26th Sept - UKTI Mission to Japan; Trains, British Embassy and first business meetngs

We offered the delegates the (easy) option of taking taxis to the British Embassy or the opportunity to navigate the train / subway system in Tokyo and it was a unanimous decision to take the trains! So we navigated our way to the British Embassy with 10 people and successfully made it intact.  Following a morning of briefing sessions at the British Embassy the delegates headed out to start the individual meetings with Japanese companies. Would everyone make it to every meeting?, would the Japanese companies respond positively? ......... reports and updates coming ...

Sept 26th - UKTI Mission to Japan - First taste of Japanese food

After a quick freshen up and time to relax at the hotel on Sunday afternoon the mission delegates headed  out for dinner at a local Izakaya Japanese restaurant.  There were smiles all round as the sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, tofu, tamago, yasai and sakana lined the table ....... and of course the odd beer and sake or two (as a night cap!).  It was then back to the hotel for an early night and a chance to charge up the batteries for a busy week ahead!

Sept 25th - UKTI Mission to Japan - delegates start arriving

Warm sunshine greeted delegates from East Midlands companies as they arrived in Japan this morning following long night flights from the UK. Seven people have now arrived in Japan looking to do business and a further 5 will follow over the coming week. Ian Morrison of UKTI East Midlands was the first to arrive, looking remarkably bright and breezy as he entered the arrivals hall at Narita International airport Tokyo.  The award for longest journey went to Mairi and Aidan from DeMontfort University who arrived almost 24 hours after leaving home due to a 3 hour wait on the tarmac during a changeover in Paris!  The group gathered and moved on to the hotel in Tokyo for a freshen up before heading out for a team dinner and the first taste of Japanese food.

Sept 25th - Keio University demonstrate Touchable 3D Character Projected Into a Real Environment

RePro3D, developed by a research group at Keio University, is a multi-perspective, naked eye 3D display in which viewers can touch a 3D character floating in midair.
The touchable 3D display is a combination of three elements. A mechanically-controlled model environment, a tactile interface and a glasses-free 3D integral imaging display.
“We use retro-reflective projection technology, using materials with special retro-reflective characteristics. This kind of material reflects light that enters back at the same angle it entered. Using this technology enables a display to show images at a different place from the light source.”
The input interface uses an infrared camera to recognize the movements of the user’s hand, and the character on screen reacts to the movements instantly. They are currently developing a system which can replicate the sensation of directly touching the image by having the user wear a tactile feedback device on their finger.
“There are many attractive characters in animations and games, but since those characters only exist within the screen, it feels a little lonely, and so we built this image display because we wanted to bring those characters into our real-world 3D space to play.”
Using past methods to display 3D images, it was hard to perfectly match the positions and images users were touching on the 3D display. But with this technology, it feels like you are touching the exact spot as you see it. In the future, they plan to build a touchable 3D display system that expands the size of the visible image, so that multiple people can be in the same space, and can share the same image.

Sept 25th - NTT DoCoMo unveils smartphone radiation 'jacket'

Japan’s top mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo on Thursday unveiled a smartphone with changeable “jackets” that measure bad breath, body fat and even radiation levels.

DoCoMo says it has developed technology that allows users to measure their own bodies or surroundings by slipping their smartphones inside sensor-embedded shells.

The company will showcase the technology at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies, a fair featuring the latest in high-end gadgetry, starting in early October near Tokyo.

“Many customers have been nervous about radiation since the Great East Japan Earthquake,” DoCoMo spokesman Daisuke Sakuma told AFP, referring to the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami of March 11 that sparked a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima atomic plant.

“We had been thinking what services we can provide to address these customer needs as a telecom carrier.”

The tsunami knocked out cooling systems at Fukushima Daiichi, sparking meltdowns that sent radioactive materials into the air, soil and sea.

Worries over the health implications of the leak, which is still not plugged, have sent demand for radiation-measuring devices soaring in Japan.

DoCoMo will show off three kinds of “jacket” for use with a model of smartphone loaded with the appropriate software.

As well as radiation, the company said it would also demonstrate a case that determines if the holder has bad breath or smells of alcohol as well as checking levels of skin-damaging ultraviolet light.

A third case, dubbed the “health management” jacket, will measure body fat and muscle bulk

Sept 25th - 'Smart cities' bring high-tech green energy projects to devastated areas

Plans to rebuild many areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake as environmentally friendly "smart cities" are being explored by corporations and municipal governments.

By promoting large-scale projects that include power-generation facilities utilizing renewable energy and smart grids, the plans are also meant to create jobs. Some companies and local governments have already started working together on these projects.

Major electronics manufacturer Toshiba Corp. has proposed an integrated system, with facilities ranging from power generation and water-treatment systems to "smart meter" next-generation power meters, to some local governments.

An official of the company's smart community division said, "In the future, [we want] to export technologies created domestically."

Hitachi, Ltd. is considering ways to transport electricity generated at its factory in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, to evacuation centers by buses equipped with storage batteries in the event of a disaster.

Plans to construct mega solar power plants are also under way. Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is considering building a mega solar power plant on quake-hit vacant land, and SoftBank Corp. has established an organization to promote cooperation with local governments across the country.

Local governments in quake-hit areas are eager to restore their infrastructure by introducing smart city and mega solar power projects.

Rikuzen-Takata in Iwate Prefecture is considering a mega solar and large-scale power storage system in collaboration with Ofunato and Sumitacho in the prefecture. The plan aims to build a smart city and create jobs, according to an official at the Rikuzen-Takata municipal government.

Sendai is also considering a plan to build a solar power plant on devastated farmland in the city and run food processing facilities with electricity from the plant.

However, the plans being considered by companies and local governments are based on the precondition that the use of farmland will be deregulated and tax breaks will be available.

The central government's support and encouragement of companies and local governments are indispensable for the restoration of devastated areas.

Sept 25th - Elpida plans to move part of production to Taiwan

Elpida Memory, Inc. announced Thursday it would transfer up to 40 percent of the production capacity at its Hiroshima plant to its subsidiary in Taiwan, in response to the extremely strong yen and rapid deterioration of the market.

Elpida, the world's third-largest manufacturer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, said it was considering incrementally transferring the production capacity at its plant in Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, to its cost-competitive subsidiary Rexchip Electronics Corp. in Taiwan.

The Hiroshima plant will focus on products for smartphones.

Elpida said it would maintain employment by transferring affected workers within the Elpida group.

Moves to transfer production and other operation bases overseas are accelerating among manufacturers, whose business environment is deteriorating due to the high appreciation of the yen.

Panasonic Corp. plans to transfer part of its parts procurement and distribution functions to Singapore in the first half of fiscal 2012, sources said Thursday.

The sources said Panasonic will transfer about 20 of the 120 employees of its procurement and distribution headquarters in Osaka to Singapore. A base in Singapore will serve as a center for parts procurement abroad.

Panasonic also will reduce the number of companies from which it procures parts to about 10,000, down 40 percent from the current level of about 18,000, in fiscal 2012. The company aims to cut annual costs by about 60 billion yen through a central purchasing system, the sources said.

Sep 25th - Docomo smartphone app translates menus

NTT Docomo Inc. has released a free smartphone application that translates English, Chinese and Korean restaurant menus into Japanese in a split second.

The software will be available free of charge until Jan. 16. The company will collect user feedback to help improve the technology for future commercial use.

Users train the smartphone's camera on a restaurant menu, and the text is automatically translated in about 0.2 seconds. The translated text appears on the smartphone screen.

The software can be downloaded from the Android Market online store, and can be used on smartphones with Google Inc.'s Android operating system, version 2.1 or later. Docomo plans to develop the technology to also provide instant translations of signboards, product packaging and other written information.

Sep 25th - Rakuten invests £25M to acquire Play.com

A Japanese internet service company is buying e-commerce website Play.com – which employs 200 people in Histon, Cambridge

Rakuten is paying £25 million for the Jersey-based firm, which has a total of 500 staff, including the people at Vision Park, Histon.

It’s the company’s third acquisition in Europe – it bought French e-commerce pioneer PriceMinister last year and German online shopping mall Tadoria earlier this year.

It now operates e-commerce businesses in 10 countries around the world, including Japan.

“The UK market is one of Europe’s largest and most mature e-commerce markets,” said Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman and chief executive of Rakuten.

“Play.com is not only a pioneer in the market but also one of the UK’s most successful e-commerce businesses.

“We aim to leverage our e-commerce strength and experience to further expand and develop Play.com’s business model and channel its loyal user base, merchants and deep product offerings into Rakuten’s global e-commerce network.”

Aug 23rd - Sharp introduced three new AQUOS Blu-Ray recorders with enhanced Wireless connectivity

Sharp announced yesterday three new AQUOS Blu-Ray recorder with the 2TB BD-W2000, 1TB BD-W1000 and 500GB BD-W500. While each models comes with basic features found on such products, they however integrate for the first time in these models, a SKYPerfectTV! Tuner, as well as the usual Digital ones, Wireless and DLNA connectivity as well as being now featuring Sharp’s “Wi-Fi Connection” that will allow to get direct access to all your recorded program from any Wired or Wireless compatible Sharp AQUOS TVs but also directly from your Sharp AQUOS Smartphone.
Working only within your home network this service could be a real killer if Sharp would at least let people stream contents on their tablets or phone on the go.

Aug 23rd - Molycorp to open office in Tokyo

Molycorp, Inc, the western hemisphere’s only producer of rare earth oxides and the largest producer outside of China, announced that it is opening an office in Tokyo in order to better serve its customers there and to build new relationships in the world’s largest rare earth consuming nation outside of China.

The office will provide customer support as well as consulting and technical services to Molycorp’s customers in Japan. 

“We are very pleased to be opening a Molycorp office in Tokyo,” said Mark A Smith, Molycorp President and Chief Executive Officer. “This will help us better serve our many valued customers in Japan, as well as help us forge new relationships, improve communications, and increase our understanding of the needs of this very important market. Coupled with our offices in Europe and the U.S., this provides Molycorp with a more comprehensive global reach and will help us significantly improve our customer service capabilities.”

Smith said that Molycorp plans to host an open house event in the Molycorp Tokyo office in the fall.

Aug 23rd - Sanken offering switching power supply ICs with 10mW no-load consumption

Sanken today announced the development of new switching power supply ICs, STR3A100 series, featuring the industry’s top-class power consumption of only 10 mW at no load. Samples will be available in August 2011, priced at JPY 450 each. Volume production will begin in October 2011, starting at one million units per month, ramping up to 4 million units per month by April 2012.
1.	Development background and product overview
	Today’s home appliances and office machines require efficient operations, consuming less power than ever before. Various countries set regulatory standards on not only operating power efficiency but also on standby power consumptions (*1). Consumers’ environmental awareness is also increasing, prompting appliance and office equipment manufacturers to develop products that meet standby power requirement standards. *1. Such as the U.S. ENERGY STAR label requirements (for products that consume 1.0 W or less) and the European Union’s Ecodesign initiatives (applicable to products that consume 1.0 W or less: to be lowered to 0.5 W or less in 2012) To lower equipment’s standby power consumption levels, a switching power supply IC that features lower power consumption at no load is required.  Up to now, Sanken’s lineup of switching power supply ICs featured no-load power consumption of as low as 25 mW. With improved internal circuitries, STR3A100 series has attained no-load power consumption of 10 mW, a 60% reduction.  STR3A100 series come in a new, heat-resistant DIP8 package. Previous switching power supply ICs in a DIP8 package were limited in output power to about 20W. Thus, any equipment, such as small televisions, Blu-ray disc players, air conditioners, and other, whose output power exceeded the 20 W limit, would require TO220F package with attached heat sink.  STR3A100’s new heat-resistant DIP8 package enables maximum output power of 40 W, nearly doubling the capability of earlier DIP8 packages. STR3A100’s DIP8 may replace TO220F and significantly reduce the size of the equipment’s power block.  Pin layout has also been redesigned. The distance between the high and low-voltage pins is extended from 5.08 mm to 7.6 mm, eliminating the need for time-consuming application of isolation resin between the pins. Thus, STR3A100 series are ideal for air conditioners with strict isolation requirements between the high and low-voltage pins that are placed close together.
2.	Features
	(1)Improved internal circuits achieved significant reduction in no-load power consumption to 10 mW. (2)New, heat-resistant DIP8 package (resin dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 3.4 mm) offer higher output power to 40 W (3)Improved pin layout extended distance between high and low-voltage pins from 5.08 mm to 7.6 mm (4)Random switching function reduces EMI noise (5)Guaranteed avalanche energy tolerance simplifies the design of snubber circuit,using a 2-chip structure (6)Overvoltage protection and overheating protection functions
3.	Applications
	Secondary and standby power supplies for FPD TVs and audio amplifiers, power supply for Blu-ray Disc players, CD players, and small televisions, auxiliary power supply for air conditioner units, AC adapter for mobile phones and game devices, etc.
4.	Lineup
	Product Name MOS FET Pout VDSS (V) RDS (ON) (Ω) 230 V/85 to 264 V STR3A151 650 4.0 16 W/12 W STR3A152 650 3.0 23 W/20 W STR3A153 650 1.9 36 W/30 W STR3A154 650 1.4 40 W/33 W STR3A155 650 1.1 43 W/35 W

Aug 23rd - Samsung to supply CPU for Sony PSP Vita

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA UNVEILS
EXCITING DETAILS ABOUT NEXT GENERATION HARDWARE AND
EXCLUSIVE SOFTWARE
SCEA Continues Long-Standing Tradition of Delivering Groundbreaking Technology and
Unrivaled Content at the 2011 E3 Media & Business Summit

Los Angeles, California, June 6, 2011– Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. (SCEA) today announced at its annual press conference at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles, Calif., a stunning line-up of PlayStation® products, services and exclusive content that will change the way consumers experience their favorite games and entertainment at home and on-the-go.

"We are dedicated to providing our consumers with the types of entertainment offerings that have made PlayStation a definitive leader in the gaming and portable entertainment industries for more than 15 years," said Jack Tretton, CEO and President of SCEA. "With the official North American unveiling of PlayStation®Vita as well as the introduction of an extensive line-up of software, hardware and services, the PlayStation platform has never been stronger or more exciting for our customers. We believe that 2011 will be a defining year as we usher in a new era of portable gaming and drive widespread adoption of 3D through our content and hardware offerings."

Introducing PlayStation®Vita

In March 2005, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system defined new standards in portable entertainment and provided game enthusiasts worldwide with a new way to experience games outside of their living room. The PSP system broke through traditional boundaries then and has gone on to sell more than 70 million units since its launch. In January, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) announced a new portable device for a new generation of gamers --- the next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP).

Today, SCE announced PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) as the official platform name for NGP. A Wi-Fi model will be available for 24,980 yen (including tax) in Japan, $249 MSRP in US and €249 in Europe, while a 3G/Wi-Fi model will be available for 29,980 yen (including tax) in Japan, $299 MSRP in US and €299 in Europe. PS Vita will launch in the global market starting at the end of 2011.

Derived from the Latin word "Vita", which means "Life" this next generation portable entertainment system enables a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context.

The PS Vita system incorporates a beautiful 5-inch multi-touch organic light emitting diode (OLED) as the front display and a unique multi-touch pad on the rear. Together with the front touch screen and the rear touch pad, the PS Vita system offers new game play allowing users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through "touch, grab, trace, push and pull" finger motions. Also the PS Vita system features two analog sticks which enable a wider range of game genres to be brought into the portable experience.

In addition to the PS Vita system pricing, SCEA also revealed today that AT&T, which powers the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network, will be the exclusive service provider in the United States for the PS Vita system. The speed and coverage of AT&T’s mobile broadband network will ensure that PS Vita system users will remain connected to content and each other on the go.

On the content front, SCEA showcased a robust collection of software titles developed exclusively for the PS Vita system. Featured titles including UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss™, LittleBigPlanet™ and Ruin (working title), utilize the platform’s groundbreaking technology to make unprecedented immersive, interactive and social game play available on-the-go. UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss takes full advantage of PS Vita’s stunning OLED screen to deliver vibrant cinematic visuals and combines input from the front-touch screen and dual-analog sticks to create the most intuitive 3rd person shooter experience available on a portable system. Also making use of PS Vita’s unique feature set, LittleBigPlanet allows users to Play, Create and Share like never before with the system’s front touch screen and rear touch pad as well as its front and rear cameras. Finally,Ruin brings the ultimate social action RPG experience and also delivers interoperable compatibility for players to save their game on the PS Vita system and continue on at home using the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system. Adding to this selection of innovative games, SCEA unveiled a collection of PS Vita titles that will be available including wipEout®, ModNation™ Racers, Reality Fighter (working title), Super Stardust™ Delta,Sound Shapes, Hot Shots Golf®, Hustle Kings™ and more.

Additionally, conference attendees received a look at Capcom’s STREET FIGHTER® x TEKKEN® for the PS Vita system which will feature Cole MacGrath as a playable character from the popular PS3 franchise,inFAMOUS™.

PlayStation®3 system

Currently in its fifth year, the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system continues to experience tremendous momentum, recently surpassing 50 million units sold worldwide. To-date, more than 2,300 games have been made available for PS3 including 108 stereoscopic 3D titles and 184 PlayStation®Move titles, and that momentum continues into 2012. Expanding PS3 system’s industry-leading catalog of stereoscopic 3D games, SCEA presented a selection of new entries from fan-favorite series featuring full stereoscopic 3D support including UNCHARTED 3: Drake's Deception™, Resistance®3 and God of War®: Origins Collection. SCEA also announced the return of one of PlayStation’s most beloved franchises, Sly Cooper®: Thieves in Time™, which will treat players to an all-new adventure in stereoscopic 3D featuring classic characters, Sly, Murray and Bentley. In addition, SCEA introduced new titles utilizing the innovative PlayStation Move controller to deliver unique motion gaming experiences such as Everybody Dance™, Carnival Island (working title), and Medievil Moves: Deadmund's Quest™.

In addition to an unprecedented line-up of first-party titles, third-party support for the PS3 system has never been stronger. Content shown at the conference includes the highly anticipated first-person shooterBioShock Infinite from 2K and Irrational Games which will support the PlayStation Move motion controller, and will also include the original BioShock on the PS3 Blu-ray disc.

Additional exclusive content that will only be found on the PS3 system was announced for titles includingSaint’s Row: The Third from THQ, Electronic Arts’ SSX™, Need for Speed™ The Run, and Battlefield 3™. For Battlefield 3, the PS3 version promises to be bigger than any other as Electronic Arts will be using the extra storage capacity of the Blu-ray to add a second game to the disc, Battlefield 1943, one of the most popular games available on PlayStation®Network.

Innovations in stereoscopic 3D

As a leader in 3D entertainment and gaming, SCEA kicked off the 2011 press conference at E3 on the world’s largest 3D screen – showcasing a breadth of first- and third-party titles coming this year in 3D that is unmatched.

SCE today also announced the upcoming availability of the new PlayStation branded 3D Display. The 24-inch full HD LCD display will give PS3 users easy, affordable access to stereoscopic 3D entertainment. Available this fall, the 3D Display comes bundled with 3D Glasses, an HDMI cable and the highly anticipatedResistance 3 title from Insomniac Games for PlayStation®3 (PS3®) at an attractive recommended retail price (MSRP) of US$499.99. The 3D Glasses will also be sold separately, concurrently with the 3D Display launch for MSRP of US$69.99.

Designed to deliver the ultimate gaming experience, the 3D Display comes equipped with a special two-player feature, which allows two players playing a multi-player game to see individual, unique, full-screen images of gameplay using the bundled 3D Glasses and supported software title.

PlayStation®Network

With more than 77 million accounts worldwide, PlayStation®Network continues to be one of the largest networked entertainment platforms in the world and is the premier destination for games, TV and movies, sports and music entertainment. Today, SCEA announced that coming this fall , BestBuy’s CinemaNow video service will be accessible to PS3 owners, providing consumers with access to more than 12,000 of their favorite TV episodes and movies for rental or purchase.

Publisher support for PlayStation Network continues to remain strong as CCP introduced a new PlayStation Network exclusive title, Dust 514®, which will feature PlayStation Move support and also be made available for the PS Vita system. Another exciting game coming exclusively to the PS3 system and PlayStation Network in 2012 is Star Trek™ from Paramount Digital Entertainment. The game, which continues the adventure that director and producer J.J. Abrams envisioned with Star Trek™ (2009), boasts a story filled with action- packed combat and will be fully PlayStation Move enabled. Paramount Digital Entertainment will also offer an exclusive prequel to the game only on PlayStation Network.

About Sony Computer Entertainment LLC.

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and its online and network services the PlayStation®Network and PlayStation®Store. Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP and PS3 systems for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. serves as headquarters for all North American operations.

* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

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PlayStation, PS3 and PSP are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.