Sep 2010 Fukuoka Now

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Kyushu Headline News

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Mobile phone: http://www.fukuoka-now.com/mobile HP: www.fukuoka-now.com/news

English language summaries of last month's top Kyushu area news stories. 九州エリアの 1 ヵ月分の英文ニュースの中から選り抜きの話題をピックアップ 「健康家族」のニンニク畑が有機 JAS 認定を取得

Garlic Fields Certified Organic Kagoshima City-based Kenkokazoku, Japan’s 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 under 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. 北九州市が太陽電池パネルリサイクル技術開発へ

R&D for Solar Panel Recycling The city of Kitakyushu announced it will begin in November research and development into technology 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). エアブサン福岡―釜山線の利用率が予想を大幅に上回る

Fukuoka-Busan Flights Soar Air 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 airline’s 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. 西シ銀に注入の公的資金の残額 350 億円を完済

Bank Repays 35 Billion Yen in Public Funds The Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan announced it will approve Fukuoka City-based Nishi-Nippon City Bank’s 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 buyback, the bank will eliminate its preferred stock. ベスト電器、2010 年 3 〜 5 月期 連 結 決 算が 5 年ぶりの黒字転換

Best Denki Back in the Black Fukuoka City-based consumer electronics mass merchandiser Best Denki reported that in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (March to

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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 government’s eco-point program, and demand for televisions with the capability to view terrestrial digital broadcasts. 一風堂、大分県・竹田市で農業ビジネスに参入

Ippudo to Take up Farming Chikaranomoto Company of Fukuoka City, operators of the Hakata Ippudo ramen chain, have signed an agreement with the city of Taketa, Oita Prefecture, to go into the agriculture business. 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. 天然ガス & 太陽光によって家庭でエコ発電

Natural Gas for Home Power Generation Fukuoka 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 city’s Higashi Ward, and in the condominiums built on Island City. It is part of the company’s strategy to compete with the “all-electric” systems of the electric utilities. 九州・山口の 2009 年造船受注が前年比 97% 減

Plunge in Regional Shipbuilding Orders The Kyushu District Transport Bureau reports that the 56 shipyards in Kyushu and western Yamaguchi Prefecture suffered a plunge in orders in FY 2009 to 75,000 tons, or 27 ships. That’s 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 年 1 〜 3 月、九州での宿泊旅行客が前年比 3.7% 増

Lodgers in Kyushu Rise The 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

Fukuoka Now #141 September 2010

from South Korea, which account for 60% of the region’s 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 returned to normal levels. 中国の太陽光発電会社が、福岡に西日本統括本部を開設

Chinese Solar Company Opens in Fukuoka Suntech Power Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the large Chinese solar power company Suntech 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. プレナスの弁当チェーン「ほっともっと」が海外初進出

First Overseas Hotto Motto Shop to Open Fukuoka 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. 九州の大学・専門学校生の間では地場企業の知名 度は低調

Students in the Dark about Kyushu Companies The Kyushu Economic Research Center surveyed 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, department 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. ブリヂストンが佐賀に再生タイヤの工場を建設

Tire Recycling Plant Opens in Saga Bridgestone 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 Kamiminecho, 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.

九州ニュース

宮崎の畜産業、口蹄疫からの復興に 8 年かかる見通し

パナソニック系子会社、福岡、佐賀に拠点を集約

宮崎を除く九州 6 県、 今年の米の作況は「やや不良」

Miyazaki Livestock Industry Recovery: Eight Years In 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. Miyazaki JA plans to formulate a special program to assist the recovery. It reportedly will include measures to ameliorate the problem of keeping 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.

Panasonic Subsidiary Brings Employees to Kyushu Tokyo-based Panasonic subsidiary Panasonic System Networks announced a major 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.

Rice Harvest Forecast Somewhat Poor Rice Databank of Tokyo offered their forecasts for this year’s 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.

来春、福銀がニューヨーク事務所を 12 年ぶりに開設

Fukuoka Bank to Reopen New York Office Fukuoka 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 established a presence in the local market, and to gather information from financial markets.

西鉄、オランダに国際物流の拠点として現地法人設立

Nishitetsu to Form Dutch Subsidiary Fukuoka City-based Nishi-Nippon Railway (Nishitetsu) announced it will launch in September a subsidiary in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for the international logistics business. Amsterdam 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 Nishitetsu’s American subsidiary. They project 2.2 billion worth of revenue by 2012. The company, to be known as NNR Global Logistics Netherlands, will be Nishitetsu’s fourth overseas subsidiary.

ホンダ、熊本県と次世代車両の実証実験に関し包括協定

Honda Motors Signs Pact with Kumamoto Honda 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.

News source: With permission from the morning editions of the Nishinippon Newspaper.

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