Latest news with #Matsuo
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Japan seeks to expand investment interests in Africa to wean off China
Japan is stepping up efforts to help its companies expand in Africa and strengthen trade ties across a continent where it has traditionally been viewed primarily as a donor. Japan is increasing efforts to expand its business presence in Africa, shifting from being viewed mainly as a donor. Renewed private sector interest in taking risks is driven by Japan's recovery from decades of deflation. Africa is seen as a key destination for expansion due to its growing population and abundance of natural resources. Takehiko Matsuo, vice-minister for International Affairs at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said the country's emergence from three decades of deflation has renewed the private sector's appetite for risk. Matsuo told Bloomberg that this shift is fueling growing interest in African markets. 'Now the mindset of Japanese business leaders has changed dramatically and they are now much more proactive about expanding their business globally,' Matsuo said. 'Africa is one of the destinations where we expect Japanese companies' to grow their presence. The United States and the United Kingdom are the main recipients of Japan's foreign direct investment. In contrast, Africa has attracted only a tiny share, receiving just 0.5% of Japan's total FDI to date. Growing interest in Africa Africa has caught Japan's attention for a few reasons. The continent of 54 countries has a rapidly expanding population, which presents a significant market opportunity, and vast deposits of natural resources. Major sectors of focus for Japan include critical minerals, base metals, and rare earths, as Tokyo seeks to lessen its reliance on China, which happens to be Africa's biggest trading partner. For example, Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. emerged as the highest bidder for a stake in First Quantum Minerals Ltd.'s Zambian copper mines last year. Meanwhile, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. has been developing hybrid dump trucks to support greener mining operations. For Africa, Japan's renewed focus on trade and investment comes at a crucial moment. The urgency to attract private capital has intensified following the return of President Donald Trump to the White House and subsequent cuts to U.S. foreign aid.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Japan seeks to grow Africa investments to ease reliance on China
TOKYO: Japan is supporting its companies to grow their business in Africa and develop trade ties across a continent where it's mainly been seen as a key donor. The second-biggest Asian economy's emergence from a three-decade period of deflation has boosted its private sector's risk appetite, Takehiko Matsuo, vice-minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told Bloomberg in Abidjan, the commercial hub of Ivory Coast. "Now the mindset of Japanese business leaders has changed dramatically and they are now much more proactive about expanding their business globally,' Matsuo said. "Africa is one of the destinations where we expect Japanese companies' to grow their presence. Japan is reasserting a commitment to do more business with Africa as it emerges from years during which its private sector was particularly risk-averse. The government has yet to declare an end to the deflation that gripped the economy for decades. Still, data this month showed consumer prices have advanced at or above the Bank of Japan's two per cent inflation target for three straight years. Japan's net external assets reached a record high in 2024 as its investors and companies continued to load up on holdings abroad, with the US and UK the prime destinations for foreign direct investment. So far, only a trickle of that has reached Africa, with the continent receiving about 0.5 per cent of Japan's foreign direct investments. For Africa, Japan's push to recalibrate its relationship also comes at a critical time. Mobilising private investment has become more pressing since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, slashing US aid. But it could be a win-win. By 2050, one in every four people will likely be African, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. research projects that, by 2075, six of the biggest economies in the world could be in the Global South, including Nigeria - a point cited by the Japanese ministry. Key sectors of interest for Japan include critical minerals, base metals and rare earths as the government seeks to reduce its reliance on China, coincidently Africa's top trading partner. "We are pretty much depending on Chinese companies,' Matsuo said. "I'm not saying that we cannot work with Chinese companies, but only depending on one country may be causing some vulnerability.' Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. emerged as the highest bidder for a stake in First Quantum Minerals Ltd.'s Zambian copper mines, Bloomberg reported in November. Beyond mining, Japanese corporations are also looking to bring new technologies to Africa, sometimes backed by government subsidies, Matsuo said. Fujifilm Corp. is exploring preventive medical-care services, a technology that's especially relevant in a region with low health insurance penetration, and Toyota Tsusho Corp. is looking into introducing automobile recycling systems, Matsuo said. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd. has also been working on hybrid dump trucks to help green mining operations. Japanese investors also have an appetite for green hydrogen and ammonia that can be used to decarbonise industries, he said. It's not only corporations seeking to work more on the continent. Japan announced an initiative this month to connect Japanese and African startups to foster innovation. Within members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japan was sub-Saharan Africa's third-biggest providers of overseas development assistance in 2022, with US$1.68 billion in gross disbursements, according to government data. Unlike the US or the UK, it's not announced plans to reduce its aid so far. "This year, we will have the biggest meeting for collaboration between Japan and African countries,' Matsuo said, referring to the ninth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development holding in Yokohama in August. "In that sense, we are rather making efforts to expand our cooperation.' - Bloomberg
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
SLU gets $538K grant to study diaper affordability
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University received a grant from Missouri Foundation Health, amounting to $538,431, which will go toward research to improve the health, education and well-being of children and their families. Spearheaded by Hisako Matsuo and Jessica Barreca, SLU's research team announced that it will begin its research project to discover innovative ways for those in Missouri to have access to diapers. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now SLU also will work with other organizations, like the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank and Kids Win Missouri, to achieve their goals. The National Diaper Bank Network says that one in two families in the U.S. are in need of diapers. The urgency in the need for diapers can cost families up to $1,000 a year, which can create financial strains. 'Babies can use an average of 10 diapers a day,' Matsuo said. 'When families experience diaper shortages, it can lead to increased levels of stress for caregivers.' In SLU's press release, they noted that 20% of children in Missouri live in families that earn below the Federal Poverty Line. Despite that, diapers can't be purchased under federal assistance programs, according to the release. Former teacher in Triad School District accused of grooming student SLU, however, looks to ease those financial inconveniences with its projects. 'Families need to have a consistent, sufficient set of diapers to keep their baby dry,' said Barreca, who manages SLU's partnerships with more than 25 local non-profits in the St. Louis region and serves as a STLADB board member. 'Having enough diapers allows babies to be healthy and happy.' Initiatives for this research surround reducing diaper needs and educating stakeholders/policymakers. SLU's project is set to start its data collection in May. 'Removing barriers like a luxury tax on necessary items like diapers could make things a little easier for families,' Matsuo said. 'We are conducting evidence-based research with the goal of changing the system.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Earth's oceans weren't always blue, scientists say
Earth's oceans may not have always been as brilliantly blue as they are today. In fact, there may have been a time when they weren't blue at all. According to researchers at Japan's Nagoya University, Earth's earliest oceans glimmered with green hues for over 2 billion years. The ramifications may not only better our understanding of Earth's distant past—it may help expand our search for life elsewhere in the galaxy. Although Earth itself cohered into a planet around 4.5 billion years ago, most estimates suggest it took at least another 800 million years before the earliest lifeforms developed. But while lifeless during that time, the planet was already covered by vast oceans dotted with hydrothermal vent systems that released large amounts of ferrous iron into the water. The earliest cyanobacteria, commonly known today as algae, emerged around 4 billion years ago as some of the first organisms to perform oxygenic photosynthesis. While modern plants use chlorophylls for this process, ancient cyanobacteria also collected the sun's energy through phycobilins in their antennae. Cyanobacteria's rise ultimately helped kick off a period roughly 2.4 billion years ago known as the Great Oxidation Event. During this time, oxygen accumulated in Earth's atmosphere, which in turn had major ramifications for the evolution of life. But the reason why cyanobacteria needed those phycobilins remained a mystery to researchers for years. A group led by Taro Matsuo at Nagoya University recently explored one potential explanation in a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Using advanced computational chemical simulations, Matsuo's team was able to approximate how the light spectrum diffused underwater during the Archean era 4–2.5 billion years ago. They determined the increasing amounts of oxygen produced by organisms like cyanobacteria eventually interacted with an ocean's iron content, changing it from ferrous to ferric iron. Unlike ferrous iron, ferric iron is insoluble, which means it precipitates out of water in the form of rust-like particles. These ancient iron-heavy oceans interacted differently with light wavelengths, with ferric iron particles absorbing mostly blue and red light and leaving the green to refract into the water. According to Matsuo's team, this would have given oceans a much greener tint to the human eye (had humans been alive at the time). Consequently, cyanobacteria continued to evolve phycobilins in order to absorb light through all that green. 'Genetic analysis revealed that cyanobacteria had a specialized phycobilin protein called phycoerythrin that efficiently absorbed green light,' Matsuo said in a statement. 'We believe that this adaptation allowed them to thrive in the iron-rich, green oceans.' Matsuo wasn't always a believer in his green ocean hypothesis. When he first began pondering the idea in 2021, he was 'more skeptical than anything else. ' 'But now, after years of research, as geological and biological insights gradually came together like pieces of a puzzle, my skepticism has turned into conviction.' A major moment in this journey occurred in 2023 during a field study on the Satsunan archipelago's Iwo Island. Located southwest of Kyushu, the area's ocean water is known for its unique coloration. 'From the boat, we could see that the surrounding waters had a distinct green shimmer due to iron hydroxides, exactly like how I imagined the Earth used to look,' said Matsuo. The implications also go beyond Earth itself. While blue-tinted planets may hint at potential water elsewhere in the galaxy, Matsuo believes astronomers could consider expanding their color palettes. 'Remote-sensing data show that waters rich in iron hydroxide, such as those around Iwo Island in the Satsunan archipelago, appear noticeably brighter than typical blue oceans,' he explained. 'This leads us to think that green oceans might be observable from a longer distance, making them easier to detect.'
South China Morning Post
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The Solitary Gourmet movie review: beloved Japanese TV food comedy hits the big screen
4/5 stars Advertisement After more than a decade of gastronomic adventures on the small screen, Yutaka Matsushige brings his beloved travelling foodie comedy The Solitary Gourmet to cinemas. The film follows much the same format as the long-running television series, albeit with a bigger budget and an international palette. Businessman Goro Inogashira continues to allow his rumbling belly to lead the way as he explores traditional culinary delights in France, Japan and South Korea. Venturing outside Asia for the first time, Goro arrives in Paris to deliver a painting to long-time friend Matsuo (Sansei Shiomi). After a brief detour to devour some onion soup and beef bourguignon, he learns that the old man is dying. Matsuo's final wish is that Goro help him track down the ingredients for a special soup his mother used to make for him. Advertisement Goro's journey takes him to the remote Goto Islands in Japan's Nagasaki prefecture, where islanders are unfamiliar with the ingredient he seeks. As he savours local delicacies, ranging from shiitake mushrooms to dried deep-sea fish, he slowly pieces together a puzzle.
