JPRS ID: 9891 JAPAN REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: JPRS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000400040003-0
• Release Decision: RIF
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 32
• Document Creation Date: November 1, 2016
• Sequence Number: 3
• Content Type: REPORTS

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JPRS L/9891
3 August 1981
Ja an Re ort
p p
(FOUO 45/81)
Fg~$ FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVI~E
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JPRS L/9891
3 August 1981
JAPAN REPORT
(FOUO 45/81)
CONTENTS
POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
Military Implication of U.S.-Japan Joint Communique Analyzed
(Shiobara Jun; SEKAI, Jul 81) 1
- ECONOMIC
Petition Movement for Preservation o� PostaL Savings System
Widely Spread
(NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN, 2 Jul 81) 6
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Big Four Semiconductor Makers Strengthen Factories in U.S.
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 7 Jul 81) 8
Robot Arm-Hand Feels, Judges Object's Weight
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 7 Jul 81) 10
Corporations Push Development of Biotechnology Industry
(Various sources, varioua dates) 11
Green Cross Corporation
Kanegafuchi Chemical Industry Co
Toyo Rubber Chemical Industry Co
Mochida Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd
Meiji Seika Kaish a, Ltd
Semiconductor Industry Activities in 1980, 1981 Discussed
(Various sources, various dates) 16
Sales in FY 80
. FY 81 Investment ~
FY 81 Projected Production
Japan-U.S. Competition
Development of Semiconductor Sensor
- a - [~zz - z~czA - ll.z Fouo~
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Introduction of Robots Into Automobile Industry Continues
- (Various sources, various dates) 25
- Parts Industry
Body Industry
Small Car Lines
- b -
, ~
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POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
MILITARY IMPLICATION OF U.S.-JAPAN JOINT COI~I[JNIQUE ANALYZED
Tokyo SEKAI in Japanese Jul 81 pp 194-197
[Article by Shiobara Jun: "Expanding Share in Military Role"J
[Text] "There is no military connotation involved. There is absolutely no mention
of a military alliance in the ~oint co~m?unique," according to Prime Minister Suzuki.
"It is impossible, it is nonsense, for there to be an alliance relationship which
has no connection with the safeguarding of security," according to high officials of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A misunderstanding that should be termed absurd has
surfaced within the government revolving around the interpretation of the words
"Japan-U.S. Alliance" that were included for the first time in the joint communique
from the Summit talks between Prime Minister Suzuki and President Reagan in May.
A commotion surrounding the resignation of Foreign Minister Ito was added to the
ruckus, and now the military substance that forms the crux of the controversy is
b ecomizg obscured.
This "misunderstanding" put an end to the unity of opinion within the government that
Japan was limited to the military role it had in the past as spelled out in the Mutual
U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, when Foreign Minister Ito stated in his reply "Just be-
cause the .word 'alliance' was used does not mean that we are creating a rew framework
in Japan-U.S. relations or assigning a new military significance to them." This is
nothing other than a revision which strongly reflects the domestic stance of Prime
Minister Suzuki, who is doing his best to dilute the military tone of the summit that
was bluntly expressed in the ~oint communique.
However; it is absolutely unpersuasive. The formulation of the original text of the
joint communique was carried out under the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs that all along was pursuing the "position of a member of the Western nations."
After the end of the Summit Conference, the officials.of the Foreign Of~ice praised
themselves saying "at any rate, we wanted to establish clearly the consciousness
of an 'alliance." Compared to ~oint communiques prior to this, we really got what
- we wanted out of it." Their words also symbolize, in the tone of a declaration, that
the two countries are "embarking on a new Japan-U.S. security system." One official
~ of the Defense Agency who read the statement gave a sigh of admiration, openly ex-
pressing his favorable reaction to it, saying "The declaration concretely and more
strongly than ever before calls for strengthening our country's defenses. Since the
two heads of state have made such a clear commitment, the declaration iCself would
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- be rendered meaningless as long as we do not increase our expenditures for defense."
Such a reaction from the administrative level clarifies even more the basic nature
of the declaration. The series of background explanations from the U.S. side coin-
cide almost exactly with it. ~
The outstanding characteristics of the ~oint communique are found in the global
position that is cleaxly expressed therein, i.e. (1) apprehension over the behavior
of the Soviet Union towards the Third World aa seen in the buildup of Soviet military
strength and military intervention in Afghanistan, (2) agreement of opinion that the
"resolute efforts" of the U.S. in the Middle East, especially towards the coastal
nations are contributing to peace and stability in the area and that Japan is bene-.
fitting thereby, (3) the policy of cooperation in the event of Soviet intervention
in Poland, evaluation of maintaining U.S. ground forces in Korea, and e~pression of
arixiety about the unstable factors�i-n~.�rd.ca-aadi ~~rts of Central A~erica. In other
- words, both Japan and the U.S. haverc~on~irmed their recognition of the fac.t that..the
Western countries are undergping a~hrea.~ from the Soviet Union an a worldwid~'scale aiid this
forms the basis for their rationale for announcing a"Japan-U~.:S. Allian~e." for .the f~rst time.
A Part of U.S. World Strategy
Ttao articles, that is the a-rticles on defense, are independently formulated for the
first time, based on the~recognition mentioned above. Article Seven of the comQnun-
ique states "in dealing with these international challenges, [we] will make still
greater efforts towards improving defenses, and the wor?d economy, and economic co-
operation towards the Third World (note the order of these items!)" while article
Eight states in defending Japan and securing peace and stability in the Far East,
- it is desirable to have a proper allocation of roles between the U.S. and Japan.
Japan will improve her defense capabilities on her own territory, surrounding waters
and airspace, and will make greater contributions towarda reducing U.S. expenditures
in maintaining forces in Japan."
Here there is no trace of Prime Minister Suzuki's stated basi.c position "In th~s
visit to the U.S. I will make no concrete promises regarding defense efforts." we
- can say, however, that the definite position of the Prime Minister, whose escape
route had been cut off, was naturally making itself apparent in the communique
itself, referring in particular to the concrete discussions held in June at the
administrative level and between the ministers of defense of the two countries.
In fact, the Prime .Iinister stated specifically,.in answering questions at the
National Press Club right after the talks "We will defend Japan's territory as a
matter of course. We will protect the territorial waters to a distance offshore of
several hundred nautical miles and the sea lanes to one thousand miles, as the
domain of our self defense." One aspect of the "allocation of roles" in the
. communique was dec'_ared to be allocation of functions of patrol and attack vis a vis
Soviet nuclear submarines in the north west Pacific we~t from Guam and north from
the Philippines" which accords with the expectations of the U.S.
In this inquiry, the Prime Minister emphasized the desire for protection of the sea
lanes, saying "guaranteeing the security of the routes of transport of raw materials
from abroad is a life and death matter for Japan." In his talk with the party of
reporters, he declared "In order for the U.S. to be able to swing to that region
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(the Middle East) without anxiety for the future, they want Japan herself to re~o-
lutely take care of her own defense, so maybe this is what they meant by 'allo-
cation."' This series of statements specifically relegates Japan's defense to being
a flank in U.S. world strategy. At the same time it reveals :~:~~t only a confirmation
of the greparation and strengthening of Japan-U.S. defense cooperation together with
the defense capability Japan has developed of her own accord under the existing
Security Treaty, but also discloses a position which directly and indirectly
strengthens her commitment to the maritime communication routes to the Far East and
the Middle East.
In that sense, despite the unified opinion of the government, which was conscious of
~ the opinions of the opposition parties and of the public, it would not be a mistake
~ to conclude that the course by which the Treaty is in the process of being transformed
de facto into a more bilateral military alliance, has been disclosed through the com-
munique. We can even venture tc~ say that the course of events has progressed far be-
yond the points stated in the ~oint communique.
Take Okinawa, for example, which is now in its te~th year since being returned to
Japan. In response for the xise in tensions in the Middle and Near East, the U.S.
Marines and Air For~e have been furnished with the most modern equipment, their range
of operations extended fro~n the Westetn Pacific to the Indian Ocean and the Middle
East, and their functions as bases capable of responding to emergencies have been
increased. The U.S. Third Maxine Division, which is the only marine division stationed
overseas, "can respand to any necessary situation from the Western Paci�ic to the
Near East." (Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Barrow), and forms the nucleus
of ttie Rapid Deployment Forces. In the joint U.S.-Korean maneuvers "Team Spirit 81"
soldier.s and aircraft from Okinawa participated in landing exercises, and the move-
ment of ships outfitted for the exercises into the Naha Naval Base was obvious. The
Air Force has completed its outfitting with seventeen of the latest F-15 EAGLES.
Besides maintaining tr~e most powerful air forces in the Pacific area, it covers the
entire Far East with E3A airborne warning aircraEt and SR71A tactical reconnaissance
planes.
If we examine the aetivity of the U.S. military in Okinawa, it is clear, taking the
end of the Carter administration as the starting point, that the U.S. military has

_ begun, in terms of both its capability and mobility, 'to change its nature to some~
thing more extensive than watching over the Korean Peninsula and Tndochina. In some
sense, the limitations in the prior agreements of the Treaty have been approached
including .the limits in the article on the Far East, and the Treaty framework is
being exceeded, i.e. the bilaterality in the 7.Yeaty is already changing in meaning.
The maritime defense plan itself (i.e. "several hundred nautical miles offshore the
coast, and ~ 1000 nautical mile air navigation zone") which Prime Minister Suzuki
himself declared, had been established we11 beforehand on the military level with
the U.S. forces as the MSDF's objective for providing for :�ts defense capability.
It is important to note that functional bilaterality had been presumed from the
outset as a prerequisite to ~oint militarq action (source: MSDF staff person).
It is natural that these zones do not differ much from the "West from Guam, North
from the Philippines" region the U.S. is pur.suing to improve its antisubmarine war-
fare capability. The MSDF, regarding the statement about Japan's "back yard" stopped
with the declaration, '4~ie are gratef~~l that the correctness of our concepts has been
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confirmed through the Prime Minister's own worde. It has given us the confidence
to implement them aggressively." The policy of clarifying the defense zone with
respect to the outside, and greatly heightening the ASW r_apability in this zone con-
tains within it a tightrope walk between exercising a right to collective defense
[beyond territorial waters] not allowed by the Constitution azd defense-only policy.
This is why Defense Agency officials over time have treated it so cautiously.
But this concept was brought into the open in one stroke through the Prime Minister's
statement, and because it is referred to in the context of the swing of the 7th
Fleet, the fact that it was canfirmed without effort as the zone of "~oint operations"
caused the Maritime Self Defense Staff to dan~e with 3oy.
A Major Political Turning Point
- The treatment from now on of the definitions in Article III of the "Guidelines for
Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation" also bear watching. This article states "in cases
which have a major influence on Japan's security in situations in the Far East outside
of Japan" it wi11 research the utilization of Self Defense Force bases by U.S. forces,
rear support and other matters of mutual convenience, but the Defense Agency from the
past has pointed out "the U.S. has placed its greatest emph~~sis on researching rear
support based on Article III more than on the plans for 3oint operations themselves."
Regarding the plans for joint operations, some conclusions were already reached this
March, so it is expected that pre~:.?re from the U.S. to further develop this research
will build up. In such a case, as can be seen from the Joint Communique and from
the Prime Minister's statement, not only will the "lifelines" be extended one step
further out, but there is now no way that Japan's role vis-a-vis U.S. strategy cannot
increase.
When we shift our attention to the allocation of expenditures, it must be pointed out
that Japan's garticipation has already ~een disclosed as increasing in involvement,
not merely in the improvement of living facilities for U.S. Forces related personnel,
but also in the highly strategic area of fortifying the bases, as is symbolized by
the fact that sums have been appropriated for canstruction of F-15 shelters at Kadena
Air Base on Okinawa in this year's budget.
Fram these points, we can say that Japan's becoming deeply committed in the jo3.nt
communique to U.S. world strategy is a major political change which, while within
the framework of the same Security Treaty, ratifies the already de facto "bilateral
relations" of the U.S. forces in Japan and the Self Defense Forces, and at the same
time confers new military significance to future bilaterality. .
At the same time, we cannot view lightly the military import of the communique on
reZations with other countries in Aaia. Secretary of Defense Weinberger, in a speech
on U.S.-Korean Security Talks" given ~ust before the U.S.-Japan Summit Talks, while
referring to the security of the enCire Pacific area includ:Lng Korea, Australia and
New Zealand, devoted most of it to the Japan issue, seeking (1) a marked strengthen-
ing of defensive power in the northwest Pacific and (2) taking appropriate measures
on the basis of a firm resolve to assume economic responsibility, and severely cri-
ticized Japan's defense forces for "clearly not having attained the necessary level."
The U.S.-Korea Security Conference had a very strong political tone to it and was
held after a hiatus of one and one half years in order to deal with the "Northern
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Threat" with a background of strengthening the Korean military forces by supplyi.ng
them with F-16's, and delaying the withdrawal of U.S. forces. At the conference
it is reported that the Koreans strongly demanded military assistance on a par with
NATO. Consequently, the new Reagan government's framework for anti-Soviet strategy
in Asia, which revolves around a U.S.-Japan-Korea axis, arises anew in the points
touched on by Defense Secretary Weinberger in the issues of U.S.-Japan defense, which
presuppose stzengthening of U.S.-Korea military cooperation.
After the U.S.-Japan joint communique, Korean P~esident Chun Tu-hwan emphasized again
the necessity of strengthening and increasing Japan's defense capabilities. We can
say that President Chun accurately interpreted the line of the U.S.-Japan joint com-
munique and p~essed for assigning a greater role to Japan in Asia.
The New York Times on May 12th proposPd that Japan should join the ANZUS treaty,
forming JANZUS, as a means by which she "could contribute to the peace and security
of the entire Western Pacific at a minimal risk to herself." Japan is slated to
participate on a larger scale than previously in the RIMPAC '82 naval exercises to
be held off of Hawaii. The countries that will participate are ANZUS countries.
The opposition parties have been closely following this, since Japan's participation
in 1980 was "opening the path to the exercise of rights of collective self defense,"
and it is reported that the Korean Navy will also participate next year. Normaliza-
tion of Japan-Korea relations will be on track with the holding of the periodic
Japan-Korea ~oint cabinet ministers' meeting this fall.
Is our apprehension really groundless that the trend towards establishing a system
of security among the nations of the Pacific centered around Japan is beginning to
take shape under the powerful leadership of the Reagan government? (Some scholars,
and ex-officials of the Ministry of Foreign Af,fairs are of the opinion that even the
Constitution, whiah imposes the greatest restraints, can be interpreted as recognizing
the right to collective security.)
The Defense Agency, which is attempting to achieve the defense standard defined in
the framework of the defense plan through the next midterm operating estimate to 1987
(1981 Midterm Qperating Estimate) took the joint communique as an opportunity to de-
mand a two-digit rate of growth of defense expenditures in the impending 1982 budget,
and is determined to break through the figure of 1 percent of the GNP that was estab-
lished by the Cabinet. Deputy Director Hara of the Defense ~gency has already ex-
tended himself with the surprise statement "inasmuch as the ~oint coffinunique calls
for even greater cooperation, there naCurally is a line of common sense to follow."
And Prime Minist:.~r Suzuki went out of bounde in his reply in the Diet, saying that
the one percent figure would have to be reviewed in the future. Thus the situation
inside of the country is undergoing changes inspite of very difficult financial con-
ditions.
However, if we study the ~oint communique, not only in its bilateral sense of a
- commitment to the U.S. in the defense effort, but also as an indication of intentions
towards the Pacific area, we can say that the fact that Prime Minister Suzuki's
visit to the U.S. was likened to the "Third departure" after Perry's visit to Japan,
the defeat in World War II and the Occupation, indicates the possibility of serious
changes in government policy in the future.
COPYRIGHT: Iwanami Shoten 1981
6093
CSO: 4105/.183
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ECONO~~C
PETITION MOVEMENT FOR PRESERVATION OF POSTAL SAVTNGS SYSTEM WIDELY SPREAD
Tokyo NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 2 Jul 81 p 2
[Text] While deliberations at "the talks on how a government enterprise
should be in the finance f ield" (postal savings talks) pro~ressed at a fast
pace toward an August report, the "postal savings war" between the Ministry
of Posts and Telecommunications and the private banking institutions started
to spread even to the provinces. According to what tfiose involved made pub-
lic on the f irst, a movement to pet3tion local govermnent bodies for the "pre-
servation of the postal savings system" has been activated in every regioz of
the country. The contents of the petitton are essentially: 1. centralized
_ interest rates are adverse to depositors, and 2. a regional basis should be
promoted through autonomous (investment and loan) operations. There has ap-
peared the view (at the postal savings talks) that "isn~t their aim to apply
pressure on the postal savings talks?" Tn opposition to this, banking circles
are mobilizing local banking institutions and counteracting this with a re-
verse petition. The postal savings war which has involved regional govern-
ment bodies has become further bogged down.
With the August repdrt near at hand, the poatal savings talks have finished
the hearing from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, private bank-
ing institutions, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, and are
quickly bringing everything to a conclusion. In that, banking circles have
presented a written opinion to the relevant institutions requesting that com-
petitive conditions be made impartial by 1. correction of preferential treat-
ment measures with respect to both goods and the tax system, and 2. abolition
of the commisaion system's incentives, and the centralization of interest rates.
This is based on the ~udgment that because the postal savings balance broke
the 60 trillion yen mark and at the end of the last fiscal year its share
amounted to 29.5 percent, and postal savings accounted for 1.2 trillion yen
out of the increase in January through March individual deposits totalling
1.45 trillion yen, "the postal savings increase is not a temporary shift at
a time when the green card probl an has come to tfie forefront, but is a long
term structure." (Zenkoku Ginko Kyokai Rengo-kai. Federation of Bankers'
Associations~ o~ ~apan~
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Against th~:s aPpea~ stxate.gy ~y tha banki;ng ~,ast~,tut~ons ~ the pet~.t~pn zqavement
- aiuted at pxeserying the posta~ ~~y~tigs is ccsq~n~ ~ne a~te~ ,anothex ~,n all reg-
ions, and according to those ~.nvolved, ~t is sa~d tfiat ~'tfiere are indications
that it is being systematically carried out by mobiltz~ng tTie postmasters of
private post offices, their Onfs (old boys~ and local leaders." A written pe-
tition sent out to a11 the cities, towns and vi:~lages~had almost an identical
content; concretely, the essential parts are: 1. the role ef postal savings
as the ordinary person's banking has increasQd and centralization of interest
rates would not be profitable for tfie deposttors; 2. tfie postal savings funds
are already being returned to the reg~ons tfirough financial investments and
- loans, and returning funds to local areas will improve further by autonomous
(investmer.t and loan) operations; and 3. preserving the present system will
contribute to the nation's welfare.
A written petition has already been sent out to quite a few local government
bodies in the Kyushu and Chukyo districts and part of it is even being delib-
erated; and the private banking institutions are countering this by starting
a reverse petition requesting "a decision after hearing the postal savings
talks." The postal savings war has become further heated.
COPYRIGHT: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha 1981
9400
CSO: 4105/204
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BIG FOUR SEMICONDUCTOR MAKERS STRENGTHEN FACTORIES IN U.S.
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 962, 7 Jul 81 p 9
[Text]
Japan's four largest semi- NEC will build a factory Japan will become the pcoduc�
conductor manufacturers - b~~~~ a floor s ace of
Nippon Electric Co. (NEC), P tion center for 64Ks and their
Hitachi, Ltd., Fujitsu Limited 13,000 square meters on a ~pments to the U.S. market
and Toshiba Corp. -~e ~'~~~~e meter tract dur- are expected to mount. (Refer
strengthening their production ?n8 the curre~t fiscal year. The ,TE,1,Ttme 30 issue. )
plants in the U.S. to cope with ~~d and building will cost Ftijitsu has completed con-
� some 5 billion. 'I7~e oompany struction of a semiconductor
the coming VLSI (very Iarge- ~1 install ~ 15 billion vvorth of lant in San Di o Calif. The
scale integrated c~rcuit) era." p
These American plants so far ~1 manufacturing facilities ~p million (~4 billion) �plant
in the Roseville plant to start started o ration in earl June.
had been inferior to their Japa- a ation in the first half ~ y
nese counter rts in ca cit ~ with payroll of about 150. 11~e
cApril-September) of fiscal number of em lo ees will be
and other standards. ~In a p y
sense, they had been only a 1~' boosted to 400 in three years.
"sym~ol" to impress the According to the NEC plan, ~e San Diego plant, having
Americans that Japanese semi- the Roseville plant will be a Wtal floor space of 7,000
producing ~ 35 billion worth
conductor makers are operat- ye~.~y of 64-kilobit dynamic square meters, will produce
ing in the U.S. and to avoid pos- random access memory chips, 16K RAM chips
sible frictions over semicon- monthly in the initial stage.
read-only memory chips,
ductortrade. The plant is the production
microcomputers and industrial/
Recently, however, these division of FujiGsu Micrcelec-
household cnstom-designed
Japanese com~anies have be- ~n fiscal 1985. The Rose- tronics Inc., a San Diego
come more aggressive in doing hlle plant will have a payroll of Wholly~wned subsidiary. It has
business in the U.S. ~hey are about 600 in the year. the marketing division head-
now trying to make their NEC Electronics USA, Inc., a 9uartered in Santa Aara, Calif.
American production plants Toshiba has completed the
more rofitable. wholly-0wned subsidiary in
p Sunnyvale, Calif., will operate ~ond e~cpansion program of
NEC, the largest setnicon- ~e Raseville plant. its semiconductor plant in
ductor maker, announced lgte Sunnyvale. The glant which
June that it would build an inte- Earlier than the Roseville Toshiba bought in 1980 from
grated IC manufacturing plant plant's scheduled operation, ~~i Kogyo Co., a Kawa-
in Roseville, Calif., some 180 Electronic Arrays is expected
kilometers northeast of San to s3art production of 64K dy-
FY~ancisco. Il will be NEC's namic RAMs in order not to
second IC plant in the U.S., fol- stimulate A.merican semicon-
lowing that in Mountt,in View, dur.tor makers. This is because
Calif. operated by Electronic in the coming two years before
Arrays, Inc. which NEC took the scheduled operation of the
over in December, 1978. R,~seville pleni in fiscal 1983
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guchi (Saitama)-based cigaret
lighter maker, has started
manufacturina 16K static RAM
chips. The Sunnyvale plant, op-
erated by Toshiba Semiconduc-
tor (USA) Inc., will be further
expanded to produce more so-
phisticated pcoducts.
- Hitachi is now strengthening
its IC manufactircing plant in
Dallas, Texas. The Dallas
plant, operated by Hitachi
Semiconductor (America) Inc.,
is no longer a'`show window"
factory.
Against the hackdrop of these
aggressive moves of Japanese
semic~nductor makers is their
plan to market Japane,~-made
64K dynamic RAM chips in the
U.S. from next year. Unless
they have plants capable of
producing such highly-sophisti-
cated products, a rekindling of
the Japan-U.S. semiconductor
trade friction seems unavoida-
ble. Within a few years, these
large Japanese semiconductor
makers plan to ready their
American plants to produce
64Ks to skirt possible trade
frictions.
COPYRIGHT: 1981 THE NIHON KEI~.:~I SHINBLN, inc.
CSO: 4120/283
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ROBOT ARM-HAND FEELS, JUDGES OBJECT'S WEIGHT
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAJ. in English Vol 19 No 962, 7 Jul 81 p 17
~T~t~ A robot arm-and-hand set of wide long "fingers" and a
equal to a human being in long "azm." The "fingers" can
working to pick and carry open up to 3.9 inches in gras~
any object up to 10 kilograms ing width. Chiefly designed for
~22 pounds) in weight by feel- picking up and hauling round or
ing, adjusting, weighing and cylindrical objects, the set is
gathering strength has been smart enough to feel and weigh
jointly developed by reseazch- anything its "fingers" have
ers of a governmental labora- grasped. If it has caught hold of
tory and a national university. a cyliadrical or any long object
According to the Mechanical in a wrong way, that is, not at a
.Engineering Laboratory, direct angle to each side, fotQ
Agency of Industrial Science long leaf springs. each with an
and TechnoloBY, Ministry of electronic sensor, attached to
International Trade & Indus- the whole length of the two
try, and the Engineering "fingers," to feel the object de-
Faculty of Nagoya University, tect the error through the sen-
the new extraordinarily sensi- sors because they do not re-
tive and capable robot limb has ceive equal spring-push feels. A
been perfected at laboratory central electronic control sec-
leve! by a joint research team tion in the arm getting the mes-
of the laboratory and the sage from the sensors orders
universiky faculty. The univer- the fingers to adjust its hold.
sity researchers were led by The sensors also tell the
Prof. Minoru Ueda. control section how heavy the
The new device yet to be im- object is from how the leaf
proved for ultimate practical springs is compressed as the
application is relatively easy to "fingers" try to lift the object
design and produce, and, best and the control section orders a
of all, inexpensive to build and pair of 1.5-watt directcurrent
energy-saving, to promise high electric motor in the "arm" to
industrial applicability in the put out enough power to work
nearest future, according to the the "fingers." Four strain
lab and faculty. meters (gauges) built into the
They described the new robot "arm" determine the weight of
limb as consisting of a pair the object as it is lifted to bend
the arm out of its normal pose._
COPYRIGHT: 19$1 THE NIHON KEIZAI SHINBUN, Inc.
CSO: 4120/283
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CORPORATIONS PUSfl DEVELOPMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY
Green Cross Corporation
Tokyo NIflON KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 1'Say 81 p 19
[Text] On the 30th [April], the Green Cross Corporation (S. Ishigaki, president)
disclosed that a"Center for Genetic Engineering" has been established in the Cen-
tral Research Laboratory of the firm located at Nakadori, Miyako~ima, Miyakojima-
ku, Osaka, in order to engage in a full-scale commercialization of pharma.ceuticals
- using genetic engineering. The plan is to assign initially about 15 staff inembers
and to spur the production of human serum albumin and interferon (IFN) by genetic
engineering techniques imported from the United States using the P-II e~erimental
facility to be constructed at the center in the ne~r future. Furthermore, they
plan to move the above center to the Osadano plant (Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture)
in about 1 year at the earliest to substantiate and strengthen the center. Thus,
the firm's commercialization of genetic engineering is expected to develop rapid~y,
pivoting around the Center for Genetic Engineering.
In order to produce pharmaceuticals by genetic engineering, the firm signed a
technical agreement with Collaborative Research Incorporated (CRI) im the United
States for IFN, and one with Genex Corp. also in the United States for the human
serum albumin, and is advancing studies for their respective mass production. .In
particular, they have decided to begin specific research such as on IFN produc-
tion using a variant strain of yeast expected to arrive soon from CRI. This has
led to the establishment of a structure to work full-scale on genetic engineering.
The Center for Genetic Engineering established in the Central Research Laboratory
is staffed by 15 members chosen from the research st~ff of the firm, and the
managing director, T. Suyama became the director. Concurrent with the establish-
ment of the center, a P-III level experimental facility required for genetic engi-
neering research is under construction at a cost of approximately 300 million yen.
In so doing, they plan to consolidate the structure in both aspects of hard and
software for research by this summer and pitch their full force into the commer-
cialization of genetic engineering beginning with the technical imports from the
two U.S. firms. In addition, while the firm has great expectations for the pros-
pects of genetic engineering techniques in the future, the present location in
the Central Research Laboratory has little room to expand. Thus, they are examin-
ing plans for scale expansion by moving the center to the firm's Osadano plant
where the major plant is located. By doing so, they plan to undertake genetic
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engineering work by establishing their independent technology in the near future,
thus shifting away from the current approach for genetic engineering centered
around the tec:~nical importation.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon KQgyo Shimbunsha Tokyo Honsha 1981
Kanegafuchi Chemical Industry Co
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 7 May 81 p 9
[TextJ Kanegafuchi Chemical Industry Co completed a"P3" level genetic manipula-
tion facility in their Takasago plant (Hyogo Prefecture) and will begin research
and development in the biotechnology field and commercialization of independent
merchandise in early June. Among the private firms, only a few have research fa-
cilities of "P3" level that can completely contain wastes and contaminants. In
addition, having the expertise in fermentation technology, which is considered
indispensable in biotechnology, the full-scale undertaking of Kanegafuchi Chemical
in this field is likely to attract attention.
The genetic manipulation facility of the Kanegafuchi Chemical was newly constructed
in the biochemical research laboratory of the Takasago plant at an expense of ap-
proximately 700 million yen. The firm merits many achievements in fermentation
technology such as yeast for manufacturing bread and ribonucleoprotein. The main
body for that research and development is the biochemical research laboratory
staffed with approximately 100 people. For genetic manipulation, about 10 staff
members from the laboratory ~aill comprise a research team and operate the program.
They believe that they are capable of manipulation using their own technologies
which have already been accumulated.
The firm's target for commercialization by genetic manipulation is the field of
pharmaceuticals such as insulin used for the treatment of diabetes, somatostatin
for treating dwarfism, and int~rferon used as antineoplastics or for treating
viral diseases. As for interferon and~insulin, Takeda Chemical Industries and
Green Cross have already taken the "lead" through technical importation from Euro-
American countries. Therefore, Kanegafuchi Chemical is aware that "only a unique
product based on their awn technology can be competitive" (managing director, T.
Tachi), and intends to use a strategy of developing and commercializing independent
products by incorporating their favorite fermentation technology [with genetic
manipulation].
The pharmaceutical division of the company has been working with intermediates
- for synthetic penicillins, primary products for cardiac drugs, etc. but has not
manufactured finished drugs. Once gaining a prospect for the commercialization
of unique products by genetic manipulation, they plan to venture into drug manu-
facturing in the future through trade agreements with prominent Euro-American and
Japanese drug manufacturers.
On the other hand, in the field of food products, they plan to strive for commer-
cialization of yeast with stronger fermentation power and special amino acids for
wider usage by genetic manipulation.
. COPYRIGHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
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Toyo Rubber Chemical Industry Co
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIl~UN in Japanese 11 May 81 p 1
[Text] Based on the iixed enzyme technique which they successfully developed,
Toye Rubber Chemical Industry has decided to actively promote the field of biotech-
nology which is currently in the limelight as a future technology. In specific
terms, their goal is practicalization in the fields of food and drugs, where the
above *_echnique can be freely used through collaborative agreements with other
manufacturers, to establish the biotechnology division to grow as a big column in
the nontire division. Currently, participation in biotechnology continues from
a wide range of businesses such as chemicals, foods, pharmaceuticals, synthetic
fibers, etc., but this is the first announcement of particiPation from the rubber
tire industry.
Under the guidance of Prof S. Fukui (industrial chemistry) of the Faculty of Engi-
neering, Kyoto University, Toyo Rubber Chemical Industry established a fixed en-
zyme technique in which enzymes are sealed in a hydrophilic polyurethane resin.
At present, three methods of enzyme fi~:ation are cited: a cross-linkage method
in which enzymes are bound to each other caith a cross-linking agent such as
~ glutaraldehyde; a carrier-binding method in which enzymes are linked to an ion
exchange resin or glass beads; and enveloping method in which enzymes are wrapped
in a collagen film or gelform synthetic macromolecules. The fixation technique
used by Toyo Rubber is equivalent to the enveloping method.
The method of fixation is very simple: an aqueous solution containing an enzyme
is added to a urethane prepolymer having a terminal isocyanate group for reaction
solidification, and no special apparatus except a stirrer for mixing is needed.
Other special features are that (1) the polyurethane resin in which the enzyme is
sealed can be molded freely into forms ranging from foam to film resulting in a
wide range of application; (2) in an experiment in which an enzyme, invertase,
was used, the enzyme activity showed a high maintenance rate of 40-70 percent re-
sulting in a long reaction time; and (3) compound enzymes can be fixed; etc.,
etc.... Simple handling in general is the unique technical characteristic.
The firm began with research and development of the enzyme fixation technique as
one of the utility developments of the hydrophilic polyurethane resin which was
developed as a soil improving agent beginning around 1974. An enzyme is a biolog-
ical catalyst that can efficiently hydrolyze proteins and produce amino acids in
the human body at normal temperature and under normal pressure. And, fixation
technology is a major technique in biotechnology along with recombinant DNA, cell
fusion, and mass cell culture. It has the potential to greatly change the petro-
chemical processes of organic synthesis carried out at a high temperature under
high pressure.
In practical application, the firm is considering (1) supplying technology, (2)
commercially distributing the f ilm-form products, and (3) handling the finished
products at their own firm, etc. Initially, the focus will be in the food area
such as an application to alcohol fermentation, and the pharmaceutical area such
as diagnostics and testing reagents, etc. They plan to begin production for
practical use as soon as possible through collaborative agreements with other
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manufacturers in these fields. By doing so, they will nurture the field of bio-
technology as a major column in the non-tire sector that includes chemical products
which currently holds a little more than 30 percent.
Biotechnology that applies biological functions in industry is expected to reach a
market scale of 3-4 trillion yen in Japan by the latter 1980's, and the trend for
practical application is active not only in Japan but in the Euro-American coun-
tries as well. MITI is proceeding with preparations for starting a new system to
back up research and development of this field from 1981.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
Mochida Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd
~ Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIl~UN in Japanese 22 May 81 p 9
[Text] Mochida Pharma.ceutical recently completed a production facility for inter-
feron (virus-inhibiting factor) within the Shizuoka factory (Fujieda city, Shizuoka
Prefecture), and has begun production. It is the so-called interferon- a(fibro-
hl.asts) under a collaborative agreement with G. D. Searle of the United States,
and the monthly production capacity is reported to be 4 billion units. Inter-
feron-~ has been produced thus far by Toyo Rayon at a monthly rate of 3-4 billion
units.
According to Mochida, the newly operating facility had been initially planned for
a monthly production of 3 billion units. However, since they subsequently suc-
ceeded in discovering cells with a better production efficiency, they were able
to increase the capability. The company plans to produce initially about 2 billion
units per month, conduct anima.l experiments to confirm safety, etc.~, and begin
clinical trials by administering it to humans by about fall.
The company signed a collaborative agreement in April with Ringen Biological Chem-
ical Research Laboratory (Main office in Okayama), and have decided to begin tests
for the practical use of interferon-~ produced by Ringen.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
Mei~i Seika Kaisha, Ltd
Tokyo NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN in Japanese 29 May 81 p 7
[Text] A ma3or antibiotic manufacturer, Meiji Seika disclosed on the 28th their
plan to commercialize as a pharmaceutical a new type of interferon (virus-inhibit-
ing factor) produced by the amnion that envelopes a human fetus. At present, it
is being developed with the cooperation of Professor F. Taguchi of Kitasato Uni-
versity who is studying amnionic interferon, and they plan to begin clinical trials
by next year. This is the first time Meiji Seika disclosed their specific plans
for marketing interferon. The firm will now join the on-going worldwide competi-
tion for interferon development based on a new type of interferon other firms have
not touched.
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Amnionic interferon is extracted from the cells of the amnion which is discharged
along with the fetus at the time of delivery. According to the test results thus
far, there is a good chance that it is a new type of interferon with a different
structure from ~nterf~.ron- ~(leukocytes), interferon- ~(fibroblastoid cells), etc.
for which pharmaceutical manufacturers of various countries including Japan are
striving for commercialization.
According to Professor Taguchi of Kitasato University who presented a paper on the
27th at the "40th virus-inhibiting factor study group held in Tokyo, the amnionic
In addi-
interferon was founc to be especially effective for hnman dermal cells.
tion to a virus-inl-.ibiting effect which is the characteristic of interferon known
thus far, it was found to be effective against virus-infected cells as well.
Meiji Seika plans to build urgently a production facility in a scale of several
trillion units per month needed for various tests. Initially, necessary quanti-
ties will be secured by mass cultivation of amnionic cells, but they are also
studying the mass production means of the so-called gene~splicing technique for
the future in which a gene for making amnionic interferon will be spliced into a
fast-growing bacterium such as E. coli.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
_ 7722
CSO: 4105/171
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
~
SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES IN 1980, 1981 DISCUSSED
Sales in FY 80
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 11 Apr 81 p 5
[Text] Reflecting the steady increase in domestic and foreign demand, the gross
sales for the period ending March 1981 of the semiconductor industry's "big three"
Nippon Electric Co Ltd [NEC], Hitachi Ltd, and Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Ltd
[Toshiba]--appear to be headed toward a record increase of 30 to 50 percent over the
previous period. The industry's leader, NEC, will be Japan's first maker to record
200 billion yen, while Hitachi and Toshiba will earn 165 and 150 billion yen, respec-
tively. While their sales do not match that of the world's largest maker, Texas In-
struments Inc [TI] of the United States (estimated sales of semiconductors only,
about 300 billion yen), the sales of Japan's three largest makers have reached the
top world level due to the rapid growth in the past several years.
Reaching the Top World Level
At present NEC, Hitachi and Toshiba are settling the 1980 accounts, but as far as
the semiconductor division is concerned, it appears certain that sales will reach
the originally planned goals.
First, as for NEC, in spite of the big decrease in production of the 16 kilo-bit
RAM's [random accessory memoryJ used in the main memory unit of computers, sales will
reach 222 billion yen, a 40-percent increase over the preceding period. To replace
the 16 kilo-bit RAM's, production of the CMOS [complementary metal oxide semiconduc-
tors] and the bipolar-structured microcomputers was increased, which more than off-
'set the decrease in the 16 kilo-bit RAM's.
The industry's third ranking Toshiba concentrated on increasing production of dis-
crete components (single semiconductor chips), for which demand is rapidly increas-
ing, and microcomputers, and as a result sales are expected to total 150 billion yen,
a 50-percent increase over the previous period. Partly because the company's produc-
tion of IC memory units was comparatively small previously, the c~mpany was not af-
fected too adversely by the worldwide market depression in 16 kilo-bit RAM's.
Because last year Hitachi altered part of the semiconductor production setup and also
stressed the production of the 64 kilo-bit RAM's, the "next-generation strategic pro-
duct," sales did not increase as much as NEC's or Toshiba's, and will probably amount
to 165 billion yen, a 27-percent increase over the previous period.
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As a result, the order of sales ranking of Japan's three largest semiconductor makers
remains the same~ i.e., NEC, Hitachi and Toshiba, but on a worldwide scale, they ap-
pear to have entered the top group. While the TI company unquestionably holds the
"No 1" world position, the Japanese makers are close behind other large manufacturers
which trail TI, such as Motorola Inc, Fairchild Industries Inc, and Intel Corp (all
U.S. companies). In particular, NEC might occupy the "No 2" world position i,~ theze
- is no drastic yen depreciation in the future.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
FY 81 Investment
Tokyo NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 21 Apr 81 p 14
[Text] The semiconductor industry's FY 81 plans (partly calendar year plans) for in-
vestment in plant and equipment have been finalized. The total for the nine compan-
ies amounts to 172.3 billion yen, an increase of 5.7 billion yen over the record-
breaking F'Y 80 investment of 156.9 billion [as published], continuing the high level
this year. However, due to the U.S. business stagnation, this year was considered a
bad one in the "silicon cycle," a recurring course of market f luctuations peculiar to
the semiconductor industry, and especially during the first half of the year the firms
took a wait-and-see attitude. Thus, the growth rate showed an average increase of
about 10 percent, which is lower than in normal years. However, since the previous
year started at an exceptionally high level and since ad~usted increases were made
one after another, it must be said that the firms are aggressive. Furthermore, an up-
turn in business recovery is forecast for the latter half of this year, and with the
arrival of the age of VLSI (very large scale integration), many expensive manufactur-
ing facilities are expected to become necessary. Therefore, it is inevitable that
adjustments for large increases will have to be made again this year. When plant and
equipment investments of domestic producers, such as Sony Corporation (over 10 bil-
lion yen), Fuji Electric Co Ltd (over 3 billion yen), TI, Nihon IBM, etc, and medium
enterprises as well as foreign capital firms are included, Japan`s total is certain
to reach the 200-billion-yen mark.
Semiconductor Industry's Plans for This Fiscal Year
Table 1. Plant and Equipment Investments of Semiconductor Divisions of Main Enter-
prises (Unit: 100 million yen)
FY 79 FY 80 FY 80 FY 81
Results Initial Adjusted Plans
Plans Plans
Nippon Electric Co Ltd 270 300 320 350
Hitachi Ltd 150 200 230 280
Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Ltd 100 100 130 50
Fujitsu Ltd 160 220 270 270
Mitsubishi El.ectric Corp 80 100 100 130
_ Matsushita Electronics Corp 110 170 220 220
Tokyo Sanyo Electric Co Ltd 43 80 80 110
Sharp Corp 88 33 85 72
Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd 55 120 134 141
TOTAL 1,056 1,323 , 1,569 1,723
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Highlights of plant and equipment investment plans for the various semiconductor
firms are as follows [same order as above table]:
[NEC~ Because the semiconductor business is in a recession in the United States,
the firm will start with a goal of about 35 billion yen, an increase of 10 percent
over the previous year's allocation, and will reassess the plan every 3 months. The
biggest item is f or the production increase of Yamagata NEC's civilian-use LSI, and
6 billion yen, or half of this year's overall plan, will be invested [as published].
Plan for Akita NEC is limited to land purchase. Construction costs of an integrated
plant, which includes the diffusion process, in Scotland are expected to come to a
sizable figure. However, most of the investments are slated for the renovation of
the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which reportedly will become obsolete in
3 years. As for prujects, last year's investments, which included construction of
Kyushu NEC's No 6 diffusion and Kumamoto NEC, were larger.
[Hitachi] Of the 34 billion yen for communications and electronics equipment, 28 bil-
lion yen will be alloca~ed to the semiconductor division, an increase of 5 billion
yen over the estimated investments for FY 80. Work was started in FY 79 to make the
Musashi plant into a development center for advanced devices, including the 64-k
[RAM's], while the Takasaki plant was turned into a bipolar plant and the Kofu branch
plant into a mass production factory for MOS [metal oxide semiconductors]. Since
this divisional production setup involving the three plants was completed in FY 80,
the main expenses for FY 81 will be the servicing of the Musashi plant and installa-
tion of equipment to increase production at the Takasaki and Kofu plants.
[Toshiba] Plans call for approximately 15 billion yen (order base), mainly for the
expansion of inemory unit divisions, such as the 64 KDRAM (64 kilo-bit dynamic RAM],
16 KSRAM [16 kilo-bit static RAM] and mask ROM [read only memory]. New equipment
will be installed, with plans to increase production, at the Oita VLSI plant, the
northern Kyushu bipolar plant, the Himeji civilian-use transistor plant and the Kawa-
saki developmen~al division.
[Fujitsu] Investment plans are for 27 billion yen, the same as last year, with expen-
ses mainly for plant facilities and equipment for the second-phase const.ruction (con-
tinuous operation) of the Iwate plant, completion of which is planned for this year
wi.th operations to start at the beginning of next year. Facilities will be augmented
at the Kawasaki and Aizu plants.
[Mitsubishi] To increase IC [integrated circuit] production at Kumamoto and to
strengthen production of single semiconductor, chips, 13 billion yen are earmarlced,
an increase of 30 percent over last year. Specifically, 5 billion yen will be spent,
~ the same as last year, to expand the "C" wing of Kumamoto No 2 plant for production
of the 64-k RAM's, 4.5 billion yen for increased production of IC's in other than the
"C" wing, and about 15. billion yen for land purchase of the Saijo plant, the construc-
tion of which was decided upon recently. The remaining 2 billion yen will be spent
for development and increased production of single semiconductor chips, gallium arse-
nide, SIT and power semiconductors.
[Matsushita] Last year the firm made adjusted increases of 4 billion [sic] yen dur-
, ing the fiscal year and ranked fourth in the industry with investments of 22 billion
yen, and the same amount is planned for this year. The main investments are 13 bil-
lion yen to the Arai plant, 3 billion yen to the Okayama plant and 3 billion yen to
the Nagaoka plant. Through these investments, IC production will be increased 66
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percent to 45 million individual sets per month, production of single semiconductor
chips will be doubled to over 400 miilion units per month, and production of micro-
computers will also be doubled.
[Sanyo] The allocated amount is 11 billion yer~, an increase of 3 billion yen over
last year. Costs for production facilities of the new LSI plant completed in Novem-
ber 1980 will take up about 60 percent of the investments. The remainder will be
used to construct and automate a new assembly line at the Ashikaga branch, since the
main plant is operating at full capacity. With the addition, the company's produc-
tion ratio of bipolar to MOSIC [MOS integrated circuits] will change from the past
9-to-1 to 8-to-2.
[Sharp] The sum of 7.2 billion yen (cumulative investment total is 20.5 billion yen)
is slated to expand facilities of the Tenri No 3 plant, which was completed in the
summer of last year. Production of LSI will be increased 50 percent to 6 million
units per month and IC will be increased 40 percent to 3.5 million units per month.
[Oki] Of the firm's total investments of 24.3 billion yen, 50 percent plus or 14.1
billion yen are earmarked for semiconductors, showing the company's exceptional in-
terest in this product. Of the 14.1 billion yen, 7 billion yen will be invested in
facilities of Miyazaki Oki Electric, a 64-k RAM mass production plant which will begin
operating this summer. The remainder will be invested in R&D facilities for next-gen-
eration VLSI at the Hachioji plant, from which modern equipment was taken and trans-
ferred to Miyazaki.
COPYRIGHT: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha 1981
FY 81 Pro~ected Production
Tokyo NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 19 May 81 p 13
[Text] The projected production (sales) for the semiconductor industry in FY 81
(partly calendar year) has been announced. The total production of the nine main
companies, led by Nippon Electric Co Ltd, is expected to amount to about 1.09 tril-
lion yen, a 27-percent increase over the previous year, and it is certain that semi-
- conductors will become a"trillion yen industry." The industry's peculiar feature
this year is its confusion, reflected by the statistics, that on the one hand while
it is taking a very cautious approach because it cannot count on exports due to the
semiconductor recession in the United States, particularly the anticipated zero
growth of MOSIC's, on the other hand it has an aggressive outlook because domestic
demand remains strong. Specifically, the three big makers, namely, NEC, Hi.tachi Ltd
an3 Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Ltd, are planning a conservative increase of about 20
percent, while manufacturers ranking fourth and below, led by Matsushita Electronics
Corp, are planning increases of 30 to 60 percent.
Cautious but Aggressive
[EIAJ] From the FY 81 projected production figures compiled late last year by the
Electronics Industries Association of Japan it was possible to predict that sometime
this year the semiconductor industry would enter the trillion yen industry group.
When the FY 81 production plans of the nine main firms were compiled, it became cer-
tain that the trillion yen mark would be exceeded by the nine companies alone.
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The EIAJ's prediction was based on a survey made late last year of the plans of var-
ious companies. Subsequently, as the U.S, recession gradually worsened, some in the
industry had doubts about reaching the 1 trillion yen level and believed that the
forecast of a 2.2 percent increase was overly optimistic. However, the production
plans of the various firms became much more aggressive for the following reasons:
1) The Japanese market remains strong and considerable increases in demand can be an-
ticipated for memories, microcomputers, VTR`s [video tape recorders], small signal
transistors for video discs, etc, and 2) In the U.S. market, inventory adjustments
were completed between January and March, and starting in April, though gradual,
there was a favorable turn toward increased demand and the outlook became hopeful
that somehow zero growth would be avoided.
The main points of the various companies' production plans are given below.
Table 1. Production (Sales) Plans of Semiconductor Divisions of Main Enterprises
(Unit: 100 million yen)
Fy gp FY $1 Growth Rate FY 81
Estimated Plans (percent) Plant & Eqpt
Results Investments
Nippon Electric Co Ltd 2,180 2,650 21 350
Hitachi Ltd 1,650 2,060 25 280
Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Ltd 1,500 1,800 20 150
Matsushita Electronics Corp 800 1,200 5~ 220
Fujitsu Ltd *640 850 33 270
Mitsubishi Electric Corp 610 800 31 130
Sharp Corp 473 *600 20 100
Tokyo Sanyo Electric Co Ltd 430 560 30 110
Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd 310 **410 60 141
TOTAL 8,593 10,930 27 1,751
*Since Fujitsu and Sharp announce the total sales of electronics products and do not
_ give the production statistics of the IC/semiconductor divisions separately, these
figures are estimates by NIKKAN KOGYO.
**Since Oki Electric publicly announces only the amount of external sales of elec-
tronic devices, this figure is NIKKAN KOGYO's estimate of Oki's production, includ-
ing items for company use.
[NEC] This year's semiconductor plans (including company use) of the largest maker,
NEC, call for integrated circuits worth 190 billion yen, an increase of 24 percent
over the previous year, and single semiconductor elements worth 75 billi~n yen, an
- increase of 16 percent, for a total of 265 billion yen, a 21-percent increase. In-
cidentally, the FY 80 production total of IC/semiconductor elements was 218 billion
yen, an increase of 36 percent over the preceding year. "We do not anticipate the
market demand will increase this year as much as last year, but still, our 21-percent
increase is 1 percent higher than the prediction of the U.S. survey firm. In short,
we are cautious but aggressive". (statement by Atsuyoshi Ouchi, NEC vice president).
[Hitachi] Hitachi, which is pursuing NEC and striving to regain the position of top
maker, believes that the semiconductor strategy is has publicized has finally begun
to pay off in full. Its aggressive outlook is shawn in the following statement by
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Satezo Hata, managing director: "Although slightly less than the 27 percent increase
in last year's production, we are expecting sales of over 200 billion yen, a 25-per-
cent increase." The bipolar division is in especially good shape and a substantial
growth rate is expected for production of computer-use, high-speed digital employing
3-micron technology, and linear IC`s for VTR, TV and audio equipment. New memory pro-
ducts, such as the 64-k dynamic RAM's, 16-k static RAM's, 32-k EPROM's, etc, in the
MOS division are selling favorably and contributing to the company's earnings. Sales
of microcomputers are also good. Production of single semiconductors is overtasked
o;~~oYr f~,- gi.~.~no i*_ priority, there are no plans to expand production. If limi-
ted to IC's, the growth rate is expected to exceed 30 percent.
[Toshiba] Like Hitachi, the company's semiconductor strategy is proceeding smoothly.
At first, with the aim of tightening up the company's operation, a conservative an-
nouncement was made by Teruyuki Mishijima, managing director, that "this year's goal
will be 160 billion yen." Recently, however, because the various divisions are doing
well, the attitude changed to an aggressive one that an increase of 20 percent was
certain. The reasons are that various products of the memory division, which was con-
sidered weak, are selling well, with the 16-k static RAM's leading the Japanese and
U.S. industries, production of dynamic RAM's, ROM's, etc increasing, and the highly
profitable CMOS products keeping up the good pace. Production of discrete components
is also good because of its association with VTR. In other words, the weak spots have
disappeared.
[Mitsubishi] Originally, sales of 75 billion yen were forecast, but recently the
figure was adjusted upward to 80 billion yen. Sales of linear IC's for TV, VTR and
audio-use are excellent. In addition, MOS memory production will contribute substan-
tially with the monthly production of 64-k memories at Kumamoto No 2 plant reaching
100,000 units in July, and 200,000 units per month by year's end.
[FujitsuJ FY 80 sales of the electronics division were approximately 80 billion yen,
of which about 80 percent or 64 billion yen, were IC products. This year production
of 64-k memories have already reached 150,000 to 200,000 units per month, and if
there is a demand, production can be increased at any time. It seems thar 64-k mem-
ories will replace the 16-k memories as the principal product. Together with Hita-
chi, Fujitsu is also strong on EPROM production. Substantial increases in produc-
tion of microcomputers and gate alleys are also expected. Sales of over 85 billion
yen, an increase of 33 percent over the previous year, are expected.
[Matsushita] In FY 80, production of IC's for VTR, TV and audio-use and industrial
IC's was favorable and sales recorded 80 billion yen, an increase of 62 percent over
the preceding year. Production will continue to be good this fiscal year, with a 50-
percent increase to 120 billion yen anticipated. Production will approach that of
the three big makers. IC production is expected to increase by 60 percent to the
63-67 billion yen range and semiconductor elements by 40 percent to 50 billion yen.
Regarding products, bip~lar IC's will reach an annual production of 36 million units
- and MOSIC's, 9 million units. Semiconductor elements will reach a monthly production
of 402 million units and microcomputers, 2 million units.
[Sharp] Sales of the electronics products business division include, in adciition to
IC's and semiconductors, display components such as printed circuits, clock module
liquid crystals, etc. The company has not revealed its projected sales plan, but an
increase of at least 20 percent or more can be expected for FY 81.
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[Sanyo] Since the demand for the company's audio-use thick film IC's, which is said
to occupy 70 percent of the world market, continues to be strong, production will be
further increased. With the completion of the new MOS p~ant, production of micro-
computers and memories will be doubled. The goal is sales of 46 billion yen, an in-
crease of 30 percent plus over the preceding year.
_ [Oki] T_his fiscal year's plan for external sales of the semiconductor division,
which include electronics devices oLher than semiconductors, calls for an increase
of 60 percent over the previous year, or a sum of 35 billion yen. The company has
not revealed production goals for semiconductors including tho$e for company use. A
large increase of 60 percent is forecast because the custom LSI division is doing
well and the new Miyazaki plant will start full operation in August with production
of VLSI, such as 64-k dynamic RAM's and 16-k static RAM's, reaching a monthly produc-
tion of 300,000 units. Increased production will be reflected in the company's .rec-
ord beginning this fall.
COPYRIGHT: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha 1981
Japan-U.S. Competition
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 19 May 81 p 1
[Text] In anticipation of the demand of the semiconductor industry, which is about
to enter the VLSI age, various producers of semiconductor manufacturing facilities
simultaneously started the sale of specialized VLSI equipment. The U.S.-Japan joint
company Nichiden Anelba (main offices in Fuchu city, Tokyo) and Applied Materials
Japan, a Japanese corporation of the U.S. AM'I' company, began to receive, one after
the other, orders for the newest etching equipment, followed by C. Itoh & Co Ltd.
which began to import and sell light-emitting apparatus of the U.S. Optimetrix Com-
pany. Big U.S. makers, such as GCA Corp and Perkin-Elmer Corp, and Japanese compan-
ies, such as Canon Inc and Nippon Kogaku KK, are also getting into full gear and the
competition is becoming intense between Japanese and U.S. makers for a share of the
rapidly expanding Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment market.
Table 1. Main Semiconductor manufacturing equipment makers engaged in sales of VLSI
Equipment.
Maker Sales Outlet Products
Nichiden Anelba Nichiden Anelba Reactive ion dry etching apparatus
AMT Applied Materials Japan Plasma etching apparatus
Perkin-Elmer Corp Kanemitsu Semiconductor I.ight-emitting apparatus, etching
apparatus (planning stage)
GCA Sumitomo Shoji Light-emitting apparatus, etching
Kaisha Ltd apparatus (planning stage)
Optimetrix C. Itoh & Co Ltd Miniature light-emitting apparatus
Canon Inc Canon Inc Mask aligners
Nippon Kogaku KK Nippon Kogaku KK Light-emitting apparatus
Note: AMT, Perkin-Elmer Corp, GCA and Optimetrix are U.S. companies
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- Japan's semiconductor industry, which is expected to enter the VLSI age in a year or
two, is planning plant and equipment investments of over 200 billion yen, for the
- industry as a whole, in FY 81. Construction of plants specializing in VLSI is pra-
ceeding at a rapid pace.
For VLSI, led by the 64-k RAM's (instantaneous write-in/read-out memory), because
over 100,000 transistors are integrated on a small silicon chip no larger than sev-
eral mm square, the minimum channel width of the circuit is about 3 microns. For
LSI of the 16-k RAM category, about 5 microns are tolerable. Therefore, for the VLSI
manufacturing line, specialized equipment capable of precise and minute processing,
which cannot be compared with previous types of equipment, becomes necessary.
In response to the demand of the semiconductor industry, makers of semiconductor man-
ufacturing equipment began developing specialized VLSI equipment and Che results are
beginning to appear successively.
First, Nichiden Anelba which is a joint company of NEC and the U.S. Varian Associates,
succeeded in developing the "ILD-4002," a reactive ion dry etching apparatus which
- can etch in 3-micron channels, circuit patterns printed on silicon wafers. Orders
are being taken for this "world's first VLSI etching apparatus of practical usage"
(statemznt by Toru Inouye, managing director).
Through its Japanese affiliate, AMT has also begun the sale of the "AME-8100" series
which are plasma etching apparatus for VLSI-use. To develop this newest type of equip-
ment, AMT is said to have scouted for technologists in the United States at Bell Lab-
oratories and Intel Corp, a large semiconductor maker, and spent 1 billion yen for
development costs.
GCA Corp and Perkin-Elmer Corp, which with AMT rank the "big three U.S. semiconduc-
tor manufacturing equipment makers," are planning to sell on the Japanese market
VLSI-use etching apparatus through their respective Japanese agents, Sumitomo Shoji
Kaisha Ltd and Kanemitsu Semiconductor (main office, Tokyo).
In the field of light-emitting apparatus to print circuit patterns on silicon wafers,
GCA Corp had the monopoly with its Stepper-DSW, but the Optimetrix company, through
C. Itoh & Co Ltd began the sale of its new type of equipment. Also, the Japanese
firms of Canon Inc and Nippon Ko~aku KK have announced plans for the construction of
specialized plants to manufacture VLSI-use equipment and have revealed their interest
in fully participating in this industrial area.
At present the Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment market is reportedly
140 billion yen a year, but with the arrival of the VLSI age, an annual increase of
20 to 30 percent is anticipated. Established makers have begun the race to get a
~ bigger share of this rapidly growing market.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
Development of Semiconductor Sensor
Tokyo DENKI SHIMBUN in Japanese 23 May 81 p 3
[Text] The Ministry of International Trade and Industry [MITI] wants to encourage
the technological development of semiconductor sensors (detectors), comparable to
the five sensory organs of human beings, and has decided to establish a sensory
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developmcnt assistance fund during the coming fiscal year. One of the aims is to
greatly advance the development o~ element technology which is associated with elec-
tronics "brains" such as memories and lpgi,c elements. Other underlying factors are
the tendency of sensory technology development to lag behind, the difficulty of sys-
tematic development because of the wide applications, and the desirability being felt
recently for sensory R&D on capability to detect subtle chemical compounds in smell
and taste. To place sensory development on its proper course, the MITI plans to es-
tablish a committee composed of various maker representatives which can widely grasp
the needs of different industrial sectors and serve as a forum to exchange views.
Provide "Five Senses" Capability to Advance "Brains"
Sensors which can detect various types of physical properties from controlled objects
and transform them into electrical signals are comparable to the five human sensory
organs. Light sensors are compared with the human sense of sight, gas sensors with
the sense of smell, pressure and temperature sensors with the sense of touch, sound
- wave sensors with the sense of hearing and chemical sensors with the sense of taste.
Full application of semiconductor technology to sensors has only begun, and it has
been pointed out that compared with the progress of IC and LSI memory and logic ele-
ment technologies, it is relatively backward.
However, the number of patent applications related to sensors has increased rapidly
in recent days, and because of their wide applicat9.ons, there is an increasing rec-
ognition of the need to promote their technological development.
The MITI recognized that it was indispensable to develop biochenical sensory elements
to detect minute harmful substances or to prevent gas explosions and had originally
planned to include in the "technological R&D plan for the next-generation industrial
base" to be newly established in FY 81 the development of a type of sensory or new
functional element, together with a super structure element, a three dimensional
circuit element and an environment reinforcement. However, at the start of the plan,
the Finance Ministry objected to inclusion of a biochemical sensory element amung the
developmental items, and ultimately it had to be dropped.
Because of these events, the MITI reconsidered the necessity to promote technological
development and future needs of sensories, in general, and concluded that: 1) it is
desirable to develop sensories which are the same as or closely resemble human senses;
2) there is an urgent need for such sensory development but at this stage there is no
_ provision for systematic development; and 3) with the existing sensory technology, it
is either impossible to detect molecules in smell or taste or it would require a long
period of time. Thus, the MITI judged that sensory development was needed and that
the establishment of backup measures for technological development by nongovernmental
bodies was an urgent task.
At present, the MITI considers it desirable to set up the sensory development assist-
ance fund in the next fiscal year, but since there are indications of fund cuts in the
Gecond round of budget adjustments, it must be flexible in its thinking ~nd plan for
alternate measures. After obtaining adequate information on which specific industries
and enterprises have interest in sensory development, the MITI plans to organize a
committee made up of representatives from the concerned makers and to reflect in its
policies the viewpoints that are presented in the meetings.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon Denki Kyokai 1981
9134
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' SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY .
INTRODUCTION OF ROBOTS INTO AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY CONTINUES
Parts Industry
Tokyo NIHON KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 10 Jun 81 p 8
[Text] The introduction of robots into the automobile parts industry has been a
steady process. Operational expenses continue to increase for the auto parts indus-
try due to the facelifting of the production lines necessitated by the acceleration
of the new car model development and the rapid design changes associated with this
trend. To cope with this, each parts maker has introduced "unhumanized" robots in
each production process and is making all-out efforts to absorb the cost increase
inf licted by the design changes, indicating the emergenc~ of a movement in the parts
industry in connection with the introduction of robots to the auto industry.
Pressed by intensified domestic auto sales competition, all companies in the auto
industry are engaged in an exhaustive battle to gain a share of the market by intro-
ducing new models. The conventional model change cycle, known to be once every 4
years, is likely to be gradually speeded up because of this.
The parts makers are pressed to produce parts at a pace that can accommodate the
speed of the development of finished cars as seen now, and furthermore they are re-
quired to have a parts production line for each car model in order to deal with the
diversification of the car model structure by the makers. The conventional lines
cannot handle this need, and it is a fact that the cost of production has gone up.
In these circumstances, recently, robots which can cope with the diversification
have begun to be introduced to each production line in conjunction with the equip-
ment renewal.
The Koito Manufacturing Co, which is troubled by the cost increase due to the increase
in the variety of headlamps, has decided to begin the automation of its entire manu-
facturing process by introducing robots to the lamp assembly process, which is an
addition being constructed in the Shizuoka plant. Also, a great number of robots
have already been introduced to the signal light factory in the Haibara plant, and
the assembly process has been more extensively automated than in the past. Likewise,
Tokiko has introduced welding robots it developed and distributed to the production
line of its major product, shock absorbers, and is achieving good results due to
equipment procured from within.
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Another example is the Japan Oil Seal Industzy, which is also changing outdated
equipment to robots one after another to cope with the variety and mass production
of oil seals.
On the other hand, Riken (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), the largest
piston ring maker, has successively introduced virtually manless automated process-
ing lines to the Kashiwazaki plant (Niigata Prefecture) for improvement of the work
precision and the mass production of its piston rings.
All these companies are promoCing the development of robots within their companies
to alleviate the burden of equipment expenses, and the activities in the parts in-
dustry draw attention even from the aspect of manufacturing production equipment
within itself in the days to come. .
Body Industry
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 12 Jun 81 p 9
[Text] Today robots fill the place of a main character in the welding process of the
automobile assembly. Already, a total of 2,000 rabots are working in Japanese auto-
mobile factories. This is the result of a repeated process of ~rial and error ex-
plored through the combined knowledge of the auto makers and the robot makers. Now
the Japanese auto industry has risen to the point of being credited as the best manip-
ulator of robots among the world's auto industries.
The introduction of robots which started in the welding field has now been expanded
to the painting field, but where do the auto makers think this will end...? Yoshi-
kazu Tamura, director of the Second Engineering Department of Nissan Motors, asserted:
"Robots of the present type cannot be applied to anything but the body." The use of
robots in every process of automobile manuf acture, such as casting, forging and out-
fitting (fitting of internal parts), has not materialized.
According to the auto makers, the present robots can only strike "dots" as seen in
spot welding. Multiple operations cannot simultaneously or continuously be accom-
plished in a single motion. Also, robots are not good at performing fine, intricate
work. Auto makers demand much more from robots. How to accommodate this aspect will
be the task of the robot makers and also an issue of the auto makers themselves.
When Toyota introduced Kawasaki Heavy Industries' "Unimate" on a trial basis, it was
driven up the wall by failures. When a Toyota engineer took~the "Unimate" apart, he
found defects in the gears. The technology for gears is a speciality of auto makers.
Toyota is said to have offered the technology to improve the gears to Kawasaki Heavy
Industries. The companies which were in the first group to introduce robots, for in-
stance, Nissan Motors and Toyo Kogyo, likewise offered various technologies to robot
make rs .
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In this way, know-how from various auto makera flowed into the present welding robots.
In the background of the firm grip on the market share held by Kawasaki's "Unimate"
in the welding robot market, there is Kawasaki's positive incorporation of technology
drawn from various auto makers integrated into the "Unimate".
However, auto makers must try to take some measures to prevent leaks of their own
know-how regarding robots. Indeed, rhey have already started to ask for a royalty in
exchange for the know-how offered to the robot makers. Makers other than Nissan
Motors are to pay the royalty added on top of the cost of the robots.
- _ - - - -
Now, auto makers are beginning to ~think o~ a method to design an automobile body suit-
able far robot operation. The body will be preshaped in the designing stage with
robot welding as a premise. Hidden welding sites will be "brought out" in new de-
signs so that the hands of robots can reach them. The more human welding operations
can be avoided, the more robot welding can be fully utilized. Auto makers are explor-
ing many innovations to get the maximum use'from robots.
- -
Small Car Lines
Tokyo NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 17 Jun 81 p 7
(Text] Suzuki Motors (president, Osamu Suzuki) has decided to introduce 70 robots
for welding within this fiscal year. The intention is to upgrade production effi-
ciency through labor saving. The three plants expecting the introduction are the
Kosai, Iwata and Toyokawa plants. With this, the robots introduced by this company
will jump from 100 units in the past to 170 units in one sweep, a gigantic step-up
in the robot ratio used in the production process. In the automobile industry, the
introduction of robots is currently being spurred mainly in the small passenger car
production plants, as a measure to ride through the world automobile war. With
this mass introduction by Suzuke Motors, it seems that the light car lines will
enter into full scale automation by robots.
The number of units assigned to the three plants scheduled to have robots breaks
down as follows: 30 for the Kosai plant, 30 for the Iwata plant and 10 for the
Toyokawa plant. They are all to be used for automation of the welding lines. Mod-
els Alto, Fronte and Salvo are produced in the passenger car production plant at
Kosai. Carry, Carry Van and Gemeni are produced in the commercial car production
plant at Iwata. Also, medium-size and large motorcycles (auto-bai) primarily for
export specifications are produced in Toyokawa plant.
Up to now, Suzuki has introduced a totai of 100 robots to the four-wheel car plants,
Kosai and Iwata, but not to the two-wheel car plant, Toyokawa. When the installa-
tion of robots in the Toyokawa plant is completed within this fiscal year, it will
mark the first introduction of robots to a two-wheel car plant for the compaxiy.
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. _ - .
- -
Suzuki decided on the mass introduction of robots in order to upgrade production ef-
ficiency through labor saving. In the company, demands for passenger vehicles and
commercial vehicles has dramatically increased, supported by the light car boom ap-
pearing from last year through this year. In con~unction with this, in the January-
~ April period this year production increased by 36.1 percent compared with the same
period last year, to 178,000 cars, stretching the operation to the limit of capacity.
Of all the models, the popular "Alto" model is now produced at the rate of 13,000 to
14,000 a month, and tne company is straining to catch up with the pace by the use of
overtime and weekends and holidays. In these circumstances, it decided to make pro-
duction more efficient by the mass introduction of robots and to provide some leeway
in the operation.
The automobile industry is now fighting desperately to introduce robots as a"feature
- measure" to rationalize the production process in order to win and survive in the
world automobile war. Already, Toyota and Nissan have introduced 500 robots. Others,
such as Toyo Kogyo, Mitsubishi Motors, Isuzu, etc, are definitely planning to intro-
duce robots, although primarily to small passpnger car lines. Now, however, Daihatsu,
at this stage of th? game, is indicating a will and desire to introduce robots built
within its company, showing a tendency to promote automation of light car lin~s by
robots. It is likely that the mass introduction by Suzuki motors will give "momentum"
to these trends.
COPYRIGHT: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha 1981
8940
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