Weekly Japanese Industry and Policy News (Jan. 19-25, 2024)

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. 

Nippon Shokubai and RIKEN develop a new marine biodegradable plastic that easily decomposes in the ocean
Nippon Shokubai and RIKEN announced on January 18 that they have successfully developed a new marine biodegradable plastic. The two parties have focused on polymers with a basic skeleton of polyethylene succinate (PES) and have been proceeding with the structural design and development of new marine biodegradable plastics. PES has high gas barrier properties and is characterized by being biodegradable in soil and rivers.

Nippon Shokubai has manufacturing know-how, having conducted pilot production of PES in the past, but the problem was that PES is difficult to decompose in the ocean. This time, the two researchers discovered that a polymer in which long-chain dicarboxylic acid units have been introduced into PES exhibits marine biodegradability comparable to cellulose, which is easily biodegradable in the ocean. Due to these characteristics, it is expected to be used in a variety of applications, including packaging materials, agricultural materials, and civil engineering and construction materials.

NIPPON SHOKUBAI website:
https://www.shokubai.co.jp/en/news/2024011813549/

Mitsubishi Materials launches recycled metal brand tin and lead
On January 16, Mitsubishi Materials announced that it would launch and sell the first recycled metal brand "REMINE," that clearly indicates the content of recycled materials in nonferrous metal products. The new brand will handle non-ferrous metal products that utilize recycling technology, which is the company's strength. The recycled material content was calculated in accordance with the international standard ISO14021 (JIS Q14021) and verified by a third-party organization (SGS Japan).

The first products are electrolytic tin with 100% recycled content and electrolytic lead with over 99.6% recycled content. The Mitsubishi Materials Ikuno Works, which manufactures electrolytic tin, and Hosokura Metal Mining, which manufactures electrolytic lead, are scheduled to run on 100% renewable energy from 2024 onwards. In order to strengthen its recycling business, the company announced in March 2023 that it would invest in Exurban, a major UK metal recycling company.

Mitsubishi Materials website:
https://www.mmc.co.jp/corporate/en/news/2024/news20240116.html

Lunar probe successfully transmits data
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s unmanned spacecraft “SLIM“ successfully landed on the moon in the early hours of January 20. This is the first time for Japan and the fifth country in the world to do so. However, the main power source, the solar cells, is not functioning, so the lunar surface observation may be shortened from the originally expected several days to just a few hours. Regarding this, JAXA revealed on January 22 that the power was intentionally turned off after “SLIM” sent image data from the moon landing to Earth. JAXA will analyze the transmitted image data and verify the success or failure of a "pinpoint landing" with an error of less than 100 meters.

The solar cells, which were supposed to be the main power source after landing, were originally supposed to face up to receive sunlight, but they were instead facing west. It appears that the plant was unable to generate electricity due to lack of sunlight. If the spacecraft is positioned on the lunar surface to receive sunlight from the sun, and the solar cells are exposed to sunlight, it may be possible to generate electricity. JAXA is making preparations to restore power generation functions.

“SlIM” was the third Japanese mission to land on the moon. JAXA launched the “Omotenashi” probe in 2022, but communications were lost during the flight to the moon. In 2023, a lander from “iSpace”, a private startup aiming to commercialize a cargo transportation service to the moon, attempted to land, but miscalculated its altitude and crashed into the moon's surface.

JAXA website:
https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2024/01/20240120-1_e.html

Sumitomo Corporation creates CDR credits with Norwegian company
Sumitomo Corporation announced on January 22 that it has invested in Norwegian carbon removal startup Inherit Carbon Solutions AS. Utilizing Inherit's CDR creation know-how, it will expand our CCUS business globally. CDR stands for Carbon Dioxide Removal and refers to the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Since its establishment in 2021, Inherit has developed its business by leveraging its rich connections with biomethane producers in Northern Europe and the right to use CO2 reservoirs. The company aims to expand the issuance of CDR-derived credits from 2025, and has already entered into sales agreements with Microsoft and other companies.

According to Sumitomo Corporation, the market for carbon credits issued through the use of negative emissions technologies such as atmospheric CO2 capture and storage (DACCS) and bioenergy CO2 capture and storage (BECCS) currently stands at US$ 2.1 billion. It is estimated that it will grow to US$ 80 billion by 2030. By combining its global network with Inherit's CO2 removal know-how, the company will create CDR credits while securing carbon storage interests in Europe, America and Asia, and is expected to see an increase in demand for credits. In addition to selling to the aviation and shipping industries, the company also aims to sell to Japanese companies in the future.

Sumitomo website:
https://www.sumitomocorp.com/en/jp/news/topics/2024/group/20240122

METI signs memorandum on energy transition with Turkmenistan
On January 22, METI Minister Saito held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Meredov of Turkmenistan, and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the economic and energy fields. After the meeting, they concluded an intergovernmental memorandum on energy transition, and witnessed the signing of a gas to gasoline (GTG) memorandum between Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., ITOCHU Corporation, and Turkmenhimiya.
Turkmenistan is the third Central Asian country to conclude an intergovernmental memorandum, following Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in early January. In September 2023, METI established a framework for regular dialogue with the five Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan to support cooperation in decarbonization technology.

METI website (in Japanese):
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2023/01/20240122007/20240122007.html

Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas to participate in joint study of e-methane production in UAE
Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas announced on January 23 that they will participate in a joint study of an e-methane production project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This project is that INPEX has been working on with Masdar, the UAE's state-owned renewable energy giant, since 2023. In this initiative, they will produce e-methane equivalent to 1% of the annual gas demand of Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas and evaluate the effect of reducing CO2 emissions associated with methane production. The two companies aim to replace 1% of annual city gas demand with e-methane by 2030, and further expand its use by 2050 through projects in Japan and abroad. Masdar is a company leading clean energy development in the UAE. Since 2008, the company has been promoting green hydrogen development, with the goal of producing 1 million tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030.

Tokyo gas website:
https://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/en/IR/support/pdf/20240123-01e.pdf

Japan and Vietnam hold dialogue on environmental policy
On January 23, the Ministry of the Environment announced the results of the Japan-Vietnam environmental policy dialogue held earlier this month. The direction of future cooperation in areas such as climate change countermeasures, plastic pollution, waste management, and air pollution was confirmed. The two governments have held seven environmental policy dialogues since 2013, and signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) in 2016 and 2020. This time, MOU was updated and the 8th Environmental Policy Dialogue was held.

In terms of climate change countermeasures, they will cooperate by utilizing the Bilateral Credit Mechanism (JCM), which has already been used in more than 40 projects in Vietnam, by utilizing the Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Partnership, and by promoting the introduction of early warning systems through public-private partnerships. Japan also called for the early convening of the Japan-Vietnam JCM joint committee.

During the event, a completion ceremony was held for a waste-to-energy facility in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam, which was attended by Japan's Deputy Minister of the Environment and the implementing company, JFE Engineering. The facility will generate approximately 11.6MW of electricity and will be able to incinerate 500 tons of waste per day. GHG reduction is expected to be approximately 40,000 t-CO2 per year.

Ministry of the Environment website (in Japanese):
https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_02637.html