Topics covered on the December 2023 issue:

・This was compiled by “Weekly Japanese Industrial and Policy News”.

Legislation and Policy News
-    Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism cancels communication of takeoff order following Haneda Airport accident
-    METI signs memorandum on energy transition with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
-    METI signs memorandum on energy transition with Turkmenistan
-    Japan and Vietnam hold dialogue on environmental policy
-    METI provides JP¥ 45.2 billion subsidies for NTT's next-generation optical semiconductors
-    All-Japan organization starts to formulate UN standards for battery replaceable EVs

Survey and Business Data
-    Private sector experts recommend ambitious goals for population policy to the government: “Growth potential with 80 million people”
-    OECD recommends abolishing retirement age in Japan
-    Emissions reduction falls short of government target of 46%
-    Inbound visitor spending in 2023 was a record high of over JP¥ 5 trillion, with a total of 25.06 million people
-    Chinese business confidence in 2024 is likely to worsen at 39%, survey by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in China

Company & Organization News
-    Asahi Kasei develops high-precision semiconductor that can monitor infant breathing
-    Sony Honda partners with Microsoft to equip EVs with generation AI
-    Mitsui O.S.K. Lines collaborates with fertilizer giant Yara to build ammonia supply chain
-    Obayashi Corporation begins green hydrogen production demonstration project in New Zealand and Fiji
-    Mitsui & Co. begins methanol production in the U.S. using factory CO2 emissions
-    Itochu launches environmentally friendly flooring materials made in France in Japan
-    Mitsui & Co. opens factory in Brazil to mass produce biofuel for ships
-    ORIX supplies renewable electricity to Amazon at a fixed price in Europe
-    Nippon Shokubai and RIKEN develop a new marine biodegradable plastic that easily decomposes in the ocean
-    Mitsubishi Materials launches recycled metal brand tin and lead
-    Sumitomo Corporation creates CDR credits with Norwegian company
-    Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas to participate in joint study of e-methane production in UAE
-    Kawasaki Heavy Industries commercializes platform to support hydrogen distribution
-    Four companies including NYK Line will complete a ship equipped with ammonia co-combustion engine in 2026
-    Marubeni strengthens biorefinery business in collaboration with Finnish company
-    Honda and GM begin production of fuel cells, reducing manufacturing costs to one-third
-    OMRON connects to Catena-X to visualize supply chain GHG emissions
-    Toyota, good and bad

Other topics
-    Japanese passport allows to travel to 194 countries and regions without visa
-    Lunar probe successfully transmits data
-    JAXA's lunar surface probe "SLIM" resumes observations

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