Sumika Polycarbonate Ltd. has developed a transparent polycarbonate (PC) resin which filters out all but specified light wavelengths. This comes as part of a broader company initiative to speed up...
R&D
Interview: Kao Executive Director Hitoshi Hosokawa Talks New Growth Strategy, Pursuits and Breakthroughs
Kao Corp. (TYO:4452) has been active of late in formulating plans to keep pace in an intensifying and shifting global market. Executive Director Hitoshi Hosokawa recently took the time to...
Interview: Shiseido Director Yoichi Shimatani Discusses New Pursuits Connecting Beauty and Technology
Shiseido Co. Ltd. (TYO:4911) is jumping eagerly into the new opportunities that abound between beauty and advanced technologies. The Japanese multinational has been aggressive in its pursuit of this connection,...
ImPACT Program Bears Plenty of Fruit for Smaller, Stronger Car Battery Membranes
Japanese companies have announced a slew of results as of late in relation to next-gen car battery membranes, fostered by Japanese Cabinet Office program Impulsing Paradigm Change through Disruptive Technologies...
Kanazawa University Develops New Method to Strengthen Bio-Based CFRP
A team of researchers at Kanazawa University has developed a method for strengthening carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in which plant-based cellulose resin is used as a base material. Cellulose...
Taiyo Nippon Sanso, TUAT Work on Resolving Cost Issues in GaN Substrate Production
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TYO:4091) has been working in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) on developing a means for the low-cost manufacture of gallium nitride...
Interview: LIBTEC President Akira Yoshino Discusses Pursuit of All-Solid-State LiB Development
Entirely new data is becoming available on lithium ions, prompting the need to elucidate related information from the movements of these particles, says Akira Yoshino, president of the Lithium Ion...
New Catalyst From Hokkaido University Lowers Syngas Production Temperature
Hokkaido University Professor Atsushi Fukuoka and Assistant Professor Hirokazu Kobayashi have developed a catalyst for the conversion of methane into synthesis gas (syngas) at 650 degrees Celsius. With this being...
Tokyo Tech Research Group Develops New Microalgae Strains With up to 56.1-Fold Increase in TAG Productivity
A research group from the Tokyo Institute of Technology has succeeded in cultivating strains of microalgae with triacylglycerol (TAG) productivity improved up to 56.1-fold over that of a natural strain...
Japanese Companies Expand R&D Presence in China
Japanese companies are increasingly setting up R&D bases in China. This comes as these companies feel that they can no longer effectively respond to Chinese demand simply by importing and...
Mitsui Chemicals Plans European Clinical Research for Sepsis Testing Technology
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) is looking to expand R&D efforts overseas with its new testing technology for sepsis, a severe infectious disease. This comes as part of a plan to...
Japanese Paper and Packaging Companies Spur Nano-Fibrillated CNF Development
Japan is seeing a growing base of development support for cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) measuring only a few nanometers in diameter. Daio Paper Corp. (TYO:3880) announced on Aug. 1 that it...
Japanese Companies Develop World-First Technologies for High-Performance, Eco-Friendly Tires
Looking to maintain their competitiveness, Japanese tire companies have been working to develop new rubber materials using technologies that are the first of their kind worldwide. These new rubber materials...
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Targets GMP-Based Mass Production of Cellular Medicine
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. Ltd. (TYO:4506) is working toward the mass production of cellular pharmaceuticals for regenerative medicines derived from allogenic induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Medicine produced through this...
Yokogawa Accelerates Technological Developments in Life Innovation Business
Yokogawa Electric Corp. (TYO:6841) is moving to accelerate its development of technologies geared toward business expansion in the pharmaceutical, food and health care sectors. The Japanese electrical engineering company has...
Shiseido to Expand French R&D Base
Shiseido Co. Ltd. (TYO:4911) is planning to expand its European R&D base focused on fragrance products. It was recently revealed that Shiseido is moving ahead with construction of a new...
Japan Makes Wave of Advancements in Epoxy Technologies
Japanese organizations have recently made a spate of innovations in epoxy materials, with efforts from Osaka University, Ando DK Co. Ltd. and more serving to open up new possibilities in...
Euglena Launches Staff Exchange With Mitsui Chemicals
Euglena Co. Ltd. (TYO:2931) has embarked on a bilateral researcher exchange initiative with Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183). Growing rapidly on the back of its biofuel and cosmetics produced from microalgae...
Toyota Auto Body Moves Closer to Commercialization of Plant-Based Materials
Toyota Auto Body Co. Ltd. is working on auto parts applications for plant-based materials, focusing here on its plant fiber-reinforced resin, noise-absorbing material and cellulose nanofiber. Developed in 2013, the...
Cataler Develops New Anode Material for Automotive LiBs
Cataler Corp., a leading Japanese manufacturer of purification catalysts for automotive exhaust gas, has developed a new anode material that contributes to improving the output of automotive lithium-ion batteries (LiBs)....
