The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games held in Canada this year aroused me
some feeling on the sense of sportsmanship and supporting system for participated
players. In this Olympic Games, I have
sympathy to Japanese athletes who made their best efforts in their facing
difficult economic situation in the sagging Japanese economy. Compared to the past Olympic events, most of
them had hardships to find back-up sponsors in a reducing governmentfs
subsidy. Even some players suffered from
maintaining their job hiring status. In
contrast, top medal winning countries might have had good supporting system for
their players both from the private and public sectors while I have no doubt that
the most respectful contributors for medals are winners themselves. While there might be luck and misfortune in
such international competition sometimes, I think the factors for winning
medals will be strong guts in playersf mentality, rational and innovative
training system and organizational and financial supporting system. Also, since the current top athletic level in
the world is very sophisticated and sensitive to reach, the best combination of
those three factors will be necessary. I
assume the high-rank medal winning countries should have sought the synergy effect
on the triangle with endeavor. I think
this triangle also fits into profitable cycle for corporate business arena. When an enterprisefs leader and labor have
strong motivation toward success, advanced technology and working system sustain
their workplace and back-ups from government and academy are introduced in an
effectual way, it is highly possible for the enterprise to win the business
game. Looking at ongoing worldfs scale criticism against TOYOTA brand, I wonder
TOYOTA might have inherited some sort of loose culture internally in their
long comfortable success period. From a different viewpoint, it seems the
company is isolated without anticipating any authority support. But the most fundamental point to be needed
by the company now will be the revival of strong motivation from the corporate
leader and his following employees. I want to believe the drop of tears from the president is an omen for his
sending a signal to all his comrades for overcoming the underlining difficult
issues toward the future. (Takashi Higashi, President, TCS)
Key articles on Japanese industry scenes selected by TCS
Headlines of the articles:
| COMMUNICATIONS |
Replay Software for Internet Radio Broadcast Using GPS Function |
| ELECTRONICS |
Worldfs Most Compact Molding Machine with Low Power Consumption |
|
Organic Electro Luminescence to Realize Higher Energy Saving |
|
|
Sophisticated Power Performed LSI for Car Navigation System |
|
| Compact Display Changes Photos to Vivid Artistic Images | |
|
19.3% Power Conversion Rate from Sun Light Realized on Poly Solar Cell |
|
| MATERIAL |
First Synthetic Rubber from Ethylene for Auto Sue to Appear |
|
Higher Tension and Shock Resistive Modifier for Biochemical Resin |
|
|
Lizard-Structure Base Sophisticated Adhesive Tape to Release |
|
|
Bio-Aromatic Compound developed for Auto Tire |
COMMUNICATIONS
Replay Software for Internet
Radio Broadcast Using GPS Function
February
10--ngi Group developed playback software for radio broadcast on the Internet by
using GPS. The software will be used for iPhone of Apple Computer in the U.S. The Group also plans to distribute service coupons for local areas in Japan
based on GPSfs location information. About 30,000 download of the software is expected.
ELECTRONICS
Worldfs Most Compact Molding
Machine with Low Power Consumption
February
28--Shinko Sellbic invented the worldfs smallest press molding machine. The
machine size is 12cmX25cm at weight of 8kg. The molder has pressing capability
of 1.5ton. Power consumption is
200W. Sales price is 1.5million Japanese
yen.
Organic Electro Luminescence to Realize Higher Energy Saving
February
22--Tokyo Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Shin Nippon Oil, has
devised an organic electro luminescence element whose energy saving capability
is more than twice the conventional elements. Light emission layer in the element is transformed into small crease-like
structure which enables to reduce internal light volume loss. The university announced the new device in Nature Photonics in U.K.
19.3% Power Conversion Rate
from Sun Light Realized on Poly Solar Cell
February
17--Sanyo Electric announced that the company renewed the worldfs highest
energy conversion rate from sun light to electricity on multicrystalline solar
cell for household use. The newly
conversion rate is 19.3% up 0.2 point from the companyfs previous rate by
reducing resistance value inside the cell.
Sophisticated Power Performed LSI for Car Navigation System
February
9--Renesas Technology developed an LSI that enhances power performance of car
navigation system. The LSI includes
three types of CPU to increase its operational ability per watt about twice
than the existing LSIs. Image processing
and picture search at high-speed and low-consumption power will be
possible. Commercialization is expected
around 2012.
Compact Display Changes
Photos to Vivid Artistic Images
January
7--CASIO invented a small display for converting photos taken by digital cameras
to picturesque images automatically. The
display equipped with CASIOfs own image processing technology can change normal
photos to 8 types of artistic images such as water color paints and oil
paints. The product will be released in
the spring of 2010.
MATERIAL
First Synthetic Rubber from
Ethylene for Auto Sue to Appear
February 22--Mitsui Chemical created a technology
to produce a synthetic rubber material made from ethylene for automobile tires
the worldfs first ever. The company, by
using its unique two metal solvents, makes butene from ethylene and butadiene
from the butene.
Higher Tension and Shock Resistive
Modifier for Biochemical Resin
January 25--Nagoya Municipal Industrial
Research Institute devised a modifier to enhance the strength of polylactic
acid which is a biochemical resin material. The agent made from castor oil mingled with a
kind of a lactic acid realizes about 30 times of tension strength and 3 times
of shock strength compared to existing modifiers.
Lizard-Structure Base
Sophisticated Adhesive Tape to Release
January 23--Nitto Denko developed a strong
adhesive tape which imitates the leg structure of gecko lizard. The tape includes an ultra thin material like
human hair on surface of the tape based on nanotechnology. The product bears repeated usage due to
non-usage of bond. Applications are
expected for cellular phones and automobiles.
Bio-Aromatic Compound developed for Auto Tire
January 4--Sumitomo Rubber Industries and
RITE developed a technology to make aromatic compound from plants. The technology, with sugar removed from plant
fiber, re-combines genes of microorganism for
producing aromatic compound. Sumitomo
considers utilizing the resulted compound for anti-degradation agent on car
tires.
* * *
(Source: Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun)
* * *
If you have questions and comments on the above, please click the below
envelope.
