Tag - industry

 
 

INDUSTRY

The maglev shinkansen line was originally scheduled for opening in 2027.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2023
JR Central changes opening date of maglev shinkansen line
The line will open "no earlier than 2027" due to uncertainties over when drilling works for a tunnel in Shizuoka Prefecture can commence.
Osaka's Yumeshima island in November
JAPAN / Society
Dec 5, 2023
Osaka Expo woes weigh on city's casino resort project
Given the logistical and timing issues facing the expo, there are concerns over whether the casino resort can be built on schedule.
Port Plus is a training and education facility in Yokohama built by and for general contractor Obayashi, a storied Japanese builder that traces its roots back to 1892.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2023
Wooden high-rise in Yokohama grows Japan’s timber ambitions
Port Plus, which was finished last year, is composed mainly of 540 wooden rigid cross-joints.
Land Minister Tetsuo Saito (center right) visits Yumeshima, the venue for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo, on Nov. 3.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2023
Troubled 2025 Osaka Expo could see further cost increases
Amid numerous challenges, Osaka officials hope no further discussions on increasing the budget of the troubled event will be needed.
People walk past ginkgo trees in Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Gaien area in November 2022.
JAPAN / Explainer
Nov 6, 2023
What to know about the Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan
The project is controversial due to the potential felling of thousands of trees, loss of green space and threat to historic gingko trees.
A construction crane beyond an apartment building at dusk in the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin, in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 3, 2023
Europe’s great housing crisis is only getting started
With housing already tight, the situation threatens to weigh on growth and further stoke political tensions as shortages squeeze more and more voters.
Economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (center) is right to insist that economic security is linked to national power and determines the fate of the nation. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2023
Economic security demands attention and defies simple explanation
A global challenge: Resilience and innovation are key strategies in the pursuit of economic security.
An official speaks during a government-sponsored tour of the 2025 Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023
As 2025 Osaka Expo nears, foreign pavilion woes continue to mount
Over 50 countries had been expected to design and build their own pavilions. So far, only two have been greenlighted by Osaka city to begin construction.
A worker is seen in front of one of the pavilions at the construction site of the 2025 Osaka Expo during a government-sponsored tour of the area on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023
Osaka Expo venue construction cost likely to soar
The figure is expected to rise above the current ¥185 billion to exceed ¥200 billion, sources have said.
A site in a specified reconstruction area in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, where demolition and decontamination work is conducted
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023
Possibly contaminated iron scraps from near Fukushima plant sold
Workers at a subcontractor of Kajima took the scraps without permission, violating the process of dealing with contaminated waste.
A construction site where workers fell, with at least two killed, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Tuesday
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2023
Two workers killed after accident at Tokyo construction site
The workers were caught up in the incident when steel beams fell from the seventh floor to the third floor of the site in Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward.
Materials derived from cabbage (left), iyokan (center) and onion by Tokyo-based startup Fabula, which is working to develop new materials that can replace concrete.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 27, 2023
Japan’s scrap-and-rebuild culture faces an environmental reckoning
The nation's tendency toward new construction — rather than renovation — is coming under renewed scrutiny amid concerns over sustainability.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura attends a ceremony marking the first minting of a commemorative coin for the expo with the event's mascot, Myaku-Myaku, in Osaka on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023
Three hurdles stand between Osaka Expo and 2025 opening
Broadly speaking, the expo faces three high hurdles in its dash toward the finish line, and having everything ready for the April 13, 2025, opening.
The artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, a venue for the 2025 Osaka Expo
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2023
Osaka Expo asks for overtime cap exemption as time pressure mounts
The move comes as the expo faces mounting concerns that construction, especially of pavilions for foreign nations, will not be completed on time for the scheduled opening in April 2025.
Jingu Gaien is a famous landmark, park and sports center in Minato Ward, Tokyo. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 26, 2023
Tokyo's tree-razing drama shouldn't stymie transformation
Residents are raging over a redevelopment plan. But while other cities become stuck in time, Tokyo's best projects can combine the spirit of the past with the hope for the future.
Osaka Organic Chemical Industry President Masayuki Ando talks about their strategy at the company office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2023
Japanese chemicals company sees potential niche in EUV chipmaking materials
Little known even in its home country, Osaka Organic has carved out a critical niche in the semiconductor industry by supplying companies that make photoresists.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2023
The struggle to electrify one of the world’s dirtiest industries
Construction, across its entire supply chain, is responsible for around 23% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions may balloon as the global population grows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 19, 2023
Low-carbon concrete could bring a ‘radical change’ to the industry
Cement, one of the main ingredients in concrete production, is responsible for more than 7% of global CO2 emissions.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?