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. 

Weekly Japanese Industry and Policy News (Jan. 6-Jan. 12, 2023)

Sumitomo Forestry to construct a 7-story wooden office building in the United States
Sumitomo Forestry announced on December 26 that it will construct a wooden seven-story ESG-friendly office near Dallas, Texas, USA. Iino Shipping Co., Ltd. and Kumagai Gumi Co., Ltd. will participate in this project. This office building is a 7-story wooden structure with a rental area of 22,548m2, and is characterized by design that takes into account environmental performance such as the carbon fixing effect of wood. About 3,800 tons of carbon is fixed by wood used for building materials, etc. The building method is mass timber construction. This method is a relatively large-mass engineered wood made by combining multiple woods which significantly reduces CO2 emissions compared to general reinforced concrete (RC) construction. A trial calculation using software that visualizes CO2 emissions "One Click LCA" shows that the amount of CO2 emissions during construction can be reduced by about 2,600 tons in compared to RC construction. 

Sumitomo Forestry website:
https://sfc.jp/english/news/pdf/20221226_01.pdf

Sony-Honda launches sedan EV "AFEELA" in spring 2026
The Sony Group announced on January 4 that the brand name of the electric vehicle (EV) that will start accepting orders in 2025 through a joint venture with Honda will be "AFEELA." The announcement was made at a press conference ahead of CES, the world's largest technology trade fair, which opens on January 5. Sony Group established "Sony-Honda Mobility" as a fifty-fifty joint venture with Honda. The company will start accepting orders for EVs in the first half of 2025, and plans to start deliveries in North America in the spring of 2026 and in Japan in the second half of the same year. The company will partner with Qualcomm in the US for the development of the first EV, and will collaborate with Epic Games, a major US game company, for entertainment such as games that can be enjoyed in the car.

YouTube CES® 2023 Press Conference Sony Official:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVMcjxW68Bc

METI signs Memorandum of Cooperation with U.S. on human rights in supply chains 
On January 6, 2023 (U.S.), Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura and U.S. Trade Representative Tai signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for the establishment of the Japan-U.S. Task Force on Promoting Human Rights and International Labor Standards in Supply Chains. This task force provides guidance, reports, best practices, lessons learned, laws, policies, enforcement practices, etc., with the aim of promoting companies' respect for human rights in supply chains and the protection of internationally recognized labor rights. The members of the task force will include the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Japanese side, and the US Trade Representative, Department of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of National Security, Department of Labor, Department of State, and the United States Agency for International Development on the US side. 

METI website:
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2022/01/20230107003/20230107003-1.pdf

Domestic new car sales in 2022 sluggish to the level of 50 years ago 4.2 million units, down 5.6% from the previous year
The Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Light Motor Vehicle Association announced on January 5 that the number of new vehicles sold in 2022 (total of registered vehicles and light vehicles) was 4,201,321 units (down 5.6% from the previous year) decreasing for four consecutive years. It fell below the year 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake (4,210,220 units), and the market scale returned to the level of about 50 years ago. The number of registered vehicles was 2,563,184 (down 8.3% year-on-year). It fell below 3 million units for the third consecutive year and fell to the second lowest level since statistics began in 1968. Light-vehicles were 1,638,137 units (down 0.9% year-on-year), the second lowest level after 2011. In addition to the shortage of semiconductors, the supply chain (supply network) continued to be confused due to the COVID crisis, and the production adjustment of finished cars was prolonged.

Japan Automobile Dealers Association website (in Japanese):
http://www.jada.or.jp/data/month/m-r-hanbai/m-r-type/

Federation of National Light Motor Vehicle Association website (in Japanese):
https://www.zenkeijikyo.or.jp/statistics/4soku

METI and U.S. government release joint statement on energy security and clean energy transition
On January 9, 2023, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Granholm to discuss the strengthening of clean energy cooperation and nuclear cooperation in light of the circumstances surrounding global energy security and both sides issued a joint statement. The points of the joint statement are 1) support for upstream investment in the United States to strengthen energy security, 2) development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors, maximum utilization of existing reactors, building a robust supply chain for nuclear fuel including uranium fuel and nuclear parts 3) strengthening policies on clean hydrogen and ammonia and continuing cooperation between Japanese and U.S. companies 4) Confirming and promoting the progress of the Japan-U.S. Clean Energy and Energy Security Initiative (CEESI), etc. 

METI website:
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2022/01/20230111003/20230111003-3.pdf

JFE Steel acquires blue credits for seaweed bed development project using steel slag products
JFE Steel announced on January 10 that it has acquired "J Blue Credit" certification for its seaweed bed development project using iron and steel slag products in the sea area of Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The certified absorption amount is 79.6t-CO2 (as the amount of CO2 absorbed and fixed from 2018 to 2022). In this project, from 2013 to 2018, in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, approximately 3.6 hectares of rocky seagrass beds were created using recycled steel slag products. On the shore side of the created seaweed bed, the distribution of the seaweed bed expanded and the amount of CO2 absorbed increased due to the improvement of the seaweed growth environment conditions associated with the suppression of the flow field. In addition, it was confirmed that the formation of seaweed beds attracts useful fish. In recent years, research of “blue carbon” has been progressing which is absorbed and fixed by living organisms in the ocean.

JFE website (in Japanese):
https://www.jfe-steel.co.jp/release/2023/01/230110.html