Container Traffic Down 4.2% In Nagoya

Port of Nagoya

 All but one of Japan’s five biggest ports saw their international container traffic shrink in the first half of this year amid growing economic uncertainty at home and abroad.

The situation is likely to continue an economic slowdown in China, Japan’s largest trading partner, and other emerging markets takes its toll on exports. Imports, which primarily come from China, are also sluggish due to a delayed recovery in domestic consumer spending from a sales tax hike in 2014.

Many economists say that the Japanese economy, as measured by gross domestic product, may have slipped into a technical recession in the July-September period, contracting for the second consecutive quarter.

Of the five-largest Japanese ports, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka all recorded drops in their international container traffic in the first half of this year, but Kobe managed to post moderate growth.

Overall foreign trade container volume declines are as follows: Osaka, down 12 percent at 953,889; Tokyo, down 8 percent, at 2 million TEUs; Nagoya, down 4.2 percent at 1.2 million TEUs and Yokohama, down 2.8 percent at 1.3 million TEUs.

Exports from the four ports were down: 12 percent at Osaka to 432,726 TEUs; 9 percent at Tokyo to 927,295 TEUs; 4.5 percent at Nagoya to 632,570 and 4.1 percent at Yokohama to 669,682 TEUs.

Imports at the four ports were down: 12 percent at Osaka to 521,163 TEUs; 8 percent at Tokyo to 1 million TEUs; 4 percent at Nagoya to 585,489 TEUs and 1 percent at Yokohama to 598,506 TEUs.

Foreign trade containers handled by Kobe climbed 3.5 percent in the January-June period from the same six-month period of 2014, totaling 1.061 million TEUs. Exports were up 3.3 percent at 565,136 TEUs, while imports were up 3.7 percent at 496,179 TEUs.

Hisane Masaki

Jet Star To Add Nagoya - Taipei Route

Jetstar Japan, the largest low-cost air carrier (LCC) in Japan, said Wednesday that it will launch direct flights from the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya to Taipei from Nov. 27 to tap Taiwan's growing markets.

Jetstar Japan will introduce the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport-Tokyo Narita route Nov. 28, the Osaka route Dec. 11 and the Nagoya route Dec. 13.

The budget carrier said it will become the first LCC to operate flights between Nagoya and Taiwan.

Jetstar will initially operate three services per weekon each route, increasing to daily flights from Dec. 24, using its fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

Jetstar Japan Chief Executive Officer Gerry Turner said in an earlier press release that the carrier expects the new services to be popular with leisure travelers.

"Taiwan is a very popular destination for Japanese travelers and Taiwan is Japan's third-largest source of tourists. We expect these services to increase the market," he said.

Nagoya University Leads The Way In New Technology

To cope with the accelerated aging of the nation’s population, Nagoya University is working to develop futuristic vehicles.

At the Institute of Innovation for Future Society, which was established last year at the university in Chikusa Ward, the school’s researchers are collaborating with engineers from private companies to create new products.

Based in Aichi Prefecture, which has long been a driving force of Japan’s manufacturing industry, they hope to once again take on the challenge of creating new products.

A prototype Smartchair, a computer-controlled chair jointly developed by the university and Panasonic Corp., was unveiled in August at a trade show hosted by the government-funded Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

“You seem to be slightly lacking concentration today. Please be careful when you walk.”

As an electronic voice comes from a machine attached to the chair, itslowly tilts forward to make it easier for the user to stand up.

The developers say the concept of the Smartchair is to support users inconspicuously while constantly monitoring them. Ultra-sensitive sensors are embedded in the back and armrest that measure the user’s brain waves, pulse and breathing. It can also detect changes in blood flow from the user’s fingertips and determine the level of tiredness by calculating the concentration of oxygen in the blood.

Nagoya University researchers developed the sensor and Panasonic engineers are working to apply the technology into a viable product. “We believe that 10 years from now, people will be living in smart houses that make residents healthier,” said Eiji Ohno, a Panasonic official who is working at Nagoya University as a specially appointed professor.

The university’s National Innovation Complex, where the institute is based, also houses research labs of other manufacturers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Toshiba Corp.

Supported by the central government and JST, projects pursued at the complex are aimed at developing new necessary future technology, as well as linking the university’s technologies and skills with private companies to create new products.

The projects include improved automated driving technology, which is already partially capable of highway driving, so cars can detect dangers and intervene in driving on regular roads.

The project’s goal is to maintain, or even increase, the chances for elderly people to drive, researchers say.

While it is technologically possible to predict dangers based on the position of pedestrians, for example, researchers are afraid that any sudden braking or swerving via automatic driving might confuse drivers.

To determine the best way for robots to provide support, the institute is creating a database of the behavioral characteristics of elderly drivers.

“This kind of research is hard for one company to conduct only by itself, because unlike projects such as improving engine specs, we need to take the social system into consideration as well,” said visiting professor and project leader from Toyota Kenji Esaki.

“Until now, (the) business-academia partnership has typically been conducted between one academic researcher and a company, but what we have realized here is organizational collaboration,” said professor Shigeaki Zaima, director of the institute.

The university has sent some 100 staffers to the institute to deal with intellectual property issues and other tasks, with the intention of turning their research into marketable products.

The university hopes to benefit from the partnerships also by strengthening its position as the center of research in automobile-related technology.

“I hope our university becomes the leading research center in the world (in this field),” said university President Seiichi Matsuo.

Chunichi

Local Aichi Noodles A Big Hit Overseas

 

Sagami Restaurant in Toyokawa, Aichi

Specialty local Aichi ramen, udon and other noodles, seldom tried by most Japanese in their home regions, are being devoured by hungry slurpers overseas, riding the wave of Japanese noodle culture.

Producers of the popular “Cup Noodle” instant noodle in Kariya, historic “Kasugai Udon”,  and “kishimen” flat udon in Nagoya have all found increasing business opportunities overseas, thanks also to the cheaper yen.

To meet the increasing demand from overseas markets, Nissin, the Kariya-based producer of the instant ramen noodle, will increase production of the product by 30 percent from October.  Nissin is on hiring binge to meet the demand.

The company’s trademark product is rehydratable noodles of classic ramen, known for its thick pork flavor, bundled up in its classic paper cup package. It remains a perennial favorite among residents of the college dorm the world over.

While the company recorded losses for two consecutive years through fiscal 2014 due to the stagnant sales of its other cup noodle products, it expects to turn a profit for fiscal 2015, thanks to the brisk sales of its ramen lineup overseas.

The export value of the company's bar ramen products is expected to more than double this fiscal year from the previous year thanks to brisk sales in the USA, Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere. Company officials said it plans to make inroads to Malaysian and Singapore markets with bar ramen products in the near future.

Kasugai Foods, the manufacturer of traditional local udon noodles, which also operates restaurants in Aichi and Gifu Prefectures, opened its first overseas outlet in Taiwan in July.

The outlet has enjoyed brisk sales although the menu and product prices are set higher than at domestic outlets. Sales from the overseas business now account for more than 10 percent of its total sales, company officials said.

Sagami Chain Co. in Nagoya, which operates Japanese restaurants mainly in the Tokai region, plans to make inroads into Vietnam with kishimen traditional flat udon noodles and other local foods in Nagoya next year.

The company has already opened seven restaurants in China, Thailand and Indonesia. A New York City outlet is planned to open in December.  As kishimen noodles proved to suit Europeans’ palates when they were served at the company’s booth at Expo Milano 2015 in August, Sagami Chain is now considering opening outlets in Europe.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Aichi’s exports of noodle products, including instant ramen noodles, udon, “soba” buckwheat noodles and “somen” fine noodles, totaled 3.6 billion yen ($30 million) during the January-June period, up 20 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The export volume was the largest since the ministry started keeping such statistics in 2006.

Onoki Sentenced To 12 Years

Onoki's Arrest Mugshot

Ryota Onoki, who was arrested for attempted murder after steering his car onto a pavement and hitting 14 pedestrians in Nagoya in February 2014, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

A victim being helped by paramedics

 The Nagoya District Court finalized the sentence yesterday.  Prosecutors said the incident occurred mid-afternoon close to the city’s central Nagoya Station and the driver was caught on the spot. Fourteen pedestrians were injured.

Onoki, who was unemployed, pleaded guilty and said he had tried to kill as many people as he could with his car.  Onoki said he was angered when his father, a former Aichi policeman, told him to either find work or move out of the home.

This young lady spoke to the court

A group of victims expressed frustration at the court at what they saw was a light sentence for Onoki.  One woman said, "I will always have to use a cane and I am only 27 years old.  My life is forever changed."  A man said to the court, "My left hand has no feeling at all.  I used to play guitar in a local band.  Now at 23, I see no future."

Onoki will be transferred to the Aichi Mens Corrections Facility in Toyota Shi on Tuesday to serve out his sentence.

The car Onoki drove

Ex-Nagoya University Student Indicted For Murder

Ouchi Maria, Club Leader

Prosecutors indicted Maria Ouchi, a 20-year-old former Nagoya University student, on Thursday on charges of murdering an elderly woman and attempting to murder two friends when she was a minor, after she was found competent through psychiatric examination, the prosecutors said.

Ouchi will be tried as an adult.  Although she was a minor at the time of the murder, prosecutors convinced the judge through past charges as a minor that she posed a "real and convincing threat to society" because of the past criminal record and the brutal nature in which she killed the 77 year old, Tomoko Mori.

The high-profile case drew public attention at the time as the accused told investigators after her arrest that she had wanted to kill somebody.

According to the indictment, when the woman was 19 years old she allegedly killed a 77-year-old female acquaintance in Nagoya on Dec 7 by incapacitating her with an ax before strangling the victim. She also attempted to kill two different friends on separate occasions when she was a high-school student in 2012 by getting them both to ingest a toxic substance called thallium sulfate in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.

Additionally, she is charged with arson for allegedly setting fire to a house in Sendai in an attempt to kill a resident on Dec 13.

The prosecutors declined to disclose whether she admitted to the allegations.

The Nagoya Family Court sent the case back to the prosecutors in September, saying the murder of the 77-year-old woman, Tomoko Mori, was committed “out of curiosity as she wanted to kill somebody.” The defendant had become acquainted with Mori when the victim introduced her to a religion.

The family court said at that time that the former student should be tried at a criminal court as an adult, after putting her under observation and protection for two weeks, noting her psychiatric problems have little bearing on the cases.

A family court is primarily in charge of trying juvenile cases.