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. 

Government summarizes issues on financed emissions in promoting transition finance
On February 21, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Financial Services Agency, and the Ministry of the Environment announced that they
had launched the "Sub-Working on Financed Emissions to Promote Transition Finance in the Public and Private Sectors" together with 10 global private financial institutions and compiled an issue proposal paper. International financial alliances such as GFANZ, which major financial institutions support, have an ambitious goal of net zero emissions by financial institutions themselves, including financed emissions. 

However, there is the issue that some financial institutions may refrain from investing in or lending to high-emission industries due to concerns about the possibility of a temporary increase in financed emissions. For this reason, the relevant ministries and agencies took the lead in organizing the importance of transition finance and issues related to financed emissions. METI intends to contribute to international rule-making by examining and discussing how to specifically calculate and disclose financed emissions in the future.

METI website (in Japanese): https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2022/02/20230221002/20230221002.html

Tokyo foreign exchange market trading share hits record low of 4.4%, Bank of Japan
On February 21, the Bank of Japan released a report on trading trends in the Tokyo foreign exchange market. As of April 2022, Tokyo's trading share of the global foreign exchange market was 4.4%, the lowest since the survey began in 1986.

Although the JP yen's depreciation and the dollar's appreciation progressed rapidly, and trading volume reached a record high, the presence of the Tokyo market in foreign exchange trading has not increased. As of 2010, it ranked third with 6.2%, following the UK (36.7%) and the US (17.9%). It was overtaken by Singapore in 2013 and Hong Kong in 2016, and remained in fifth place until 2022. In the Tokyo market, 40% of transactions are in the JP yen, which is the country's currency. 

The JP yen's share of global forex trading has fallen to 8.3% from 11.6% 30 years ago, leading to a slump in Tokyo's market share. Even in JP yen trading, the share of the Tokyo market has declined, and trading in Singapore has increased. Singapore and Hong Kong have small transactions in their own currencies. 

It is increasing its presence as a foreign exchange market by increasing transactions in emerging country currencies, mainly the renminbi. Financial institutions and investment-related businesses are concentrated in these countries, enabling efficient transactions.

Bank of Japan website (in Japanese): https://www.boj.or.jp/research/wps_rev/rev_2023/rev23j03.htm

METI holds DX Summit, official public-private event of G7 digital and technology ministerial meeting
In preparation for the G7 Gunma Takasaki Digital and Technology Ministerial Meeting (to be held on April 29 and 30), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the World Economic Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan jointly host the G7 Digital and Technology Ministerial Meeting official event, the public-private event "Digital Transformation Summit" on April 28. 

Prior to the G7 Digital and Technology Ministerial Meeting, in addition to government officials, industry representatives, experts, and other multi-stakeholders gather and discuss at this summit on the premise of digital transformation (DX) and cyber-physical systems towards social change such as "Governance Issues and Responses in Promoting DX" and "DX for Realizing Green Transformation (GX) and Improving Well-being". 

METI website (in Japanese): https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2022/02/20230220001/20230216001.html

Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution website: https://initiatives.weforum.org/c4ir/home

Marubeni to sell low-carbon aluminum products that use renewable energy
Marubeni Corporation announced on February 16 that it will sell low-carbon aluminum products produced using renewable energy to a major Japanese transportation company. The aluminum will be produced using hydroelectric power at a New Zealand smelter owned by Rio Tinto, a major British-Australian resource company. 

In 2022, Marubeni and Rio Tinto formed a business alliance to sell aluminum products that visualize the production and supply history of raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first time for the company to sell low-carbon aluminum manufactured under this partnership. Purchasing companies can understand the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and can prove that they are considering ESG (environment, society, corporate governance). Marubeni will also sell carbon-neutral aluminum ingots, which emit zero CO2 emissions, by utilizing "carbon credits" that trade the amount of reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Marubeni website: https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2023/release/00022.html

Sony to release a camera that is easy for the visually impaired to shoot in March
Sony announced on February 21 that it will release a camera on March 24 that has functions that make it easy for people with visual impairments who cannot see well even with glasses to take pictures. Combined with QD laser technology, it is equipped with a mechanism that projects the image captured by the camera directly onto the retina so that even people with poor eyesight can recognize it as a clear image.

It combines the semiconductor laser technology of QD Laser and Sony's compact digital camera "Cyber-shot". By reflecting a laser beam of RGB (red, green, and blue), the three elements of color, with a small mirror and projecting it directly onto the retina of the eye, the image captured by the camera can be focused even for people with weak retina functions. make it recognizable in a way that matches

Visually impaired people with "low vision" are assumed to use it. Generally refers to people with visual acuity of less than 0.3 even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. In Japan, it is sometimes called "amblyopia". According to Sony, there are about 250 million people with low vision in the world, including about 1.45 million in Japan.

This product is only sold after actually experiencing it at a Sony retail store. In principle, one unit will be sold per person with a limited quantity. The price is JP¥ 109,800. In the future, the company plans to sell it in the United States as well.

Sony group website (in Japanese): https://www.sony.co.jp/corporate/information/news/202302/23-007/

Toyobo's FO membrane adopted for the world's first "pressure power generation plant"
On February 20, Toyobo announced that its hollow-fiber FO membrane (FO membrane) was adopted for the world's first commercial-scale osmotic power generation plant by Danish venture company SaltPower. The plant will be installed at Nobian's (Netherlands) salt plant in Mariager. Operation is scheduled to start in April 2023. 

Osmotic power generation is a mechanism that generates electricity using the osmotic pressure difference between two types of solutions. The plant to be installed this time utilizes the difference in salinity between fresh water and high-concentration salt water pumped up from underground rock salt layers for salt production. FO membranes have the property of allowing water molecules to pass through, but not allowing molecules larger than a certain size, such as salt, and ions to pass through. When high-concentration salt water and fresh water are brought into contact with each other across the FO membrane, water moves to the salt water side due to the osmotic pressure difference and the flow rate increases. This increase in flow is used to turn a turbine to generate 100kw of power. 

Osmotic power generation operates stably regardless of the weather or day or night, and it is possible to generate power at the same cost as solar power or wind power. It is attracting attention as a next-generation renewable energy power generation system.

Toyobo website: https://www.toyobo-global.com/news/2023/release_535.html