From drones to filters, Southeast Asian startups make the most of palm
TOKYO -- Startups across Southeast Asia are finding new ways to recycle waste from the region's many palm fruits into environmentally friendly materials.
Terra Drone, a Japanese maker of unmanned aerial vehicles, in late May replaced conventional plastic airframe covers with a new biocomposite material. Fibers for making the material come from dregs left over from extracting palm oil from fruit.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 8, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 09:02 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade BRUSSELS - Japan and the European Union are preparing to launch an "alliance" framework to beef up their companies' competitiveness by promoting trade and economic security cooperation, diplomatic sources said Saturday, facing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and Chinese trade practices. The creation of the "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" is expected to be announced at a regular summit meeting being arranged for July, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to host European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said. ---------- Japan opposition lawmaker says rice reserves mostly go to chickens TOKYO - A lawmaker of Japan's main opposition party said Saturday that government rice reserves recently put on sale are mostly consumed by chickens, doubling down on remarks that could be perceived as insensitive to people who have snapped up the old rice due to cheaper prices. Kazuhiro Haraguchi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan made the remarks at a gathering in southwestern Japan to shore up support ahead of the upper house election, even after Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of another opposition party, apologized a week ago for likening the stockpiles to "animal feed." ---------- Tennis: Oda, Kamiji win French Open wheelchair singles PARIS - Japan's Tokito Oda won his third consecutive French Open wheelchair tennis singles title Saturday, defeating Britain's Alfie Hewett 6-4, 7-6(6). Earlier in the day, Japanese compatriot Yui Kamiji claimed her fifth wheelchair singles title and first in five years with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands. ---------- Japan, U.S. yet to find common ground on tariffs but want quick deal WASHINGTON - Japan and the United States have "yet to find common ground" on tariff issues, Tokyo's top negotiator said Friday, indicating that there remain many differences between the sides, but they still aim to clinch a win-win deal in mid-June. After holding talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, Ryosei Akazawa told reporters that he believes "further progress" was made. ---------- Over half of rice producing firms feel store rice prices "too high" TOKYO - Over half of large-scale rice producers feel that store prices for rice are "too high," a recent survey conducted by an association of agricultural corporations showed, indicating that many of them share concerns with consumers about the elevated cost of the staple food in Japan. As households increasingly complain about rice prices that have doubled over the past year, more than 40 percent of respondents worried that consumers may start shunning the product. ---------- New South Korea President Lee to make diplomatic debut at G7 summit SEOUL - Newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has accepted an invitation to the upcoming Group of Seven summit taking place in Canada later this month, the presidential office said Saturday. Lee's attendance at the G7 meeting, to be held over three days from June 15 in Alberta, Canada, will mark his debut on the diplomatic stage. He took office on Wednesday following his victory in the country's 21st presidential election. Video: Parade at Hyakumangoku Festival in Ishikawa Prefecture
Nikkei Asia
3 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
BOJ expected to stick with JGB purchase decrease after April 2026
TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan, the country's biggest government bond holder, intends to continue reducing Japanese government bonds purchases after April 2026, allowing interest rates to be determined more freely by the market, Nikkei has learned. The original plan to reduce JGB purchases was to last through March 2026, but that will likely be extended. The central bank held 52% of all JGBs as of the end of 2024.
Asahi Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Share houses thrive offering affordability, modern twists
The living room of a share house near Asakusabashi Station in Tokyo's Taito Ward (Provided by Borderless House Corp.) When Masaya Kobayashi moved to Tokyo after graduating from a college in Kanazawa, he thought about renting an apartment at first. But he discovered that the monthly rent alone would cost around 100,000 yen ($685) along with an additional 300,000 to 500,000 yen in initial expenses. So, Kobayashi, 24, moved into a share house where he lives with other tenants who share common spaces such as a kitchen and living room. 'This place offers me an opportunity for international communications and English learning,' he said. The share house market is expanding in Japan amid rising rents for urban dwellings. The style of multiple people living in a single rental property is gaining popularity even among foreign visitors. Travelers increasingly prefer staying in share houses to conventional hotels, as these accommodations' room charges are rapidly rising. Against this backdrop, modern versions of share houses are steadily emerging to change their traditional image as 'cramped and dirty.' AFFORDABLE, RICH IN EXPERIENCES Kobayashi's co-living complex is a five-minute walk from JR Asakusabashi Station in Tokyo's Taito Ward. The second to fourth floors of the former hotel building were converted into residential spaces in fall 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen men and women from Japan and abroad are currently spending time together at the establishment. The residents are all in their 20s and 30s. Rents start from 86,000 yen, inclusive of utility expenses. The restroom, shower facilities and kitchen are communal, while the share house alike features private rooms with locks that range from about 4.5 to 7 tatami mats in size. Aspiring residents are required to show their 'willingness to interact with others.' The operator of the shared home stated that it maintains a 1:1 ratio of males to females and Japanese to foreigners. The common living room is furnished with a dining table and a sofa, providing a space for 'takoyaki' octopus dumpling parties and other almost weekly recreational events. Animated conversations in Japanese and English are always exchanged there. CONSTANT RISE IN URBAN RENTS Among the advantages of shared homes are cheaper rents compared with apartments and other such housing facilities. Figures from real estate information provider At Home Co. show the rent for a single-person property of 30 square meters or less in Tokyo's 23 wards averaged 99,083 yen as of March. The rental fee hit a record high for 10 consecutive months. Rents were increased by at least 3 percent year on year in such areas as Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Fukuoka, too. 'Demand for rental properties once declined in the COVID-19 outbreak but has since recovered in earnest,' said an At Home representative. 'Ballooning construction and labor costs have additionally exerted a significant impact, so a sustained uptick in rents is expected from this point forward as well.' Due to the continuous rise in rents in metropolitan areas, shared housing complexes are seeing a surge in demand. A survey by the Japan Shared House Organization found that there were 6,123 such accommodations in 2024 nationwide, up 5.4 percent from the previous year. The number climbed for the third straight year, with there being 2.2 times more share houses than a decade ago. Buoyed by a rise in the number of unoccupied buildings throughout Japan, increasing inquiries are coming from owners who want to turn properties into shared houses. Borderless House Corp., which runs a total of 59 share houses mainly in Tokyo alongside Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Sendai, stated that these establishments' average occupancy rate was 90.5 percent in 2024. 'Our share houses are instantly filled as soon as they are put in place' in central Tokyo in particular, explained a Borderless House official. Taking account of the expansion in inbound demand, shared residence operators similarly roll out the red carpet for the growing number of foreign tourists who want to stay in Japan for a month or longer. Share houses specifically enjoy a good reputation among sightseers via their affordable prices compared to the rising hotel rates. The chance to casually experience Japanese culture through interactions with other residents also adds to the appeal of shared houses. Hidamari, which is responsible for 85 shared residential facilities mainly in the metropolitan area around the capital, said that the ratio of non-Japanese residents has lately jumped to 60 percent. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 90 percent of its share house users were Japanese. UNCONVENTIONAL IDEAS During the boom, unorthodox variations of share houses have successively been introduced. Boasting a 25-room shared home, the commercial complex OttO opened in April near JR Omiya Station in Saitama, close to Tokyo. It is equipped with a movie theater and cafe for residents' benefit. Tomore Shinagawa Nakanobu, a share house in the capital's Shinagawa Ward, provides its dwellers with not only private spaces in personal rooms marked by toilets and shower equipment but also a communal living room and kitchen. On top of this, a specialized area for remote teleworking is available. The unique amenities make Tomore Shinagawa Nakanobu something between an old-style share house and a rental apartment for single people. Amid the rise of shared homes, a challenge remains: the growing number of reports about conflicts between residents. According to the accounts of the Japan Shared House Organization, trouble often arises over the cleaning of common areas in recent cases. Other frequent sources of problems, for example, include noise and the use of communal spaces in daily life. 'We recommend that prospective residents should check the operator's countermeasures for cleanliness and other issues, as well as the rents,' noted Taku Nakahara, a public relations officer for the organization and a director of Hidamari.
