects, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The two nations will seek formal agreement on the matter during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan, scheduled for late March. The move is seen as a major boost for Japan's efforts to meet its emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
The envisaged scheme is part of the clean development Mechanism (CDM), under which industrialized countries are able to use their own technologies and funds for projects based in developing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions and offset these reductions against their own output.
On the issue of emissions trading involving Japan's official development assistance, a senior official of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission unofficially suggested that Beijing would, in principle, accept the scheme during the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to Climate Change Convention (COP13) held in December in Bali, Indonesia.
The commission is responsible for deciding whether to accept yen-loans.
After reaching a formal agreement, the two governments will select the yen-loan projects for which the emissions trading scheme would apply, after which the CDM board of directors will screen the selected projects for approval.
Among Japan's yen-loan projects, which started in fiscal 1980, 100, or about 30 percent of the total, are environment-related projects.
Six future yen-loan projects agreed for China in the current fiscal year include a project in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, that will replace existing small boilers with concentrated facilities for supplying heat, in an effort to improve air quality.
Such projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the government estimating the six projects could make it possible to trade emissions quotas totaling 10 million tons to 15 million tons over the next five years.
Although prices for greenhouse gas emission credits have not been disclosed, they were traded for between 5 dollars and 20 dollars, or between 585 yen and 2,340 yen, per ton, in 2005 in the European Union.
The electric generation and steel industries, which emit large amounts of green house gases, have been asked to substantially increase emissions cuts.
The Kyoto Protocol to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change obliges Japan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average 6 percent, or about 76 million tons, from the level in 1990 for the period between 2008 and 2012. The government is considering purchasing emission credits from overseas through CDM-based schemes and others, which are equivalent to 20 million tons a year.
(Jan. 3, 2008)
The Japanese and Chinese governments reached a basic agreement Wednesday under which the Japanese government and domestic firms would purchase a portion of China's greenhouse gas emissions quotas that fall under reductions achieved by the country through Japanese yen-loan projects, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The two nations will seek formal agreement on the matter during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan, scheduled for late March. The move is seen as a major boost for Japan's efforts to meet its emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
The envisaged scheme is part of the clean development Mechanism (CDM), under which industrialized countries are able to use their own technologies and funds for projects based in developing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions and offset these reductions against their own output.
On the issue of emissions trading involving Japan's official development assistance, a senior official of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission unofficially suggested that Beijing would, in principle, accept the scheme during the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to Climate Change Convention (COP13) held in December in Bali, Indonesia.
The commission is responsible for deciding whether to accept yen-loans.
After reaching a formal agreement, the two governments will select the yen-loan projects for which the emissions trading scheme would apply, after which the CDM board of directors will screen the selected projects for approval.
Among Japan's yen-loan projects, which started in fiscal 1980, 100, or about 30 percent of the total, are environment-related projects.
Six future yen-loan projects agreed for China in the current fiscal year include a project in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, that will replace existing small boilers with concentrated facilities for supplying heat, in an effort to improve air quality.
Such projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the government estimating the six projects could make it possible to trade emissions quotas totaling 10 million tons to 15 million tons over the next five years.
Although prices for greenhouse gas emission credits have not been disclosed, they were traded for between 5 dollars and 20 dollars, or between 585 yen and 2,340 yen, per ton, in 2005 in the European Union.
The electric generation and steel industries, which emit large amounts of green house gases, have been asked to substantially increase emissions cuts.
The Kyoto Protocol to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change obliges Japan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average 6 percent, or about 76 million tons, from the level in 1990 for the period between 2008 and 2012. The government is considering purchasing emission credits from overseas through CDM-based schemes and others, which are equivalent to 20 million tons a year.
(Jan. 3, 2008)
Combining ODA, CDM for mutual aid
Yuichi Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Against the backdrop of China's acceptance of greenhouse gas emissions trading involving Japan's official development assistance (ODA), yen loans to China are to be terminated as of the end of fiscal 2007.
China had opposed the idea, saying that if the country allows the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to be applied to ODA projects, then use of ODA funds will be limited to environmental projects, and this could reduce the money available for roads and bridges.
Under the CDM, industrialized countries are able to reach emission-trading agreements whereby they would offset the reduction targets they have set by buying some of the carbon dioxide emission reductions achieved by developing countries.
With the end of new yen loans, China will have no reason to object to applying the CDM scheme to ODA projects.
Instead, China will have a good opportunity to demonstrate the country is aggressively combating global warming because the amount of greenhouse gas emissions reduction is to be officially announced with specific figures, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China also will be able to deflect global criticism as it has been tarred as a developing nation with little regard for environmental protection.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government considers it a matter of some urgency for the country to come up with a CO2 emissions reduction goal under the Kyoto Protocol framework.
Wednesday's broad agreement reached by the two governments on applying the the CDM scheme to ODA projects is to be applied to reductions achieved through yen loan projects and the Japanese government and companies therefore are expected to have preferential rights to purchase the emission reductions from China.
Analysts said the deal would be a favorable one also for Japan.
The Japanese government is considering using a special account for energy measures to purchase the emission reductions.
However, some in the government and the ruling parties remain critical. "It will become double assistance to China if Japan purchases the emission reductions from the country to which Japan provided ODA," a former cabinet minister said.
The Japanese government as well as the nation's industrial community must continue doing their best to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions to achieve the goal set under the Kyoto Protocol without undue reliance on the recently approved arrangement.
(Jan. 4, 2008)
Against the backdrop of China's acceptance of greenhouse gas emissions trading involving Japan's official development assistance (ODA), yen loans to China are to be terminated as of the end of fiscal 2007.
China had opposed the idea, saying that if the country allows the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to be applied to ODA projects, then use of ODA funds will be limited to environmental projects, and this could reduce the money available for roads and bridges.
Under the CDM, industrialized countries are able to reach emission-trading agreements whereby they would offset the reduction targets they have set by buying some of the carbon dioxide emission reductions achieved by developing countries.
With the end of new yen loans, China will have no reason to object to applying the CDM scheme to ODA projects.
Instead, China will have a good opportunity to demonstrate the country is aggressively combating global warming because the amount of greenhouse gas emissions reduction is to be officially announced with specific figures, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China also will be able to deflect global criticism as it has been tarred as a developing nation with little regard for environmental protection.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government considers it a matter of some urgency for the country to come up with a CO2 emissions reduction goal under the Kyoto Protocol framework.
Wednesday's broad agreement reached by the two governments on applying the the CDM scheme to ODA projects is to be applied to reductions achieved through yen loan projects and the Japanese government and companies therefore are expected to have preferential rights to purchase the emission reductions from China.
Analysts said the deal would be a favorable one also for Japan.
The Japanese government is considering using a special account for energy measures to purchase the emission reductions.
However, some in the government and the ruling parties remain critical. "It will become double assistance to China if Japan purchases the emission reductions from the country to which Japan provided ODA," a former cabinet minister said.
The Japanese government as well as the nation's industrial community must continue doing their best to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions to achieve the goal set under the Kyoto Protocol without undue reliance on the recently approved arrangement.
(Jan. 4, 2008)
Japan, US, EU eye new energy-saving body
Reuters Monday, 07 January 2008
Japan, the United States and the European Union will jointly propose the creation of a new body to act as an international command centre in efforts to counter global warming.
The proposal would be formally unveiled at a Group of Eight summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido in July, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said without quoting specific sources.
The new organisation would make suggestions on energy conservation measures for countries such as the G8 leading industrialised nations and members of the International Energy Agency, as well as China and India, the newspaper said.
The aim was to transfer developed countries' knowledge of energy conservation to other large energy consumers and to study their effectiveness, Yomiuri said.
The body would create indicators for conservation related to the amount of fuel or energy used by cars, home appliances and the industrial sector, and use the data as the basis for its policy suggestions, Yomiuri said.
The idea of joint funding by Japan, the United States and the European Union was being discussed, as well as the possibility of setting up the new body within the International Energy Agency in Paris, Yomiuri said.
The new organisation would be discussed at a preparatory meeting of G8 energy ministers on January 22-23, and at another ministerial gathering in Japan in June, the report said.
Japan, the United States and the European Union will jointly propose the creation of a new body to act as an international command centre in efforts to counter global warming.
The proposal would be formally unveiled at a Group of Eight summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido in July, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said without quoting specific sources.
The new organisation would make suggestions on energy conservation measures for countries such as the G8 leading industrialised nations and members of the International Energy Agency, as well as China and India, the newspaper said.
The aim was to transfer developed countries' knowledge of energy conservation to other large energy consumers and to study their effectiveness, Yomiuri said.
The body would create indicators for conservation related to the amount of fuel or energy used by cars, home appliances and the industrial sector, and use the data as the basis for its policy suggestions, Yomiuri said.
The idea of joint funding by Japan, the United States and the European Union was being discussed, as well as the possibility of setting up the new body within the International Energy Agency in Paris, Yomiuri said.
The new organisation would be discussed at a preparatory meeting of G8 energy ministers on January 22-23, and at another ministerial gathering in Japan in June, the report said.
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