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A monthly review of the latest developments in Japan’s IT, telecom, and life sciences sectors

December 2005 - Volume VIII, Issue XII

Triangle Technologies is the leading Japan Israel business development and investment advisory firm
www.triangletech.com

Dan's Desk

From Triangle's CEO

I have seen the following happen a few times and, for the life of me, I cannot explain it. Maybe you can help me.

I have always been impressed by the extreme considerateness in Japanese society at a personal level. People tend to go out of their ways to anticipate and show concern for others' feelings. I guess this is ingrained from a very young age. I have probably mentioned this before but a small but indicative manifestation of this is the way people leave elevators, turning back to press the "close door" button as they walk out. I'll never forget how I walked with suitcases out of a train station in Akasaka-Mitsuke, into the pouring rain, and a man came over and crossed the street with me while protecting me with his umbrella.

This other-centered considerateness translates into the business world as well. One partner will often show extreme considerateness for the other partner's needs, constraints. A big example - during the 1991 Gulf War when many businesses shut down their international purchasing, causing serious cash flow issues with many suppliers, one of Israel's leading metal products companies asked its Japanese partner to help out and received an advance order of millions of dollars.

Yet, from time to time, I experience or witness a complete and total lack of empathy or understanding of the other side. A large customer can put a small, foreign supplier through endless hoops of fire (in Hebrew we call this the "seven degrees of hell") and then simply say "no," with no thanks or sign of appreciation. A company can make a decision that negates, ignores, or belittles an extremely significant contribution by a potential partner. We had that experience a few years back when we helped a Japanese firm license a strategic piece of technology, and then were shunned when we asked for our commission (we still have a legal path we can pursue, but have intentionally not exercised).

All the instances (about 5 or 6) I have witnessed so far have been with large Japanese companies, and perhaps that is the explanation - the large companies simply don't understand the small company mentality, and thus considerateness is difficult if not impossible.

What to do if this happens to you? Here is a hint. I worked really hard two years ago to win an OEM agreement with a large Japanese electronics manufacturer in favor of one of our clients. Many trips and literally 100's of man hours later (I guess around 200-300), when I came to Japan to meet them, the Japanese firm simply said "no". My trip was in vain, and ended in a 45 minute meeting. Of course I was disappointed and angry. And of course I did not express any of this. We stayed in touch with Mr. OEM, and lo and behold, as the earth spins around, a few months ago we won the OEM agreement with the company.

Well, as my fifth grade teacher would say, "a word to the wise is sufficient." Good luck, and happy holiday season and happy new year!

Dan

***TRIANGLE TECHNOLOGIES NEWS***

No official news this time.

ISRAEL-JAPAN NEWS

Rumours about intentions of Mr. Koizumi to visit Israel.
Let’s wait patiently.

***BUSINESS NEWS***

+SHARP LEADS THE CELLULAR HANDSETS MARKET

(MM Soken based on the period from April through September, Dec 10) – Japanese cellular handsets market is saturated with current domestic market share of:

+CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS UP 2.6%

(JapanToday, Dec 12th) - Japan's current account surplus grew 2.6% in October from a year earlier to 1,376.8 billion yen for the second straight month of increase, the Finance Ministry said. The rise in the surplus came as a growth in the income account surplus more than offset a dip in the surplus in trade in goods and services, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

+WHOLESALE PRICES RISE 1.9%

(JapanToday, Dec 12th) – Japan's wholesale prices rose 1.9% in November from a year earlier for the 21st straight monthly rise on the back of high oil prices, the Bank of Japan said. The prices, gauged by the BOJ's corporate goods price index, came to 98.6 against the base of 100 for 2000, the central bank said in a preliminary report.

+MOODY'S DOWNGRADES SONY

(JapanToday, Dec 9th) – Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded the ratings for long-term debts of Sony Corp and two affiliates — Sony Capital Corp and Sony Global Treasury Services Plc — to A2 from A1 in the belief it is likely to take time for Sony to regain its strong profit and cash flow generation patterns seen in the past. However, Moody's said it believes the outlook for the group is "stable" on the grounds business conditions will likely improve because of an ongoing restructuring program and bright prospects for its new flat-panel TVs.

***TECHNOLOGY NEWS***

+HONDA DEBUTS NEW ASIMO

(JCN Newswire, Dec 13) - Honda Motor Co. debuted a new ASIMO humanoid robot which features the ability to pursue key tasks in a real-life environment such as an office and an advanced level of physical capabilities. Compared to the previous model, the new ASIMO achieves the enhanced ability to act in sync with people - for example, walking with a person while holding hands. A new function to carry objects using a cart was also added. Further, the development of a "total control system" enables ASIMO to automatically perform the tasks of a receptionist or information guide and carry out delivery service. In addition, the running capability is dramatically improved, with ASIMO now capable of running at a speed of 6km/hour and of running in a circular pattern.

+KOREAN 3G HANDSETS HIT JAPAN MARKET

(JCN, Dec 9th) - KDDI/au has announced the roll-out of their A1405PT, made by Pantech & Curitel. The phone was jointly developed with KDDI and marks the first entry of a Korean maker's handset into the Japanese market. Touted, at 98 grams, as the 'lightest 3G handset' available in the market, it comes with a limited set of features (only a VGA camera, for example), but it does have an organic EL "Stream Screen" sub-display and has a built-in crime prevention buzzer function, a feature which was also just introduced by DoCoMo. We have seen Sanyo and Casio pushing into the U.S. market along with Sharp and NEC making moves in Europe. It's clearly becoming a two-way street with the recent launch of Motorola's M-1000 with DoCoMo, who have also indicated that LG and Nokia models are in the pipeline.

+WORLD'S FIRST NOISE COUNTERMEASURE PRODUCTS FOR TERRESTRIAL DIGITAL BROADCAST COMPATIBLE CELL PHONES

(JCN Newswire, Dec 12th) - TDK Corporation announced the MEA2010PE series of multilayer chip EMI filter arrays, the world's first noise countermeasure products for use in mobile terminals that can receive terrestrial digital broadcasts. Production of the new filter arrays is scheduled to begin this month. Terrestrial digital television broadcasts for mobile terminals are scheduled to begin in Japan in April 2006. Terrestrial digital broadcasts are also progressing in Europe and other regions. In conjunction with these developments, development and use of television tuners designed specifically for cell phones and notebook PCs is increasing rapidly. When such tuners are used in cell phones, in addition to the communications band (800 MHz - 2 GHz), a broadcast band (470 MHz - 770 MHz) is also utilized, and as a result, noise countermeasures are crucial in device design and miniaturization. TDK's filter arrays package is just 2.0 mm X 1.0 mm X 0.7 mm in size.

+FUJITSU PIONEERS USE OF CARBON NANOTUBES FOR HEATSINKS FOR SEMICONDUCTORS

(JCN Newswire, Dec 5th) - Fujitsu Laboratories succeeded in the world's first development of carbon nanotube based heatsinks for semiconductor chips. The use of carbon nanotubes as heatsinks for high-frequency high power amplifiers successfully achieves heat dissipation and high amplification simultaneously. The new technology represents a major step forward in developing practical applications that take advantage of the superior thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes. It also enables the realization of high-performance amplifiers with high frequency and high power for next-generation mobile communication systems. Fujitsu's new technology enables the simultaneous achievement of high amplification and heat dissipation, in high-frequency, high power amplifiers

***LIFE SCIENCES AND ENVIRONMENT NEWS***

+CHINA CHEMICAL SPILL MAY REACH JAPAN

(www.japantimes.co.jp, Dec 4)- A benzene chemical spill from a plant explosion in Jilin Province in the middle of China is making its way via Russia to the Sea of Japan, according to a Russian environmental expert. The pollution will exit at the Amur River estuary during December 13 through 15, then migrate towards Hokkaido. It is likely that if sea currents do move the chemical spill south then there will be a ban on fishing in and around Hokkaido.

+EPSON STYLUS C67 AWARDED THE HONG KONG GREEN LABEL

(JCN, Dec 12) - Epson Hong Kong announced that the Epson Stylus C67 had become the first ever product to be awarded the Hong Kong Green Label in the Inkjet/ Laser printer product category. The award was presented at the Green Council's fifth anniversary reception on December 9. The Stylus was recognized for its recycle-friendly design, its low energy consumption, and for the successful efforts to remove substances such as lead and cadmium from its plastic parts.

+TOSHIBA DEVELOPS MEMS-BASED CELL MANIPULATION METHOD

(JCN, Dec 8th) - Toshiba has developed an innovative cell manipulation method, which uses a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device to incorporate nano silica particles into yeast cells. In the new method, nano particles are minutely vibrated using the MEMS device so that they can adhere to cell surfaces in a solution containing the particles and the cells. As the particles are continued to be vibrated while being attached to the cell surfaces, the vibrations are converted into heat and the particles are physically acted upon and are subsequently incorporated into the cells. The company has prototyped a MEMS device which is built on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) chip with a 4x4mm mechanical diaphragm that has 130x130 water-repellant diode vibration dishes, about 20x20 microns square each. Toshiba expects that the new method will contribute to a wide range of research in biological and medical sciences. Specifically, it aims to establish a new method that can selectively act on cells without resorting to chemical methods.