Japan's Sojitz plans forestry fund for carbon credits with US partner
TOKYO -- Japanese trading house Sojitz will work with a U.S. forestry investment and management company to form a fund that creates carbon credits, aiming to raise around $200 million.
Through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Sojitz has established a management body for the fund in collaboration with Ecotrust Forest Management, Japanese leasing company Fuyo General Lease and others.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
22 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
Nissan CEO denies eroding Renault partnership despite looser cross ties
YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Nissan Motor's new chief executive insists the Japanese automaker's partnerships with Renault and Mitsubishi Motor remain strong, despite a weakening of capital and boardroom ties. Ivan Espinosa, who took the helm at Nissan in April, has identified a key role for its partners, as he seeks to step up the pace of restructuring at the loss-making group.
39 minutes ago
Japan's Economic Security and Strategic Technology Policy: An Interview with METI's Nishikawa Kazumi
Japan enacted its first law dedicated to economic security in 2022 amid escalating tensions between the United States and China. As the two superpowers vie for technological supremacy, Japan finds itself navigating a growing field of complex threats, including access to key materials and the global race for artificial intelligence dominance. In an exclusive interview. Nishikawa Kazumi of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry's Trade and Economic Security Bureau talks about Japan's strategic response to mounting pressures to its industrial and critical technology sectors. Senior Director of Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry's Trade and Economic Security Bureau. Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1973. Graduated from the University of Tokyo and joined METI (then the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) in 1996. Headed the Policy Planning and Coordination Division of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, the Economic Security Office, and was Counselor to the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry's Secretariat before assuming his current post. Battle for AI Hegemony TAKENAKA HARUKATA In the past few years, tensions have continued to mount between the United States and China over 5G and other critical technologies. At the same time, Japanese industries have had to grapple with a worldwide semiconductor shortage, which was quite serious at its peak. These are some of the developments that have highlighted the need for a wide-ranging economic security policy. What's the foremost issue now, in your opinion? NISHIKAWA KAZUMI Well, certainly all eyes are on the development of artificial intelligence. After all, AI is expected to usher in huge changes affecting everything from economic productivity to the very shape of our society and the functions of government. It also has major military implications. Some in the United States have compared the race for superintelligent AI to the Manhattan Project that led to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. It's been said that the US has maintained its military dominance since World War II through so-called offset strategies centered on technological innovation. The first offset strategy was the development of nuclear weapons. In the process, America also established its world leadership in lasers and other civilian technologies. The second offset strategy focused on the development of guided missile technology during the Cold War, and that spurred the development of semiconductors, computing, and the birth of the information technology industry. Now it's being said that AI is the third offset strategy. But what distinguishes this from the previous two thrusts is that the core technology has been developed in the civilian sector. With the United States and China locked in a battle for technological hegemony, Washington has imposed a whole range of restrictions on exports and investment aimed at curbing China's development of AI. China has retaliated by regulating the export of critical minerals. And these moves have disrupted supply chains that support economic activity in Japan and other Asian countries. Scrambling for Critical Minerals TAKENAKA In 2023, China began requiring government permits for exports of germanium and gallium, and in December 2024 it cut off the export of those materials to the United States. Beijing has also slapped controls on exports of graphite and antinomy, of which China produces somewhere between 50 and 90 percent of the world's supply. What measures has Japan taken to secure a stable supply of these key materials? NISHIKAWA China produces 90 percent of the world's gallium. It's now exporting about a tenth of what it did before the pandemic. Japan can cover part of this through recycling, but it still depends heavily on imports from China. China insists that these are not embargoes but trade controls imposed for purposes of national security, and that exports for use in civilian products are still allowed. But the fact is that exports of these materials are down sharply across the board. The administration of former Prime Minister Kishida Fumio opened up a bilateral channel called the Japan-China Export Control Dialogue, and we've used this dialogue between our two countries' export-control authorities to request the issuance of permits. But we really need to find alternative sources now, and the government intends to support such efforts using the framework of the Economic Security Promotion Act. Japan is also dependent on imports from China for natural graphite, which is needed for the batteries used in electric vehicles. The quality of graphite varies by source, and those differences can alter the performance of the battery. So, finding alternative suppliers raises technical challenges that will take some time to iron out. TAKENAKA China dominates the global market for EV batteries, with a 50 percent share as of 2023. The Japanese government has provided huge subsidies to corporations like Toyota and Nissan to support domestic development and production of storage batteries—a field with huge implications for decarbonization. Do you think Japanese companies can compete in this market? NISHIKAWA The performance of an electric vehicle is largely determined by the quality of the EV battery. I would say that Japanese companies are competitive in the sense that they make high-quality batteries. The big questions now are whether they can secure a stable and diversified supply chain for the key minerals used in those batteries, and whether they can lower costs enough to expand their customer base. Those are things we're still working on. We're also working on developing the next generation of solid-state batteries. And looking beyond the automotive field, we're making progress on the development of perovskite solar cells. A key component of perovskite cells is iodine, which is produced here in Japan. It's important to pursue a multifaceted strategy, developing a variety of technologies and securing a stable supply chain for each. Funding a Semiconductor Renaissance TAKENAKA Let's talk about the drive to restore Japan's position as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing—a centerpiece of the government's long-term economic security policy. I understand that Rapidus, the new government-backed logic chip manufacturer, is about to begin pilot production of next-generation chips at its partially completed plant in Chitose, Hokkaidō. How are things progressing? NISHIKAWA This year is devoted to building a pilot production line at the Chitose foundry and verifying its ability to manufacture a high-quality product developed from the results of joint international research projects involving Japanese, American, and Dutch institutions, among others. Right now, they're working at full tilt to install the plant's manufacturing equipment and launch the pilot production line. The plan is to move ahead with all deliberate speed, while subjecting the prototype chips to rigorous technical inspections and analysis. I think these activities should still be regarded as part of the R&D phase. Rapidus was founded in the summer of 2022, and R&D geared to commercial production started in 2023, so it's only been going on for about two years. In that time, the company has built a plant and is now in the process of installing manufacturing equipment. So, I would say the project has been moving ahead at a very brisk pace. TAKENAKA So far, the government has provided Rapidus with ¥70 billion for the first phase of the project and ¥360 billion for the second phase. It's planning on supplying another ¥590 billion for the third phase. In February, the cabinet approved legislation allowing the government to issue public bonds to cover funding of the company's manufacturing operations, and I understand it's been submitted to the Diet. Can you explain what's in the bill? NISHIKAWA The funding is to be provided by the Information-technology Promotion Agency, or IPA, an independent administrative institution. That requires an amendment of the Act on Facilitation of Information Processing, which is now on the Diet's legislative agenda. The legislation will lay the groundwork for the government to help fund mass-production by a Japanese manufacturer of advanced semiconductors. Once the revised legislation is enacted, the government will go through the process of soliciting applications, Rapidus will apply, and after a formal screening, it will be awarded the grant. In addition to investment and loans, it covers support for the development of technical personnel. TAKENAKA Another big test facing Rapidus is how many orders it can secure for these cutting-edge 2-nanometer semiconductors that it intends to produce. What are its prospects, in your view? NISHIKAWA Since Rapidus was founded, a little over two years ago, activity surrounding generative AI has intensified dramatically. We're seeing the emergence of a major global trend. Insiders are predicting a jump in demand for GPUs [graphics processing units] and other advanced semiconductors used in AI. Also, one of the key rate-limiting factors in AI is energy, meaning electric power, and miniaturization of integrated circuits is directly tied to energy efficiency. So, the business environment is looking very favorable for a company like Rapidus, and expectations are rising. Nishikawa Kazumi, principal director of METI's Trade and Economic Security Bureau. (© TAKENAKA It's been reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has revised its timetable for building its second plant in Kumamoto. Now the company is saying only that construction will start 'sometime in 2025.' NISHIKAWA TSMC's first Kumamoto plant began mass-producing chips last December, right on schedule. But semiconductors are very sensitive to disruptions in the global supply chain. Plans for the second fab have been affected by a variety of factors, including the trade conflict between the United States and China and the Trump administration's tariffs. But demand for the kind of advanced industrial-use chips that TSMC manufactures hasn't weakened at all. Even if construction falls a few months behind schedule, I'm confident the project itself will proceed according to plan. TAKENAKA What about plans for expanding Japan's production of 'legacy' chips based on older technology? NISHIKAWA Domestic production capacity for things like power management chips, analog semiconductors, and microcontrollers is steadily expanding. That said, China has been investing heavily in this area as well, so overproduction could become a problem. But American and European companies are working to diversify their supply sources in order to reduce their reliance on China. And Japan also needs to ensure that its own companies have multiple options for the procurement of various kinds of chips. Spotlight on Space, Defense, and AI TAKENAKA The economic security action plan approved last year added space and defense to the list of critical domains on which Japan has to concentrate to achieve technological independence and strategic indispensability. What specific technologies is the government targeting, and how is it going about it? NISHIKAWA If we look at global trends, we can see that private companies are becoming the key players in the development of space infrastructure. We're already seeing the emergence of a model in which the private, public, and military sectors all make use of that infrastructure. The Japanese government has allocated ¥1 trillion for a ten-year Space Strategy Fund, centered at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [JAXA], to provide grants for R&D in the space domain. We realize that private-sector initiatives are going to play an increasingly important role in securing supply chains and building infrastructure in this area. Until now, Japan has been content to launch a few rockets each year. As a result, our supply chain is still underdeveloped. By contrast, the number of private-sector space launches in the United States has reached triple digits. Takenaka Harukata (left) and Nishikawa Kazumi. (© TAKENAKA What does Japan need to focus on now, as the United States and China battle for technological hegemony? Should we be working to develop our own generative AI along the lines of ChatGPT? NISHIKAWA In the past, economic security targeted things like energy and food, and obviously we still need to ensure that those basic needs can be met. But we also think it's important to establish Japan's indispensability in critical technological domains. When it comes to semiconductors, Japanese companies are already indispensable as major suppliers of the wafers that serve as the substrate for advanced chips. In AI, it's not quite that visible, but we're targeting areas in which Japan's unique know-how could prove indispensable. AI in robotics looks quite promising, given the advanced state of mechatronics in Japan. (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Rapidus's advanced semiconductor manufacturing plant in Chitose, Hokkaidō, as photographed in March 2025. © Kyōdō.)
40 minutes ago
Japan's Marine Product Exports in 2024: Finding New Markets Amid Chinese Ban
Japan Data A total Chinese ban on Japanese seafood through 2024 meant Japan had to develop new markets. China has maintained a total ban on imports of Japanese seafood products since August 24, 2023, when the first treated water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was discharged into the ocean. Since then, the Japanese government has offered repeated explanations on the safety of the water and proper management of the releases, calling for the lifting of the import ban. On May 30 of this year, it was announced that the Japanese and Chinese governments have agreed to begin procedures aimed at the resumption of seafood exports to China. In 2022, prior to the discharge of treated water, Japan's exports of marine products totaled ¥387.3 billion, with China accounting for ¥87.1 billion or 22.5%, making it the largest export destination. In 2024, when the ban was in effect for the entire year, exports to China plummeted to just ¥6.1 billion, consisting only of non-food marine products such as pearls and koi carp. Despite efforts to cultivate new markets in places including Hong Kong and the United States, total seafood exports for that year were ¥26.4 billion lower than in 2022. Japan's main export marine product is scallops (including fresh, frozen, chilled, and dried). In 2022, exports of scallops reached a record high of ¥91 billion, a 40% increase over the previous year, with exports to China accounting for ¥46.7 billion or 51.3%. Exports of scallops to China only totaled ¥700 million in 2009, but from the following year sales steadily increased. With the boom in Japanese cuisine, fresh scallops in the shell began to be transported by plane to Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities. Chinese businesses also began to import shelled scallops from Japan, shuck them domestically, and then re-export them to the United States, which is the largest consumer of scallops. Scallop exports declined in 2023, clearly reflecting the four months of the ban following the discharge of treated water. The following year, efforts were made to compensate for exports to China dropping to zero by redirecting exports of scallops to the United States. Exports of seafood to the United States also face risk, however, due to the proposed tariffs of President Donald Trump. It is hoped that the resumption of exports to China could help to avoid a further decline in Japanese seafood exports. (Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
