Global supplies shortage and dependence on West spell urgency, opportunity
Japan pharma cranks up output of COVID vaccine materials
Western manufacturers control nearly the entire market for vaccine active ingredients and production materials. When it comes to vaccine production, "Japan is dependent on Western makers," said Osamu Nagayama, who serves as president of the Japan Bioindustry Association and honorary chairman of Chugai Pharmaceutical.
Rising demand for COVID vaccines is expected to tighten supplies of related materials for some time. Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical is manufacturing a vaccine developed by U.S.-based Novavax. Shionogi & Co. and Daiichi Sankyo, also of Japan, are independently developing their own vaccine candidates. But without a stable supply of ingredients, domestic production may be disrupted.
Takara Bio, the country's largest producer of reagents, will manufacture and sell a reagent for messenger RNA vaccines. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA.
Japan mainly imports these reagents, such as the ones made by U.S. company Thermo Fisher Scientific. But supplies reportedly have become scarce amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Takara Bio will make the mRNA reagent in Kusatsu, a city near Kyoto, and the company looks to put various reagents on the market this fall.
Japan inflation hits seven year high in April
RTE - May 20
Japan's core consumer prices posted their biggest jump in seven years in April, official data showed today, as global commodity prices soared and the yen slumped against the dollar.
Japan notches trade deficit as imports surge on energy costs
marketwatch.com - May 19
TOKYO — Japan recorded a trade deficit in April as its imports ballooned 28% due to soaring energy costs and the yen’s weakness against the dollar.
Will Japan's Casino Resorts Be Able to Combat Money Laundering?
newsonjapan.com - May 19
Japan is planning to open its first casino on 'Dream Island.'
Toyota and Nissan models are only compatible with low-output chargers
Nikkei - May 18
Hyundai Motor's latest electric vehicle that hit the Japanese market this month can travel 220 km on a five-minute charge, a far cry from the lengthy charging Japanese EVs require using low-output chargers.
Japan's Jan.-Mar. GDP contracts annualized 1.0 percent
NHK - May 18
Japan's gross domestic product contracted an annualized 1.0 percent in real terms from January to March, compared to the previous quarter.
Japanese tatami mats, a home-grown tradition
CBS Sunday Morning - May 17
In Japan, grass-and-straw tatami mats – once a privilege reserved for the elite – have been a key feature of home design since the Middle Ages, crafted by gifted artisans. But now, with cheap knockoffs and changing lifestyles, the industry is at a crossroads.
Suntory hikes soft drink prices in Japan's latest taste of inflation
Nikkei - May 17
Suntory Beverage and Food, one of Japan's top sellers of soft drinks, will serve up its most wide-ranging price hike yet in a move expected to push rivals to follow suit in an industry squeezed by higher costs.
No chicken, no salami: Japanese eatery pulls items on shortages
Nikkei - May 17
Saizeriya, a Japan-based chain of family-style Italian restaurants, has discontinued certain dishes over supply chain disruptions abroad and is turning to domestic procurement of certain ingredients.
Tokyo court rules COVID-19 business order illegal
NHK - May 17
A Japanese court has ruled a local government broke the law by ordering a restaurant chain to shorten its business hours to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
How 'transitory' is Japanese inflation?
Nikkei - May 16
For over a year, the Federal Reserve insisted that the rise in U.S. inflation was "transitory," while evidence mounted to the contrary. It dropped the claim in November and the word is now a punchline for critics of the central bank, who say it should have acted to tame prices sooner.
Japan wholesale prices hit record 10% as energy costs soar
Business Times - May 16
Japan's wholesale prices in April jumped 10 per cent from the same month a year earlier, data showed on Monday (May 16), rising at a record rate as the Ukraine crisis and a weak yen pushed up the cost of energy and raw materials.
The history of Zen, from its roots in Buddhism to how the ancient religion became a capitalist darling
South China Morning Post - May 15
The term “Zen” has outgrown its origins as a sect of Buddhism, becoming an ubiquitous descriptor for design, lifestyle and even fashion, leaked from the East to the West and now prefixing a plethora of commodities, from “zen grey” paint to beauty products.
Classic Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy
Nikkei - May 14
Japanese audio equipment maker Onkyo Home Entertainment filed for bankruptcy at Osaka District Court on Friday, with total liabilities of around 3.1 billion yen ($24 million).
Nintendo heirs eye Kyoto revitalization project around HQ-turned-hotel
Nikkei - May 13
Nintendo's founding Yamauchi family will redevelop the neighborhood around the company's former headquarters in Kyoto, eyeing restaurants, an art gallery and more.
Why Japanese workers remain dissatisfied with their jobs
Nikkei - May 12
Ayako Koizumi recently sent a message to her colleagues in the product development section at Japan Tobacco to thank them for the preparation of a training program for new employees.
