Tag - manufacturing

 
 

MANUFACTURING

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 4, 2017
No free ride for U.S. auto manufacturers
Anyone who was around in the 1980s will remember the turmoil caused by the U.S.-Japan trade imbalance, especially in the automotive field. In order to maintain their growing position in the American market, Japanese car manufacturers knew they would have to move some of their operations to the United...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2017
Manufacturing surge, labor crunch show U.S. economic health, Fed says
A pickup in manufacturing, “widespread” reports of labor shortages and improving business investment set the stage for the Federal Reserve’s December rate hike amid signs of steady economic growth across the country, the Fed reported Wednesday in its latest Beige Book compendium of economic conditions....
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2016
Japan plans supercomputer to leap into technology future
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will spend u00a519.5 billion to build a supercomputer with a platform for research that could help them develop and improve driverless cars, robotics and medical diagnostics
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Oct 1, 2016
Passing on ancient steel production techniques
When the first Portuguese merchants and missionaries reached Japan in 1543, the warriors they encountered were armed with steel swords that were equal to, or better than, any being produced in Europe.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 23, 2016
The AI revolution has begun
The crucial issue now facing humans is how to live in harmony with artificial intelligence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2016
Age of Asian sweatshops coming to an end?
Automation is replacing human labor in Asian garment factories, but workers who lose their jobs face an uncertain future.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2016
Disaster-proof supply chains
Japanese companies must rethink their supply-chain strategies to make them more resilient to natural disasters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2016
China to lay off millions in biggest retrenchment program in nearly 20 years, sources say
China aims to lay off 5 million-6 million state workers over the next two to three years as part of efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and pollution, two sources said, Beijing’s boldest retrenchment program in almost two decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2016
Strains show in China’s factory heartland
Millions of migrant workers streaming back to China’s industrial heartland after the long lunar New Year break face an uncertain future as smaller factories in particular struggle to cope with anaemic orders and rising inventories.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2015
Mitsubishi Regional Jet takes flight
The debut flight of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet is welcome news for Japan’s long-dormant aircraft manufacturing industry, but ensuring its success will require considerable effort.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2015
Chinese build factories in U.S., creating jobs and tensions
When Chen Mingxu was a boy, U.S. businessmen poured into rural China, welcomed with tax breaks and steamed turtle. Thirty years later, in a kind of reverse migration, Chen finds himself in southwestern Alabama smiling wanly over bacon-wrapped meatloaf and banana pudding.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 17, 2015
China’s incredible shrinking factories
Eight years ago, Pascal Lighting employed about 2,000 workers on a leafy campus in southern China. Today, the Taiwanese light manufacturer has winnowed its workforce to just 200 and leased most of its space to other companies: lamp workshops, a mobile phone-maker, a logistics group, a liquor brand.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2015
Jumbo jets face a make-or-break year at Boeing and Airbus
The jumbo jet, for many years the workhorse of modern air travel, could be close to running out of runway.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 6, 2015
Fresh coat: Scientists develop tough new self-cleaning paint
British and Chinese scientists say they have developed a new paint that can be applied to clothes, paper, glass and steel to make resilient surfaces that can self-clean even after being scratched or scuffed.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 17, 2014
‘Japan is back’ but small business isn’t
The old Japan is dying. Is a new Japan being born?
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 10, 2014
Industry 4.0: Germany rethinks manufacturing
Last month, the chief executive officer of one of the country’s largest manufacturers spoke in a closed-door meeting to a group of Japanese executives on his company’s global strategy. Remarkably, he spend 20 percent of his time praising German companies, from traditional heavyweights such as Siemens...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 27, 2014
Can big names help the plight of small factories?
The smooth, metallic surface reflects the sunlight coming through the window. Without touching it you can see that this is an object made with great care — even though it came from a factory. I’m inside a shop run by Lexus in Tokyo, but what I’m looking at isn’t part of a luxury car, it’s a small metal...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2013
Lack of liberal arts education is sapping Japan’s creativity
The plight of the Japanese manufacturing industry today is in part caused by its engineers’ lack of a liberal arts education.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2013
Plenty of industry left in post-industrial America
The “decline” of manufacturing in the U.S. refers mostly to job loss, which is stark and long-term. Output itself continues to climb but with fewer workers.
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2013
Decline of manufacturing
A labor force survey shows the number of people employed in Japan’s manufacturing industry dipping below 10 million for the first time since 1961.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival