JPRS ID: 10009 JAPAN REPORT

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• Collection: JPRS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000400050059-8
• Release Decision: RIF
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 29
• Document Creation Date: November 1, 2016
• Sequence Number: 59
• Content Type: REPORTS

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JPRS L/10009
24 September 1981
Japan Report
(FOUO 57/81)
FBIS FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
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JPRS L/10009
24 September 1981
JAPAN REPORT
(FOUO 57/81)
CONTENTS
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
List of Top 100 Business Firms in Machinery Sales for FY 1980 Compiled
(NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUN, 29 Jul 81) 1
MITI Studies Way To Aid Basic Material Industries
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 1 Sep 81) 13
Uranium Enriching Plan Takes on Concrete Form
(Kiyoo Suda; JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 25 Aug 81) 14
Technology Developed To Make Carbon Fiber From Pitch
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 1 Sep 81) 16
More Effective Use of Byproduct Waste Gas Is Seen by t1ITI
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 25 Aug 81) 17
Boeing Calls for Quick Decision on B7-7 Plane Project
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 25 Aug 81) 18
Nissan To Install Many Robots at Pickup Factory in Tennessee
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 25 Aug 81) 19
Search for New Coal Chemistry Products Intensifies
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 25 Aug 81) 20
Advisory Body Reports on Data Circuit Liberalization
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 1 Sep 81) 21
Green Cross To Produce B Variety Hepatitis Vaccine
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 1 Sep 81) 22
- a - [III - ASIA - 111 FOUO]
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Interferon, Hormones Made Without Use of Blood Serum
(JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 25 Aug 81) 23
Brief's
Energy-Saving Smelting Technology
- b -
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SCIENCE AN1? TECHNOLOGY
2
LIST OF TOP 100 BUSINESS FIRMS IN MACHINERY SALES FOR FY 1980 COMPILED
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 29 Jul 81 p 6
[Text] Machine Tools Group Makes Advance; Makes Inroads Into Top 100 Positions;
Sales Volume Increases 25.5 Percent
Business showing of Japan's powerful machinery firnLS in 1980 has shown remarkable
growth thanks to the "machinery boom." Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha has carried out
"the second top 100 machinery firms ranking" of Japan's powerful machinery firms
(including the consolidated firms). According to the results of this investiga-
tion, the total 1980 sales volume of the top 100 firms among those who responded
reached 13,683,700,000,000 yen, exceeding the actual results of the top 100 firms
of the previous year by 25.5 percent. The machinery firms are said to have sung
the praise of this unprecedented machinery market activity. Moreover, the total
sales volume of the top 100 firms as a percentage of the total sales of Japan's
machinery and tool wholesalers (based on the cominercial statistics and the com-
mercial movement statistics) jumped from 22.2 percent in 1979 to 26.3 percent in
1980; clearly indicating that concentration of top ranking firms was in progress.
In order to grasp the actual state of the current machinery business circle, 386
powerful machinery firus (refer to the "method of investigation" for the method
of selecCing the subject firms for study) were chosen and an investigation was
carried out by means of a questionnaire including, among others, the questions
concerning 1979 and 1980 sales volumes and the prospect of 1981 sales.
- The machinery chosen as the subject for study included general industrial
machinery, tools, parts, precision light machines, ships, and railroad rolling
stocks. Automobiles, electronic computers, household appliances, and general
electric machines were ncti included in the study this time.
According to the results of investigation, the toCal sales volume of top 100
firms in 1980 amounted to 13,683,700,000,000 yen which was 25.5 percent over the
1979 sales volume of 10,902,600,000,000 yen. In spite of dullness in the con-
' struction machinery business due t.o holdback on public investment and a$10
billion setback in plant export drie to worsening circumstances in 1980, domestic
demand and export of machine too13, precision machines, tools and parts experi-
enced an unprecedentedly favorable activity, so thst a significant growth was
shown as a whole.
1
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Based on the "first top 100 machinery firms ranking" carried out in September
last year, the 1980 sales volume was projected to grow 16.7 percent over 1979.
The actual 1980 sales results far exceeded this prediction, indicating that the
activity of Japan's machinery firms was better than expected.
Nloreover, based on those firms which responded to the question about 1981 sales
forecast, the 1981 planned sales volume will rise 12.4 percent over 1980.
Reacting to the very high growth rate in 1980, the anticipated growth rate is
somewhat lower, but it still represents two-digi.t high growth rate. Except for
a cc:Lcern felt by a portion of the firms about the wane of the machinery boom
toward the latter half of 1981, the sales forecast is strong overall.
As expected, the top 10 positions of the 1980 top 100 firms ranking included 9
large consolidated firms. Moreover, the 9th through the 20th positions were led
by K. Hattori & Co. Near the top were five sales firms affiliated with Yammar
Agricultural Machinery, Shinko Sho,ji, Citizen Shoji, and Cannon.
Moreover, compared with the 1979 top 100 firms ranking, the fact that firms deal-
ing in favorable lines of machine tools rose in ranking was quite conspicuous.
Yamazen rose from 14th to llth position, while Gomiya rose from 31st to '28th
position,- and Kanematsu Gosho Machine Tool rose from 33rd to 29th position.
Besides these, Mitsui Machine Tools, Katsuyama Machinery, and Yachiyoda Industry
' also made an outstanding advance.
On the other hand, those firms dealing mainly in dull construction machinery,
including Nakamichi Machinery Industry, Narazaki Industry, Kyushu Construction
Machinery Sales, and Itoman each dropped approximately 10 positions in ranking.
Black and white were clearly determined by the type of machinery dealt with.
Those firms which were ranked below lOlst in 1979 and were included in the top
100 in 1980 included Reybold and Muranaka Medical Instrument. Conversely, those
firms which were dropped included Nippoa Scientific Machinery and Tominaga
Industry. .
Method of Investigation
This investigation was carried out on 386 powerful machinery firms chosen from
among Japan's 69,497 machinery and tool wholesalers based on the following
criteria: 1) Listed (stock) enterprise, 2) Member enterprise of Japan Machinery
Import Association, 3) "Corporation income 50,000 ranking--Machinery and Tool
wholesaler" compiled by Nikkei Business. The questionnaire included, among
others, questions concerning sales volume of all departments dealing in machinery
and the kinds of machinery handled as of 15 July.
In this investigation, the range of "machinery" was limited to the general
machinery (including plant, wind and hydropower machinery, chemical machinery,
boiler and internal combustion engines, transportation and load-handling machinery,
machine tools, metal work machinery, wood work machinery, fiber machinery,
h.ydraulic machinery, food machinery, printing machinery, construction machinery,
packaging machinery, agricultural machinery, air-conditioning machinery, and
other general industrial machinery), tools and parts (including bearings, valves,
gears, screws, springs, tools, and vther), precision light machinery (watches,
optical instruments, cameras, sawing machine, medical instruments, business office
machines, and measurement instrument), ships, and railroad rolling i:tocks.
2
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N'u1t uhric:iAL ubL uNLY
Growth Supported by the Popularity of NC, Yachiyoda and Reybold Made Rank;
Semiconductors and OA Related Firms Give Good Fight
5ales Volump- Growth Rate
Favorable conditions for machinery firms, dealing in ma.chine tools was outstanding
from the results of this investigation. Yachiyoda Industry, Reybold, and Mitsui
Machine tools which were near the top of the 1980 sales volume growth rate rank-
ing, are specialty firms dealing in machine tools.. The reason why these machine
tool specialty firms did so well in 1980 was because there was a great desire to
invest in equigment held by the manufacturers here and abroad, and to save labor
from introduction of NC (numerically controlled) machine tools into their produc-
tion process.
Moreover, Tokyo Electron, which experienced a favorable sales climate of semi-
conductor manufacturing equipment which constituted the driving force of "micro-
computer revolution," and J. Ozawa & Co, which dealt in business machines which
led the "OA age," were among the top ranking, sensitively reflecting the market
activity of the business world. Large firms such as C. Itoh & Co and Sumitomo
Shoji Ka.isha have also expanded their sales through their powerful sales net-
works here and abroad. However, Chori Company, which came in first on account
of a surge in plant orders, and Nissho-Iwai Aerospace, which came in second
because of favoxable sales L f aerospace, machinery, are considered to have
experienced temporary growth. They are expecting a redu,^.tion in sales volume
_ in 1981.
Inactivity in the sales of construction machinery as a result of slowdown in the
pub-lic works and dullness in sales of agricultural machinery due to reduced
interest in buying by the farmers influenced by the cool summer last year
resulted in the fact that sales volumes of the firms dealing in this machinery
could not grow. This was another feature which was shown very.clearly by the
results of this investigation.
1980 Sales Volume Growth Rate Top 20 Firms
Growth rate
Rank
Firm name
111.5
1
Chori
107.3
2
Nissho-Iwai Aerospace
65.6
3
Yachiyoda Industry
63.7
4
Toyota Commerce
6
51
- 5
C. Itoh & Co., Ltd.
.
46.2
6
Reybold
.
45.8
7
Seika Indus try
0
43
g
Chiyoda Induatry & Sales
.
42.6
9
Tokyo Electron
2
40
10
Sugahara Industry
.
37'7
11
Nichimen Industry
35.4
12
Sumitomo Sho3i
34.1
13
Toba Yoko .
- 9
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2007/02/09: CIA-RDP82-00850R000400050059-8

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2007/02/09
CIA-RDP82-00854R004400050059-8
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M
Rank Firm name
Growth rate M
14
Ohzawa Shokai
33.9
15
Yazaki Sogyo
33.8
.
' 16
Mitsui Bussan Machine Tool
32�8
- 17
Toyo Menka Kaisha
32�2
lg
Kyokuto 7.Yading
31.7
19
Matsushita Electric Trade
31.6
20
Marubeni Fiber Machinery Sales
29�8
Increasing Foreign Dependen;cy; C. Itoh & Co, Chori, and Nichimen Co Have Concern
Over Friction in the Field
Machinery export occupies approximately 60 peresnt of Japan's total export (1980
Customs statistics). It constitutes the main breadwinner who is indispensable
for paying the cost of�importing the raw material and fuel such as oil and iron
ores. In this investigation, we also requested the export volume and comment in
relation to machinery export from a total of 27 firms, the vanguard of machinery
firms whose export rate was more than 20 percent, in order to have an understand-
ing of the 1980 export picture.
Among these 27 firms, there were 17 whose export rate was also more than 20 per-
cent in the previous year. And, 12 of the 17 belonged to the "export dependent
type" whose export growth rate exceeded its overall growth rate. The majority
of the large consolidated firms increased the sales volume of their ma.chinery
departments by increasing export. This group was led by C. Itoh & Co which
registered a very high export rate of nearly 80 percent.
On the other hand, those firms among the 27 which increased the sales volume by
expanding their domestic sales numbered only seven including Kinsho-Mataictii Co,
Toyota Commerce, and Mitsubishi Corporation. Machinery export could become
"sparks" which ignite the trade friction in the Euroamerican countries, and the
machinery firms heavily in export are conscientiously taking appropriate counter-
measures such as "emphasizing technology export" (Kinsho-Mataichi) and "backing up
- the advance of manufacturers in the field" (Mitsui Corporation). ,
Export Rate
Ranking of machinery firws whose export rate exceeded 20 percent
Export Total sales
Export growth volume growth
Rank Firm name rate rate rate
1
Brother International
100.0
16.3
16.3
1
C. Itoh & Co. Machinery
100.0
12.8
12.8
1
Matsushita Electric & Trade
100.0
31.6
31.6
4
Meisei Commerce
94.1
24.8
24�8
S
Kinsho-Mataichi
90.8
12.7
13.5
6
C. Itoh & Co. Shoji
79.9
66.9
51.6
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Export
Total sales
Export
growth
volume growth
Rank
Firm name
rate
rate
rate
72.0
185.8
111.5
7
Chori
68
7
46.9
37�7
8
Nichimen Industry
.
4
63
2.2
-1.5
9
Asahi Optical Shoji
.
60.7
57�7
28�6
- 10
Marubeni
54
9
57.2
28.7
11
Kodama Shoji
_
0
53
18.5
26.4
12
Mi.tsubishi Shoji
.
5
52
79.7
33.9
13
Ohzawa Shokai
.
0
52
38.1
35.4
- 14
Sumitomo Shoji
.
4
51
34.1
16.1
15
Citizen Shoji
.
50.0
-29.2
-11.0
16
Itoman
48
9
32.5
19.0
17
Mitsui Bussan
.
2
48
36.1
25.9
18
Nissho-Iwai
.
1
48
47.5
20�7
19
Hattori & Co.
.
9
45
56.3
32�2
20
Toyo Menka Kaisha
.
2
45
39.3
21.6
-21
Kanematsu-Gosho
.
43.8
54.6
24.5.
- 22
23
Yamazen
Itoh & Co. Fiber Machinery Sales
C
41.2
-0.8
23.6
24
.
Kawatetsu Shoji
40.3
4
36
5.3
-8.5
7�3
7�4 .
25
Ohkura Sho3i
,
2
28
25.1
11.9
26
Newlong
.
2
25
43.9
63.7
27
Toyota Commerce
.
Ttxose
firms which responded to the quesr.ionnaire but did
not make
the top 100:
Firm name (head office location, main items
handled)
Kensetsu Fastener (Osaka, tools)
Nikkaki (Tokyo, medical instruments)
Muraki Watch (Tokyo, watch)
Western Trading (Tokyo, industrial machinery)
Nissei (Tokyo, drying machinery)
Kokusai Kok:i (Tokyo, machine tools)
Yamamori (Tokyo, tools)
Nippon Meyer (Fukui, fiber machinery)
Tominaga Bussan (Tokyo, marine internal combustion engines)
Sankin (Tokyo, tools)
Meiko (Tokyo, business machine)
Hasegawa Industry (Osaka, industrial machinery)
Koizumi (Tokyo, air-conditioning machinery)
George Fischer Machine Tool (Osaka, machine tools)
Kobundo (Osaka, printing machinery)
Motoya (Osaka, press machinery)
Ohshima Shozaburo Firm (Nagoya, tool)
Etsuda Commerce (Tokyo, resin molding machinery)
Teradyne (Tokyo, semiconductor testor)
Tokibo (Tokyo, medical instruments)
11
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Tosho (Tokyo, water treatment machinery)
Taichi (Tokyo, watch)
CSC (Tokyo, oil supply equipment)
Parker Commerce (Tokyo, food machinery)
Okumura Machine Manufacturing (Osaka, industrial machinery)
Karl Zeiss (Tokyo, medical instrument)
Marubeni Electronics (Tokyo, semiconductor manufacturing equipment)
Yoshida Commerce (Osaka, fiber machinery)
Nodeson [phonetic] (Tokyo, painting machinery)
Maruichi Cutting Tool (East Osaka, tools)
Nichibei Automotive (Tokyo, automobile maintenance equipment)
Teisho Machinery Sales (Tokyo, measurement instrument)
Japan A M(Tokyo, printing machinery)
Shinko Trading (Tokyo, medical instruments)
Asia lndustry (Tokyo, parts)
Kanematsu Industrial Machinery (Tokyo, plastic processing machinery)
Japau Focus (Tokyo, medical instrument)
Kawamada Chemical Industry (Tokyo, leather processing machinery)
Taiyo Bussan (Kobe, hydraulic machinery)
Yufu Precision Machinery (Tokyo, medical instrument)
Sanshin Electric (Tokyo, facsimile)
Furthermore, Mitsubishi Shoji Machine Tool (Tokyo, 1980 sales: 26,392,000,000 yen,
main item handled: machine tools) was excluded from the group of subjects for top
100 ranking, because its response was received after the data was totaled. And
Ohzuka Commerce (Tokyo, business machine) and Uchida Yoko (Tokyo, business
machine) which were considered to be in the top 100 but were not I.ncluded in the
ranking because they declined to respond to the questionnaire.
COPYRIGHT: Nihon,Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
9113
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SGIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
rva% va'L ..v~.a..
MITI STUDIES WAY TO AID BASIC MATERIAL INDUSTRIES
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 970 1 Sep 81 p 4
[Text]
The Ministry of International
Trade & Industry has begun
studying ways and means for
shoring up the basic material
industries, ' such as
petrochemical, aluminum and
paper-pulp, as all of them have
become bogged down in
managerial difficulties.
lfiis is particularly so be-
cause moce people have begun
to feel that if the basic
materials field is allowed to re
main as it is, this may lead to
undermining Japan's industrial
structure in general.
Indications now are that the
PdITI's review will embrace
two phases. One will concern
medium- and long�term
measures for coping with the
high cost of energy and
materials which form the basie
factors for the business slump,
and the other, short-tesm mea-
sures, such as abolishment of
surplus facilities.
As for short�term me2su:es,
MITI is expected to consider
such steps also as adding the
petrochemical industries and
others to the list of thase which
benefit from the law on aiding
structurally depressed indus-
tries, and extending govertr
ment funds for strengthening
their competitiveness, such as
by promoting research and
development.
In June, 1978, the Govero-
ment instituted a special em-
ergency measures law for help-
ing stabilize some industries
which sorely were hit by a re-
cession stemming from their
structural compasition.
The Government thereafter
designated 14 types of indus-
ti ies to come under this law,
such as open-electric furnace,
aluminum smelting and syn-
thetic fiber, and then systema-
tically abolished their surplus
equipmenL �
However, the competitive-
ness of the basic material io-
dustries began falling sharply
in the period from 1978 to 1979
owing to the effects of the
sECOnd oil crunch, and the
structural depression of this
sector further intensified as
compared to around 1978.
For instance, the petro-
chemical industry, not de-
signated under the law for
structurally depressed indus-
tries, began newly to ex
perience serious managerial
difticulties.
Such a situation led MTTI
from this spring successively
to convake the aluminum
and chemical industry com-
mittees of the Industrial Struc-
ture Council, advisory body to
i2s minister, to consider relief
measures on an individual icr
dustry basis. -
With regard to medium- and
long-term relief ineasures,
MITI is expected particularly
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
CSO: 4120/325 13
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
to study the high cost o[ energy
and materials in Japan as com-
pared to nations in the West
after the second oil cr.unch.
As to this, its top officials
fear that JaQan's basic
materials industries are
destined to experience further
na-
trouble if the oil produc nB oil
tions themselves be8
reE'uting and start selling their
oii products since this wi11
furthec bring down _world
prices of oil products anci
further widen the gap between
them and Japanese prices�
It thus appears ttat MITI ex-
perts will explore the pos-
sibility of taking some kind of a
governmental policy measure
to lower prices of power and
petroleum products, such as naphtha, used by the basic
material industries.
With regard to starting a
study of ineasures for shoring
up the basic material indus-
tries, MITI says:
"Japan's processing type ih
dustries, such as general
machinery and electric equiP-.
ment, have strong international
competitiveness, and are
steadily stepping up their ex-
ports.
"However, in the back of
such a favorable trend of the
processing industries 'rs the
high technological level: of the
domestic suppliers of basic ma-
terials as weQ as their smooth
supply.
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URANIUM ENRICHING PLAN' TAKES ON CONCRETE FORM
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 969, 25 Aug 81 pp.l, 19
[Article by Kiyoo Suda]
[Text ] Building of Japan's prototype
uranitun-enriching plant, to be
followed by full-fledged com-
mercial plants, has recently
been agreed on by the Govern-
ment's Science and Technology
Agency, Ministry of Interna-
tional Trade and Industry
(MITI) and the l0-compaay re-
gional electric power indiatry
in Japan.
The agreement signals pro-
gress in Japan's national policy
of buitding its own "nuclear
fuel cycle," to ensure an inde-
pendent, lasting and adequate
supply of nuclear energy, all
the way from development of
uranium resources through U-
enriching, power generation,
spent U-fuel reprocessing, to
ultimate disposal of the ra-
dioactive naclear waste mate-
rials.
The prototype plant is
specifically aimed at making
Japan at least 30 per cent self-
sufficient in necessary supplies
of enriched uranium 235 fuel for
the existing 22 and other pro-
spective commercial nuclear
electric . power stations, in-
variably of light watercooled
category, by the year 2000. The
nation still totally depends on
imports for such supplies.
According to the agreement,
. building of the prototype sched-
uled to start next year (during
fiscal 1982) and its operation
aze to be undertaken by the
governmental .Power Reactor
and Kuclear Fuel Development
Corporation because of its long
experience with its successful
1977-81 pilot U-enriching plant
building-operation project.
This part of the agreement
was significant as it came after
a sharp split of views between
the Agency, insisting on a
totally private undertaking of
the prototype project, and MITI
and industry assuming the
principal duty concerned be-
cause .of the great expense of
the project, although the latter
compromised on the industry's
partial bearing of the cost.
'Ihe prototype plaat"is to have
an annual production capacity
of 200 ton SWUs (separation
work imits) and is to be put into
operation by fiscal April, 1990.
The plant will be located at the
same place as the pilot plant -
Ningyo Pass in the hills on the
border of Okayama Prefecture
with Tottori Prefecture. (One
ton/SWU is equivalent to one
year's supplies of U-fuel tor a
little standard nuclear power
plant ot about 10,000 kilowatts
in capacity. ) An estimated total rnst of
V 70 billion to build the proto-
type plant will be "partly"
borne by the electric power in-
dustry. The industry and the
Science and Technology,
Agency are said to still dis-
agree on the industrial share of
the cast, with the Agency insist-
ing on 50 per cent and the in-
dustry on 20 per cent.
Follow-up commercial plants
aze to be natural;y built chiefly
at the responsibility of the elec-
tric utilities (with the Gov-
ernmeat's financial assist-
ance) and the companies are
to create a joint company to
work out a common plan to
proceed with their own project.
(The first cammercial plant
now visualized is to start op-
erating by around 2000 with an
annual capacity of 3,000
SWUs. )
Zhe agreement has already
been accepted as is by the
Domestic Uranium Enrichment
Subcommittee of the Govern-
ment's Atomic Energy Com-
mission into the commission's
official recommendation to be
filed with the Prime Minister's
Office shortly. The Agency and
the Ministry directly in charge
of the project will accordingly
seek the necessary appropria-
tions under Japan's next fiscal
1982 national budget to be com-
piled by the year-end.
The uranium 235 fuel for Ja-
pan's N-power stations is made
from yellow cakes (semi-re-
fined) uranium ores enriched in
its U-235 content to about 3 per
cent. Such enrichment requires
highly-developed technology
and expensive facilities, and Ja-
pan has continued to seek the
services of the U.S. and FYance
to do the enriching since the
start of the last decade. That
has posed variotis problems to
deter or endanger Japan's na-
tional policy in favor of con-
tinued development of its nu-
clear electric power genera-
tion. The U.S.-led international
14
F(1R nFFirr e T. T TCF (1Ni.Y
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j'VA UL'1'1V1t1U UJL V1.1LI
policy against nuclear energy
software and hardware pro-
liferation to prevent military
abuses has often prevented the
pt'ogress of even Japan's
peaceful nuclear energy
utilization program through
severe international checks, es-
pecially as to reprocessing of
spent uranium fuel and crea-
tion of fast-breeder reactors to
tuel themselves and supply fuel
to other reactors. Besides, a
possible shortage in interna-
tional supplies of enriched ura-
nium 235 could undermine-Ia-
pan's whole long-cange nuclear
energy development program.
Consideration of such basic
vulnerabilities of the program
has prompted the Japanese
Government and industry to
build up Japan's seif-sufficiency
in uranium enrichingservices as
far and as early as possible.
Japanese electric power
companies have been obtaining
American and French ura-
nium-enriching services under
long-range commercial con-
tracts now extending as far as
to 1995. As the companies now
figure, their expanding N-
power station networks will
come to need annually about
8,000 ton/SWUs of enriched
uranium supplies by 1990,
10,000 by 1995, and 12,000 tons
by 2000. Without Japan's own
efforts to build up its domestic
enriching capacity, they fear a
possible shortage in such sup-
plies to occur after 1995.
Japan now has only a token
uranium-enriching plant in a
little pilot plant with an annual
capacity of only 50 SWUs built
by the governmental corpora-
tion and put into a trial rim in
1979, although the plant has
proved a decided success in
making the prototype plant
projectfeasible.
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
CSO: 4120/324
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SCIENCE A1VD TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED TO MAKE CARBON FIBER FROM PTTCH
Tokyo JAPX:? ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 970, 1 Sep 81 p 13
[Text]
A new method of producing a
high-quality carbon fiber from
oil or coal pitch at a far greater
speed than any known process
has been developed by the Gov-
ernment Industrial Research
Institute, Kyushu.
According to the regional
laboratory at Fukuoka, the new
method also promises far lower
production cost, possibly 50 per
cent lower, than the conven-
tional commercial method of
producing carbon fiber from
polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
through baking.
Production of the item from
pitch, a cheap material, had
long been a subject of fierce
technological competition
among Japanese, American
and other chemical makers,
notably including Kureha
Chemical Industry Co. of
Japan, and Union Carbide
Corp. of the U.S. But the strong
tenacity of the raw material
had limited the speed of
production (drawing) to only
scores of ineters a minute. The
slow speed has resulted in a
product with a bad motecuiaz
arrangement and thus a low
tensile strength, attaining only
about a third of that produced
from PAN.
The Fukuoka institute said its
method can draw carbon fiber
of a filament type at a speed of
anywhere between 300 and 1,000
meters a minute, with a
marked yield of 90 per cent or
higher. The PAN method had
been incapable of producing
filaments and attaining more
than 50 per cent in yield. The
carboa filaments produced by
the new method are about as
tensile as that producible by the
conventional method, wittr
standing a stress of about 300
kilograms per square milli-
meter.
The regional institute said its
method accidentally resulted
from its research job of
developing Japan's own Sol-
volysis method of liquefying
coal. That method is to
separate coal into oil by a
chemical reaction caused in a
mixture of dust coal and oil-re.
"--fining residues, like pitch. But
even such residual matter has
recently gone up in price and
also corrre to be used for differ-
ent purposes to make the Sol-
volysis method more imprac-
ticable in cost ter,ms. -
The institute thus reduced its
consumption of such oils by
recycling the heavy oil residue
resulting from hydrogenation
of pitch or other oil refining
residues and distillation.
I Such technological efforts to
reduce the raw material cost
led to application of tetra-
hydroquinoline (THQ) as a
good coal solvent that keeps the
dissolved coal in a low mole-
cular condition, instead of poly-
merizing, into a high molecular
carbonic solid.
Such merit of THQ was
utilized by making pitch react
with THQ at a temperature of
about 400 degrees C. to obtain a
low molecular pitch solution,
which was briefly heated at a
temperature of about 500 de
grees C. under a decompressed
atmosphere,
The resultant intermediate
product was a premesophase
matter that stays the same in
chazacter regardless of moving
directions in physics terms (as
seen in crystals and other
solids. ) The filaments were spun
out of the intermediate product
at a great speed and after being
heated in the ordinary atmos-
phere for their surface oxidiza-
tion and insolubility, the
filaments were heated while
being. pulled taut into the final
product in a good crystalized
condition.
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
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MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF BYPRODUCT WASTE GAS IS SEFN BY MITI
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 969, 25 Aug 81 p 5
[TexL]
Byproduct gas of steel mills
and chemical plants, as ol;r
tained in the process of coke
production from coal, will be
better utilized if and when the
Ministry of International Trade
& Industry fully develops
measures to encourage it. MITI
is considering financial
assistance, including subsidies,
and technological development
to raise the coal gas's calorie so
that the so-called coal gas can
be more widely utilized. The
MTTI measures will be in-
tended to double the annual
coal gas use to 10 million liters a
year by fiscal 1990.
The gas utilization examples
include the joint construction of
an experimental plant by
Osaka Gas Co. and Nippon
Steel Corporation's Sakai
works. Kawasaki Steel Cocp. is
considering making its gas at
Mizushima works available to
interested users in the area.
According to. MITI, 5 million
kiloliters of coal gas is
currently utilized a year out-
side coke plants - mostly as
fuel for electric power genera-
tion in and near steel mills.
About 4 per cent (200,000 kilo-
liters) is supplied to local gas
utilities fos production ci city
gas, as exemptified by Kama-
ishi works of Nippon Steel and
Fukuyama works of Nippon
Kokan K.K. Steelmakers are _
promoting coke utilization in an
attempt to decrease reliance on
expensive fuel oil. That will
tend to raise byproduct gas
output, which MITI thinks can
be better utilized.
Its idea is that the gas should
be used more for city gas
production, which generally
relies on liquefied natural gas
and liquefied petroleum gas.
The LNG and LPG supplies are
not necessarily stable.
Coal gas's disadvantages
include lower calorific value -
about one half of LNG - and an
unstable supply as it depends
on the steel mill's operating
rates. Precisely for these
reasons, most of the gas
currently is consumed by steel
mills' power plants.
. In October, 1980, however,
Osaka Gas and Nippon Steel set
up a pilot plant for methanation
of coke byproduct gas. The ga,s
methanation is intended to
raise the calories. The pair
plans to raise the plant's
capacity in or after 1984.
MITI sees it passible for the
gas to be supplied to steel
companies' subsidiaries and
affiliates operating near the
steel and coke plants. It is also
studying the possibilities of the
chemical industry's using the
gas as a feedstock, as exem-
plified by the plan of Tokyo Gas
Co. and-Showa Denko K.K. for
ammonia production. Its tech-
nical studies include methods
to raise gas calorie supply by
means of town gas pipes and
reducing transportation costs
by installing pipes exclusively
for coal gas.
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Reizai Shimbun, Inc.
CSO: 4120/324
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BOEING CAirLS FOR QUICK DECISION ON B7-7 PLANE PROJECT
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 969, 25 Aug 81 p 6
[Text ] Boeing Co. of the U.S.,
through its Boeing Commercial
Airplane Co. division, last week
invited Japanese aircraft
makers to cooperate in devel-
oping a civilian transport series
' of 150-seater class. Bcein@
apparently acted in competi-
tion with a similar approach
made the week before by
McDonnell Douglas Corp. of the
U.S. and Fokker B.V. of the
Netherlands.
Boeing's approach to Japa-
nese aircraft producers was
made by Thomas J. Bacher,
director for International Bugi-
ness Planneng of BCAC, when he
met company executives at
Tokyo's Aviation Building. Ex-
ecutives of Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries, Ltd. and two other
companies and also leaders of
Civil Transport Development
Corp, (G'fDC), a Tokyo as-
sociation of aircraft and engine
makers attended.
Bacher later disclosed in his
interview with the Nihon Keizai
Shimbun in Tokyo that his com-
pany is ready to accept any
Japanese aircraft company in
the proposed B7-7 series
development project "on an
equal partnership basis." He
had made it clear in the meet-
ing that BCAC wishes to con-
clude by early September, if .
possible, a "memorandum of
understanding (MOU)" with
Japanese companies. Details of his talks were not
disclosed, but, according to in-
formed sources, Bacher did not
refer to what was believed to be
stiffer conditions set by Boeing
than the equality offered by the
McDonnell Douglas-Fokker
team. He said nothing about
demanding a special charge for
allowing the Japanese to use
the Bceing Co.'s international
commercial goodwill to sell the
prospective planes. However,
Boeing was still eeportedly in-
sisting holding somewhat
greater advantages than the
Japanese in the project.
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
CSO: 4120/324
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NISSAN TQ INSTALL MANY ROBOTS AT PICRUP FACTORY IN TENNESSEE
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in Eaglish Vol 19 No 969, 25 Aug 81 p 7
[Text ] Nissan Motor Co. will employ
a large number of industrial
robots at its pickup truck fac-
tory now under constructioa in
Tennessee. The uae of robots is
seen as a vitally important step
in maintaining product quality
at the same high level as in
domestic production. -
Japan's No. 2 automaker en-
visions installing 210 robots at
the U.S. factory, with an even-
tual aim of attaining a 95 per
cent automation ratio in weld-
ing processesthere.
The Tennessee factory, de-
signed to pcoduce 10,000-15,000
"trucks a month, will thus be-
come the inost advanced.in the
. world automobile industry in
terms of plant automation.
Even in Japan, for example,
an au4omaking plant with a
monthly capacity of more than
30,000 vehicles now uses 100-150
robots at the most.
Behind Nissan's decision in
April, 1980 to launch U.S. pro-
duction was the compaay's
confidence ttat it could operate
with high efficiency and pro-
duce high quality trucks by
building an extremely modern
factory equipped with indus-
trial robots.
In the summer of 1980, the
companq set up a subsidiary,
Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp.
U.S.A., while buying an 850-
acre site in Smyrna in the
suburbs of Nashville to build
the pickup factory.
The Tennessee plant, esti-
mated to cost $500 million, is
scheduled to begin fuil opera-
tions in the fall of 1983 on an in-
tegrated basis. It will employ
2,200 workers.
Specific moves of Nissan to
install robots at the U.S. plant
have atready started. The com-
pany has ordered 71 spot-weld-
ing ' robots from Kawasaki
Heavy Industries,. Ltd., 55 arc-
welding robots from Osaka
Transformer Co., and 36 robots
from Switzerland's'lralfer.
Besides, Nissan will purchase
four to five robots from outside
for educational training of in-
digenous workers.'fhese robots
will be high efficiency ones
having an action freedom
degiree of five to six axles.
Moreover, the company will
send to the U.S. factory 50
welding robots developed at its
domestic plant in Yokohama.
These robots, having less than 4
axles, can engage in relatively
easy welding jobs. '
� A Nissan cpokesman said,
"Our American truck factory
will be able to remove the lack
of uniformity in quality."
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SEARCH FOR NEW COAL CHEMISTRY PRODUCTS INTENSIFIES
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 969, 25 Aug 81 p 9
[Text J The race to develop new coal
bon fiber or some other carbon
products with metals, plastics,
and other items.
Nippon Steel Cocp., Nippon
Steel Chemical Co., and IYit-
tetsu Chemical Industrial Co.
(the latter two are chemical-
making subsidiaries of Nippon
Steel) have started a research
and developmecrt project by
creating a joint chemical
cesearch center early last July
in Nippon Steel's basic
research institute at Kawasald
cccy.
The trio's move represents a
significant policy drive of the
largest Japanese steelmaker to
develop a big general chemical
industry division. '1'he research
center will study four themes:
1) Development of new carbon-
based industrial materials; 2)
Development of new C-1
chemistry products based on
steelmaking by-product gases;
3) Development of carbon-
based compound industrial
intermediate products; 4)
Development of new inorgaruc
industrial materials, including
ceramic types.
As for Ube Industries, Ltd., it
plans to build this year to next
a coal gesifying plant in the
factory, at Ube City, of its sub-
sidiary, Ube Ammonia lo-
dustry Co.
Chiefly intended for supply-
ing gasified coal to the factory
to replace the latter's use of
naphtha as the raw material, the
plant is expected to cut down
the factory's production cost by
20 to 30 per cent for a higher
international competitive
capacity. Ube Industries, as
one of the Japan's most ver-
satile general chemical
developers, could go far into
the new coal chemistry product
development by utilizing the
plants.
chemistry products in Japan
has intensified.
It features attempts not only
to develop various coal gas,
tar, or tar-based new products
but to develop the so-called C-1
products.
The latter are various basic
industrial chemicals including
ethanol, acetic acid, ethylene
glycol, and high alcohal out of
materials containing only one
molecule of carbon to be otr
tained by removing carbon
monoxide or miscellaneous
gases from gasified coal, a
heavy type of oil, tar sand, or
from the steelmaking by-
product gasses.
Mitsubishi Chemical Indus-
tries, Ltd. has developed an in-
' novational coal fiber, just as
. strong, elastic and otherwise
good as the conventional petro-
chemical type.5 of synthetic
fibers, and much less costly to
produce. The company is tech-
nologically sure it will be able
to start full-scale com-
mercialization of the new
product by around 1985.
The carbon fiber is the com-
pany's second new product in
the area of carbon engineering.
The company plans to start
shortly a follow-up research-
cieveloupr2nt project to develop
its third new products (a group
of new pr:,ducts), specifically;
new i.*,dttstrial intermediate
matsrials of very high ef-
ficiency by combining the car-
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
CSO: 4120/324
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ADVISORY BODY REPORTS ON DATA CIRCUIT LIBERALIZATION
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 970, 1 Sep 81 p 3
[Text]
Limited liberalization of data
communications circuits was
recommended last week by an
advisory body to the Minister of
Posts & Telecommunications.
However, it called for retaining
to a large extent the Ministry's
control over data circuits and
the private data communica-
tions industry.
Data communications, which
links computers with input and
output terminals, is the third
communications means after
telegraph and telephone. But
data circuits in Japan have
been monopolized by the
governmental Nippon Tele-
graph & Telephone -Public
Corp. (NTT). 'llie Ministry of
International Trade & Industry
and the business cbmmunity
long have been criticizing that
the monopoly is hindering the
progiress of data communica-
tions in Sapan.
The advisory organ recom-
mended "liberalizing in prin-
ciple" joint use ot leased lines
by private businesses. Joint use
is now "prohibited in prin-
ciple."
However, the recommenda-
tion called for NTT's eontinued
control on the private ' data
communications industry's sub-
leasing of leased lines to a third
party. In the case of data com-
munications on subleased lines
involving' no "message ex-
change," the data communica-
tion company will be required
to notify its business to the
Minister ot Posts & Telecom-
tnunications. In case it involves
"message exchange" (as in the
case of telephone), the data
communications company must
get a license from the Minister,
who will check whether the
company ensures secrecy of
communications, protects
users and maintains high tech-
nical standards.
MITI and the business com-
munity already have expressed
a strong dissatistaction with
the NTT's continued interven-
tion in the private data com-
munications industry, saying
that it is apparently intended to
curb competition with NTT.
However, the Ministry of
Posts & Telecommunications
plans to formulate a ' "data
communications bill" on the
basis of the rernmmendation
and submit it to the next
general Diet sesslon. Rough go-
ing is expected before it 'will
become a law.
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
C IA-RD P82-00850 R400404050059-8
GREEN CROSS TO PRODUCE B VARIETY HEPATITIS VACCINE
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vo1 19 No 970, 1 Sep 81 p 13
[T ext ]
Biogen S.A. and Green Cross
Corp. have reached an agree-
ment on having the Swiss
genetic engineering firm
provide the Osaka drug firm
with production technique for
&type hepatitis vaccine. The
genetic engineering technique
is expected to help realize mass
production of the vaccine frnm
manipWated gene in E. coli.
Green Cross is undertaking
clinical tests of its vaccine ob-
tained from the human blood
But its conventional techaique
has drawbacks, such as grow-
ing difficulties to obtain blood
and need of highly sophis-
ticated centrifuge machines for
vaccine purification.
By comparison, the microor-
ganism can multiply to 100
billion only in a half day,
paving the way for vaccine
mass production. Protein that
acts as antigen will be mass
produced by genetic engineer-
ing technique so that it helps,
form antibody in the human
body. The vaccine can help
prevent infection.
The Green Cross-Biogen vac-
cine pact was scheduled to be
finalized by. early in Septem-
ber.
For the Japanese drug com-
pany, the tie-up with the Swiss
firm is the third genetic
engineering agreement. .In
February, this year, it finalized
an interferon deal with Coll-
aborative Research of the U.S.
and an alubumin pact with
Genex Inc., also of the U.S.
The Ministry of Health &
Welfare says that hepatitis
patients total about 130,000 in
Japan, including 4,000 suffering
from liver cancer and 36,000
who contracted hepa-
tocirrhosis. A hepatitis vaccine
development is also planned by.
the Science & Technology
Agency.
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
~
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
TNTERFERON, HORMONES MADE WITHOUT USE OF BLOOD SERUM
Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL in English Vol 19 No 969, 'LS Aug 81 p 16
- [Text]
A new method of artifically
_ culturing human cells to have
them produce interferon, hor-
mones and other important
medical substances without the
normally required expensive
cattle fetal blood serum has
been develuped by a team of
Japanese national university
researchers.
'Ihe method, which will also
simplfy the complex refining
processes in producing inter-
feron and other drugs from
human cells, and also eliminate
the danger of cattle blood albu-
men straying into such drugs to
causefatal rejection, has been
completed by Prof. Isao
Yamane and his team at the
Reseatch Institute for Tuber-
culosis and Cancer of Tohoku
University.
According to, Prof. Yamane,
he and his team will announce
- the new achievement at an
international molecular biology
symposium opening in the U.S.
on September 1.
'Itie achievement reportedly
is a breakthrough in that it
promises an answer to one of
= two big technological problems
in modern tissue culture for
production of valuable medical
substances. 'Iissue culture to
extract some of the cells of a
living thing (including human
beings), makes the extracted
cells multiply massively
through artificial nourishing.
'Ihey then produce the wanted
cirugs and other substances
throuQh natural biological
synthesis, one oE three different
processes of modern biotech-
nology. The other two are gene
recombination and cell fusion.
But the culture of human
cells, ideal for prodccing
human drugs, has posed two
tough technological challenges.
One is the need for sufficient
supply of the very expensive
and troublesome cattle fetal
blood serum, without which
human cells can not be ar-
tifically cultivated.
However, the other challenge
still remains - the growth of
human ce1T-"uncier artificial
culture not' horizontally but
three-dimensionally as seen in
the body, to display their full-
scale drug-producing functions.
Cancerous human cells grow
both horizontally and vertical-
!y, but when using cancerous
cells, a great deal of trouble is
needed to separate their
nucleic acid and pcoteins to
prevent the danger of every
cancer-causing factor getting
into the drugs to be produced.
How to make normal human
cells grow three-dimensionally
is still adifficult problem. The
new job done by the university
team could�be higtily evaluated
as providing a clue to solving
the question of how human cells
multiply under artificial cul-
ture. But it would still require
the development of many good
culture nutrients and growth
simulants, including hormones,
and further development in ap-.
plicability to different kinds of
human cells before becoming
widely usable. The new method
is still limited to a few kinds
of cell like the lymphoblast and
fibroblast.
According to Prof. Yamane,
he and his team have dis-
covered why the cattle fetal
blood serum has been indispen-
sable for artificial culture of
human cells. The answer is that
a certain kind of fatty acid
sticking to the albumen of that
seruin has a special function to
help the multiplication of
human cells. This kind of fatty
acid has been identified as a
combination of linoleic acid and
oleic acid, the same kinds of
acid as those easily obtainable
at low cost from edible vege-
table oils like sesame and soy-
bean.
Such acids taken from
vegetables cannot immediately
be applied to human cell cul-
tures because of their toxicity
to such cells in direct and
massive contacts. However,
when such acicls were wrapped
up with a sort of poly-
saccharoid of circular atomic
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structure, known as alpha-cyclo-
dextrine and added to the cul-
ture solution, human lympho-
blast and fibroblast were found
to grow just as well as when
nourished with the cattle fetal
blood serum.
An interferon expert of
Green Crass Corp., Osaka, has
placed big hopes on the new
achievement as a potential
answer to dual problems of ex-
pense and animal blood
alubumen danger in the con-
ventional method of culturing
human cells.
' Prof. Yamane said the new
method is applicable to the
production of not just inter-
feron, but that of sex hormones
and other complex-structure
hormones. He even visualized
massive culture of human liver
and skin cells to make ideal
artificial livers and skins free
from physiological rejection.
The tissue culture, if success-
fully developed through such
innovations, could supersede
the now glamorous gene re-
combination technology for its
versatility including production
of a perfect form of interferon
compared with the latter's
production of only the pro-
teinous phase of interferon.
COPYRIGHT: 1981, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.
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SCIF.NCE AND TECHNOLOGY
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
BRIEFS
ENERGY-SAVING SMII.TING TECHNOLOGY--Showa Aluminium K.K., a major aluminum roller-
processor, has deyeloped a high-purity alumintun smelting method that enables a
20 per cent reduction in energy cost compared to the conventional electrolytic
cell smelting process. The new smelting method, labelled Corjunal, is based on
the principle that h igher-purity aluminum f irst solid if ies during the melting
process. It uses no electricity but fuel 031 for melting aluminum materials.
Showa Aluminium already has built a 250-ton-monthly capacity pilot plant at its
Sakai works and is scheduled to start building a mass production plant this fall
for completion next spring. The plant will be capable of producing 2,500 tons
yearly of high-purity aluminum ingots. Upon start-up of the new glant, Showa
Aluminium will become the No. 2 producer of high-purity aluminum ingots in
Japan after Sumitomo Aluminium Smelting Co. [Text] [Tokyo JAPAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL
in English Vol 19 No 970, 1 9ep 81 p 61
CSO: 4120/325
END
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