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David Moskowitz

**************************e-View Osaka
No.19**************************
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++November
2002+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
================ Local business topics from Osaka, Japan
================

e-View Osaka, issued by World Trade Center Osaka, is an electronic
bulletin on the region's economic and other kinds of news, offering
readers a quick view of what has been and is going to be the talk of
the town in and around Osaka city. Your feedback and questions are
welcome at: e-view@....
Should you wish to unsubscribe, see Announcements.
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INDEX
1. Municipal subsidy available to foreign-affiliated firms advancing
into
Osaka
2. Osaka-Shanghai weekly ferry services sailing before the wind
3. Osaka Collection 2003 SS marking rebirth of Central Public Hall
4. Unitika's nano-composition excellence expanding range of uses for
PLA
5. Minolta's new digital camera the ultimate miniature marvel
6. Plasmacluster Ions open new avenue to efficient indoor air
purification
7. Announcements
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1. = Municipal subsidy available to foreign-affiliated firms
advancing into
Osaka =
The Osaka municipality's business start-up grant program, launched
last year
to render financial aid to foreign-affiliated firms newly advancing
into the
city, will shortly be open to applications for the fiscal 2002
offerings.
The program accepts entries from companies which, (1) set up a new
operational base within Osaka's city limits during the April 2002 -
to- March
2003 period, (2) are capitalized at least one-third by a non-Japanese
party(s), and (3) are active with a proven track record in at least
one of
the following business fields: Healthcare/welfare, lifestyle/culture,
information technology/communications, environment, human resources,
biotechnology, and nanotechnology. The subsidy is meant to cover
upfront
costs for establishing an operational base in Osaka (incurred in
Japan
within one year prior to the date of the establishment), such as
fees for
market research and interpretation, expenses for licensing,
registration and
other legal formalities, and non-refundable key money paid for the
rental of
office and/or other relevant facilities. The amount of the subsidy
granted
to each successful applicant is not to exceed half the total sum of
the
applicable outlays and up to JY1 million per firm, within the city 's
budget. Applications will be received at World Trade Center Osaka
from
December 2, 2002 through January 31, 2003. An influx of advance
inquiries
reflects a keen interest among the foreign business circles in an
enormous
consumer market, which is as yet relatively untapped. For further
information, contact World Trade Center Osaka at: info@....

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2. = Osaka-Shanghai weekly ferry services sailing before the wind =
While the April launch of the thrice-weekly ferry service to the
sister port
of Pusan has doubled the scale of operations at the Osaka Port
International
Ferry Terminal, opened in 1996 within a stone's throw of the Osaka
WTC
Building on the Sakishima man-made island, the preexisting regular
services
to Shanghai are enjoying an upswing in both passenger and cargo
traffic.
Shanghai Ferry Co., Ltd., a Japan-China consortium, and the Shanghai-
based
China Japan International Ferry Co., Ltd. (CHINJIF) both offer their
respective Shanghai-Osaka runs every week, connecting the two ports
in just
48 hours. For shippers and consignees, the services make available
the
roll-on/roll-off stevedoring and the on-board delivery of B/L
(see*1) in
pursuit of minimum lead-times. In January of 1993, Shanghai Ferry
put into
service a passenger-cargo ship named Su Zhou Hao, which has thence
transported an estimated total of 60,000 passengers and 130,000 TEU
(see*2)
in cargo load via the 1,600km fairway. The January-August 2002
period saw a
20% year-on-year growth in the number of people traveling on board
the Su
Zhou Hao, in a quantum leap that was all but matched by her CHINJIF
counterpart. An influx of party sightseers from mainland China
characterized
the boom this summer, not to mention the local college students and
Chinese
residents on vacation. Contributing to the traffic expansion in the
longer
term is an improved visibility of the regular line among non-
Japanese and
Chinese nationals after Shanghai Ferry began accepting passage
reservations
on the Net. With the cargo movement also making a strong showing, as
evidenced by the imports of apparel goods and chilled
vegetables/poultry,
the two liner services are solidifying their base as the maritime
artery
between the two metropolises, which have long been Friendship Cities
as well
as Friendship Ports. For further information, contact Shanghai Ferry
at
email: pax@..., or CHINJIF at e-mail:
jifcoz@....

(*1) bill of lading
(*2) Twenty-foot equivalent unit. A forty-foot container is equal to
two
TEU.

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3. = Osaka Collection 2003 SS marking rebirth of Central Public Hall
=
Osaka City's Central Public Hall, located since 1918 in the river-
embraced
Nakanoshima Park in the heart of the city's business district, heads
the
list of the city's architectural heritages from the early 20th-
century, its
arched facade and stained-glass@windows often appearing in
tourist
guidebooks and specialty journals. Following the September
completion of the
three-and-a-half-year repair work on the neo-renaissance-style
structure, a
series of commemorative events are taking place at the hall, one of
which is
the Osaka Collection 2003 Spring-Summer, the quindecennial session
of what
has become the premier fashion event in the Kansai (Greater Osaka)
region. A
founding member of the Osaka Collection Organizing Committee, the
City of
Osaka plays a pivotal role in backing the event, which has in recent
years
been held semi-annually with Kansai Journal Co., Ltd., an Osaka-based
publisher-event organizer, acting as the secretariat. Treading in the
previous sessions' footsteps, the upcoming show, scheduled for
November
19-21, highlights some rising talents from home and abroad in a set
of joint
stages; A partie carree of Kansai-based artists show off their
finest works
in the Japanese Young Designers' Joint, while the European Joint has
an
intriguing pair of French and English creators collaborate in the
classic
ambience of the city-owned building. Also not to be missed are the
regular
appearances by Hiroko Koshino, who in 1986 broached the idea of
holding a
periodical collection in the city, and Michiko Izumi, both of whom
hail from
Osaka Prefecture and are the leading figures of the local couture.
For
further information, contact the secretariat, c/o Kansai Journal
Co., Ltd.,
at: mihoko@....

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4. = Unitika's nano-composition excellence expanding range of uses
for PLA =
Polylactic acid polymer (PLA) is a biodegradable resin based on
lactic acid
derived from the starch of corn, potatoes and other plant matter. As
manufacturers scramble to play up their eco-consciousness by
introducing
green materials, PLA, typically processed into various parts and
commodities
through injection molding, has in recent years been spotlighted as
one of
the general-purpose GreenPla (see*1). The low-level heat resistance,
at a
normal DTUL (see*2) of 58 degrees C., of PLA, though, has kept its
uses
within relatively narrow limits, until Unitika Ltd., the Osaka-based
leading
maker of textiles, fibers, high polymers, and
environmental/functional
materials, recently cut the knot with its innovative formula. By
interspersing the polymeric structure of PLA with fine particles of
layered
silicate (see*3) at nanometric intervals, Unitika has sped up the
hitherto
time-consuming crystallization process a hundredfold (see*4), in a
feat that
has more than doubled the heat resistance of the resultant molding
to a
maximum 140 degrees C. in DTUL. A sharp rise has also been achieved
in the
flexural elasticity of the molded PLA, without its specific gravity
increasing. These enhanced properties, superior to those of such
off-the-shelf plastics as polystyrene and polypropylene, pave the
way for
extensive application of PLA in OA equipment, optical apparatus,
auto parts,
and in other fields that require both resilience and heat resistance,
Unitika says. The faster crystallization, combined with the
consequent
economy with the cooling time, ups the productivity of the whole
process,
another reason Unitika is launching full-scale production of
injection-molded PLA, in addition to its existing polylactic acid-
based
lineup. For further information, contact Unitika at:
info@....

(*1) The nickname in Japan, coined by the Biodegradable Plastics
Society, of
biodegradable plastics
(*2) Deflection temperature under load
(*3) Normally found in the soil and hence does not impair PLA's
biodegradability
(*4) As compared with the standard PLA that is not compounded with
inorganic
fillers

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5. = Minolta's new digital camera the ultimate miniature marvel =
Minolta Co., Ltd., the Osaka-based leading maker of cameras,
binoculars,
printers, and film scanners with a 74-year history, this month is
domestically releasing DiMAGE Xi, the world's lightest and most
compact
digital still camera with a 3X optical zoom. An upgrade of DiMAGE X,
which
debuted earlier this year making a splash with its vest-pocket design
melding with the 3X optical zoom lens and 2-megapixel CCD (Charge-
coupled
device), the new model is endowed with an array of high-tech
features and
conveniences;

# The 1/2.7-type CCD with 3.2 effective megapixels delivers
remarkably high
definition@that suffices for enlargements and printouts, its
primary
color filter providing the spectral data needed to reproduce
subtle hues.
# The 1.2-second startup, so far the world's fastest for an optical
zoom
digital camera, almost eliminates the possibility of missing good
photo
opportunities.
# The 3X optical zoom with a generous 37-to-111mm range, used in
combination
with the 4X digital zoom function, provides seamless 12X
magnification,
ensuring high-quality close-ups in various settings.
# The optical zoom is internally adjusted by Minolta's innovative
planar
lens system (see*1), negating the need for a protruding lens
barrel seen
in conventional models. The lens, comprising 9 elements in 8
groups,
minimizes chromatic aberration with a total of 5 aspheric
surfaces,
exploiting the full potential of the CCD. The f2.8-f3.6 lens
aperture
also helps capture bright images in all conditions.
# Minolta's unique CxProcess image-processing function produces
smooth
gradations, colors that are vivid but not too loud, natural skin
tones,
and overall clarity.

All this and more are housed within the ultra-slim body of the same
dimensions (84.5X 72X20mm) as the DiMAGE X, but weighing slightly
less at
130 grams (see*2). For further information, visit:
http://www.dimage.minolta.com/xi/.

(*1) Using a high-precision prism behind the first lens element, the
periscope-style system refracts light at a right angle as it
enters the
camera body, where the other lens elements are vertically
aligned.
(*2) Not including battery and memory card.

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6. =Plasmacluster Ions open new avenue to efficient indoor air
purification=
Sharp Corporation, the Osaka-based consumer electronics giant best
known as
the top maker of liquid crystal displays (LCD) and photovoltaic power
generation systems, recently launched into the home market a new
line of
indoor air cleaners for home and business use, whose purificatory
functions
are based on the virus-inactivating property of the Plasmacluster
Ions
(see*1). The move has come after joint research between Sharp and the
Kitasato Research Center of Environmental Sciences established that
equal
numbers of positive and negative Plasmacluster Ions, when released
into the
air where they accrete to free-floating microparticles, efficiently
inactivate/decompose viruses, bacteria and odor-causing fungi.
Chemically
destroying the protein surface of such harmful microbes as the
influenza
virus and MRSA (see*2), the cluster ions are able to zap most stray
germs
within an average-size room (30-to-40 cu. m in volume) in less than
30
minutes, when effused via the high airflow provided by Sharp's
latest air
cleaner lineup. Building on the unrivaled effectiveness of its
proprietary
germ deactivation technology against the indoor viral contagion,
Sharp has
made its first step into the commercial air purifier business with
one of
its newest releases in late September, hoping its use will permeate
through
hospitals, day nurseries, restaurants, and offices. Unlike the
comparable
models for home use, which house one Plasmacluster Ion Generator
each, the
commercial model boasts two units of the core device, together with a
twin-fan control that yields the maximum airflow of eight cu.
m/minute,
putting teeth into the efficacy of the Plasmacluster Ions. The
standard-fit
ion generator also keeps tabs on the amount of unwanted airborne
particles,
and switches between two operational modes, one prioritizing air
purification and the other controlling the ionic composition, for the
optimal indoor air quality. For further information, visit:
http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/020920.html.

(*1) Clusters consisting of ions surrounded by a large number of
water
molecules. Generated by the use of plasma, such cluster ions
are
ubiquitous in nature, and are harmless to humans.
(*2) Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

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7. = Announcements =
Your comments, feedback and questions on this electronic publication
are
welcome at:
http://www.wtcosaka.com/e-view/
Email: e-view@...

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World Trade Center Osaka, an active member of the World Trade Centers
Association, counts among the major trade promoters in the Kansai
(Greater
Osaka) region. Operating on a nonprofit basis under the sponsorship
of the
City of Osaka, WTC Osaka offers a variety of business support
services,
including the promotion of foreign direct investment in Osaka, and
the
dissemination of local business news via e-View Osaka. For further
information on WTC Osaka, visit: http://www.wtcosaka.com
50th floor, Osaka WTC Bldg., 1-14-16, Nanko-Kita, Suminoe-ku, Osaka
559-0034
Phone: +81-6-6615-7000 Fax: +81-6-6616-4130
Email: info@...

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End of e-View Osaka No.19 Copyright(C) 2002 Word Trade Center Osaka
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