Weekly Japanese Industry and Policy News (August 25-August 31, 2023)

The EU-Japan Centre is pleased to start a new weekly service by publishing brief summary of the latest information from the Japanese governmental organizations & private companies/organizations. A couple of minutes reading to be informed about what is happening in Japan's policy, economy, EU-Japan relations, and innovation.

*Information is deemed correct at the time of release. 

Technology development in Japan and Australia for mass transport of liquefied CO2 at low temperature and low pressure
On August 23, five parties, including JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation and an Australian research institute, signed a technology development project contract to verify the technology and feasibility of mass transportation of liquefied CO2 at low temperature and low pressure. In addition to JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, Mitsui O.S.K., Osaka Gas, Future
Energy Exports CRC (FEnEx CRC) and Low Emission Technology Australia（LETA）will take part in the project.

Toward the practical use of liquefied CO2 transport ships, currently the mainstream is to study medium temperature and medium pressure specifications (approximately -26°C, 18 bar), but there is the problem of the difficulty of increasing the size of the tank. The adoption of low-temperature, low-pressure specifications (approximately -49°C, 7 bar) has made it possible to increase the size of the tank, which is expected to significantly reduce the construction and transportation costs per tank capacity. On the other hand, there is still no record of transporting liquefied CO2 under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions, and it is necessary to organize operational risks and increase the accuracy of realization.

JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation website:
https://www.nex.jx-group.co.jp/english/newsrelease/upload_files/20230823EN.pdf

Tritium concentration in sea area of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant remains below standard even after treated water is released
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) announced on August 25 that the concentration of radioactive substances in seawater sampled around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was below the detectable level and no abnormalities were found. It was announced that the analysis value of tritium concentration in the seawater sampled in the pipe was about the same as the calculated concentration, and that the analysis value was less than 1,500 becquerels per liter. The safety standard for tritium concentration in Japan is 60,000 becquerels per liter.

The concentration of tritium in seawater sampled at 10 locations within 3 kilometers from the power plant after the start of release on August 24 was below the detection limit (approximately 10 becquerels per liter) at all locations.
TEPCO plans to collect seawater from 10 locations every day for about a month and publish the analysis results the next day. The website of the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) also provides daily information on the analysis results of treated water.

TEPCO website:
https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommission/progress/watertreatment/index-e.html

MOE of Japan website:
https://shorisui-monitoring.env.go.jp/en/

Space Shift and Wegaw form a business alliance for snow accumulation and snow melting monitoring of hydroelectric power generation
Space shift (TOKYO), which develops satellite data analysis systems, announced on August 24 that it has agreed to a business alliance agreement with Wegaw (Lausanne, Switzerland), which has snow accumulation and snowmelt monitoring technology, regarding monitoring of hydroelectric power plants. By providing technology for monitoring snow and water resources to companies that own hydroelectric power plants, they will support optimization of operation and management for the use of renewable energy.

Specifically, with data solutions that contribute to sustainable power generation established by Wegaw, they promote optimal facility operation and maintenance, minimizing financial risks, and improving management efficiency. 
In the future, they aim to provide solutions with higher value by integrating flood area detection technology, one of Space Shift's disaster monitoring technologies, and Wegaw's digital twin technology for snow and water resources.

SPACE SHIFT website:
https://www.spcsft.com/en/news-en/660/

Osaka Gas and Eneos consider Japan's first large-scale production of synthetic methane
Osaka Gas and Eneos Holdings announced on August 29 that they have begun joint studies on the production of synthetic methane (e-methane) from carbon dioxide (CO2) and renewable energy-derived hydrogen in Osaka Bay. In this study, green hydrogen produced overseas is converted into methylcyclohexane (MCH), which is a kind of efficient means of storing and transporting hydrogen, and then transported, and carbon dioxide recovered domestically. They aim to build manufacturing facilities and start manufacturing on a scale equivalent to as 60 million m3/year (10,000 Nm3/h, equivalent to about 250,000 ordinary households).

Converting hydrogen to e-methane will expand the spread of hydrogen and contribute to the realization of a hydrogen society. In addition, e-methane leads to the decarbonization of city gas, and the existing city gas infrastructure and consumer equipment can be used as they are, while controlling social costs. Furthermore, by securing an e-methane manufacturing base in Japan, they will contribute to the recycling of CO2 emitted by domestic industries and the stable supply of energy.

ENEOS website (in Japanese):
https://www.eneos.co.jp/newsrelease/upload_pdf/20230829_01_01_0906370.pdf

U.S.-based Sempra to export decarbonized LNG to Japan
Sempra Infrastructure, a major US energy company, will participate in a project to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan, which emits virtually no greenhouse gases. Mitsubishi Corporation and three major city gas companies are planning a project, and Sempra will be responsible for part of the manufacturing and negotiations with the US government.

The project will use renewable energy to produce "green hydrogen" and utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from factories to produce synthetic methane. Synthetic methane is converted to LNG at the "Cameron" plant in Louisiana in the south of the United States, which Sempra and Mitsubishi Corporation are working on. In 2030, they will export 130,000 tons per year to Japan. This amount is equivalent to 1% of the total demand forecast (as of 2030) of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and Toho Gas, which are participating in this plan.

The scale of the project is expected to be JP¥ several tens of billions, but if the company develops its own renewable energy to produce "green hydrogen," it will be a large-scale project worth more than JP¥ 100 billion. Synthetic methane emits CO2 when burned, but since CO2 is used as a raw material, emissions are practically zero. However, under the current system, importing and consuming decarbonized LNG, which is liquefied synthetic methane, does not mean that emissions are curtailed. Sempra is also expected to be in charge of negotiating with the US government regarding the handling of emissions control.

MITUBISHI Corporation website (in Japanese):
https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/ja/pr/archive/2023/html/0000051874.html

Kirin develops technology that enables direct printing on PET bottles
Kirin Holdings, a beverage manufacturer, announced on August 29 that the group's Packaging Innovation Research Institute has developed a recyclable PET bottle direct printing technology (RDP technology) that can print directly onto PET bottles. With conventional ink, if printed directly onto PET bottles, the ink will not peel off during the recycling process, leaving color on the PET resin after recycling, and there is a risk of loss of transparency and quality. Therefore, the PET Bottle Recycling Promotion Council even in the established guidelines, direct printing was prohibited.

In response to these technical issues, the new RDP technology uses a release ink developed by Fujifilm and has developed a technology that allows the ink to be removed during the recycling process. As a result, labels and barcodes printed with RDP technology do not peel off when drinking, and can be peeled off and separated during cleaning in the recycling process. Compared to conventional labels, this technology eliminates the need for a resin film as a base material, reducing the amount of plastic used per PET bottle by approximately 8% and reducing GHG emissions from label use by approximately 84%. 

Kirin holdings website (in Japanese)
https://www.kirinholdings.com/jp/newsroom/release/2023/0829_01.html

METI releases market survey results on e-commerce
On August 31, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced the results of the 2022 Japanese e-commerce market (EC) survey. According to this, the size of the B2C market in Japan is JP¥ 22.7 trillion, an increase of 9.9% from the previous year. In addition, the size of the B2B market in Japan in the same year increased by 12.8% to JP¥ 420.2 trillion. The EC rate is 9.1% for B2C (up 0.35 points from the previous year) and 37.5% for B2B (up 1.9 points from the previous year).

Looking at the breakdown of the B2C market size in the product sales field, “food, beverages, alcoholic beverages” (JP¥ 2,750.5 billion), “household appliances, AV equipment, PCs, peripherals, etc.” (JP¥ 2,552.8 billion), “Clothing, clothing miscellaneous goods, etc.“(JP¥ 2,549.9 billion) and “household goods, furniture, interior goods” (JP¥ 2,354.1 billion) accounted for the largest share. They accounted for 73% of the field.

Since 2016, C2C market size estimation has been carried out based on the rapid expansion of person-to-person EC = C2C as one of the EC channels. The C2C market size in 2022 is estimated to be JP¥ 2,363 billion (6.8% increase from the previous year). On the other hand, the cross-border e-commerce (B2C) market size among Japan, the United States, and China has increased in all three countries. The amount of cross-border EC purchases by Chinese consumers from Japanese businesses was JP¥ 2,256.9 billion (up 5.6% year-on-year), and the amount of cross-border EC purchases from US businesses was JP¥ 2,749.9 billion (up 6.7% year-on-year). The both continued to increase from the previous year.

METI website (in Japanese):
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2023/08/20230831002/20230831002.html