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Nikkei Ecology

July 2004 Issue

Cover Story

Predicting the top players for 2010

Japan dispatches five environmental technologies


Japan leads world in five environmental technologies
- Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC)
- Gasification of biomass
- Electronic devices manufactured with printing techniques
- Thin film solar cells
- Separation and fixation of carbon dioxide (CO₂)


Dream technologies from Japan
- Aero-Train (Tohoku University)
- Ocean thermal energy conversion (Xenesys Inc.)
- New nuclear transmutation (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)


Special interviews
- Takeo Fukui, president of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Kentaro Aikawa, president of the Japan Machinery Federation
- Hajime Karatsu, professor emeritus of Tokai University

Technology Frontline

Products
[Dishwasher/drier] Water consumption is successfully reduced without sacrificing the washing results

Trend
[Biomass-derived gasoline] Gasoline is made from sewage sludge

Elements
[Paper optical disk] Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. and Sony Corporation develop optical disks made from paper by fully utilizing printing technologies

Technological people
Masaru Kurihara of Toray Industries, Inc. develops water purifying technology that enables cities with a population of over a million to supply its residents with enough fresh water from seawater

“Honor students” in recycling
[Recycled paper] Reformed technologies for foreign object removal and de-inking processes stop the declining quality of recycled paper


Technology news clips

Learn about environmental laws
Easy-to-understand Environmental Law
[Revised Waste Management and Public Cleaning Law] Repeated revisions aim at eradication of illegal disposal

This month’s environmental law
Two revision plans are approved for the Law Relating to the Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disaster

Environmental laws Q & A
Why only a small number of items are added to the designated product list in the Law Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-friendly Goods and Services by the State and Other Entities (“Green Procurement Law”)?

Taro Kono’s report from the Diet
Policy making should be in the hands of politicians, not in the logic of bureaucracy

Trend and News

Is Russia moving toward ratification of the Kyoto Protocol?
“We should not rejoice prematurely at the remark by President Putin”: Yuriko Koike, minister of the Environment

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry advocates more energy saving efforts both in demand and supply, because 6% reduction of CO₂ emission from the 1990 level seems unfeasible

“Carbon funds have high investment efficiencies”: the World Bank is hopeful for the effectuation of the Protocol

Illegal waste dumping
Ministry of the Environment is to restrengthen corrective actions by the end of the year due to accumulated illegal waste amounting to 10.96 million tons


Recycling
China’s ban on waste plastic import from Japan urges improvement in quality control systems between the two countries

Biodiversity
The Invasive Alien Species Act is approved, causing conflicts with economic benefits as a result of selecting applicable species

CSR Frontline
Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) announces a “new” action charter in May

Expansion of EU increases the world’s interest in CSR

ECO interview
Yasuhiro Komatsu, president of FP Corporation: “Plastic food trays can be recycled endlessly”


ECO Column
Kankan Gakugaku (Active Argument over Environmental Issues)
Saburo Kawabuchi, president of Japan Football Association

Takuro Morinaga’s ECO Lifestyle
The people- and environment-friendly lifestyles of the 30s and 40s of the Showa Era (ca. 1955 to 1975)

Fieldwork Japan
A fuel cell car runs the roads of Yaku Island


Report
Vice-Rector Itaru Yasui’s “Eco Michelin”
Are electricity-only condominiums environmental-friendly?

Achieve the Top Sales with Eco Products!
“Daiseikai,” a Toshiba Carrier Corporation’s eco-friendly air conditioner for home-use

WorldWatch Institute
“Silent Winter” is coming in the wake of genetically modified rice cultivation

Inside-Out

[Antitheses of the Law for Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances] The faulty law gives a niche for the Osaka Method

ECO Seminar

New trend of ISO
[Self declaration Part 4] Self declaration movement is spreading among local businesses with a local ISO study group as a core body

New Environmental Study
[Modal shift in France] Trams run in 14 cities

Quick Guide to Environmental Key Words
Kyoto mechanism

Learn from Environmental Reports of Companies Overseas
Baxter International Inc. (U.S.A.)

World Trend

From EU: How to interpret European Regulations
Germany announces a “discussion paper” of the domestic law for waste electrical and electronic equipment

From U.K.
Carbon funds require more time and efforts before getting on the right track

From U.S.A.
How much water is required to make a cup of hot tea?

From Germany
Agreement on framework for emission reduction collapses

From China
Major consumer electronics manufacturers are speeding up to prepare waste product management system

Nikkei BP EcoManagement Forum

[ECOgraph] How effective is Life-cycle Impact Assessment Method based on Endpoint Modeling (LIME)?