Latest news with #venturefirm
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Hot spring in a bottle? Japan's ‘craft onsen' venture seeks to export the essence of onsen to the world
TOKYO, Aug 14 — Japan's famous 'onsen' hot springs were long considered unexportable, until an idea struck Naoki Mita one day: what if he could condense them like espresso coffee? Mita's Tokyo-based venture firm, Le Furo, has invented a technology it calls 'craft onsen' — whereby hot spring ingredients are extracted and filtered into an ultra-high concentration. Le Furo now seeks to use that patented technology to export Japan's hot springs overseas, with a view toward opening several onsen facilities in the Gulf region in 2026. Transporting hot springs overseas long seemed logistically impossible because of the sheer volume of water involved, as well as their susceptibility to germs. But with Le Furo's invention, 'just like you extract coffee as espresso, we grind the mineral resources to fine, sand-like powders,' CEO Naoki Mita told AFP. The entrepreneur says many commercially available 'onsen powders' are synthetic and put an emphasis on mimicking the relaxing colour and scent, and don't necessarily contain the necessary ingredients. Only after solid metals such as iron, magnesium and zinc dissolve into water does it become possible to chemically resemble onsen and recreate the therapeutic effect, Mita said. Le Furo's technology sticks to the natural soil and minerals of hot spring sources, and uses a special method to make them soluble in water. Its 'Craft Onsen' concentrate comes in bottles or small tanks, which can then be distributed and poured into water in other countries to feel like the real thing. Onsens — bath houses where patrons relax naked together in hot spring water of various temperatures — are a major domestic industry in Japan beloved by both locals and tourists. As of 2021, Japan was home to 28,000 confirmed hot spring sources, according to the environment ministry. Le Furo is setting its sights particularly on countries like the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia where 'water is considered a more precious resource than oil', Mita says. 'Here in Japan, we have this culture of soaking ourselves in a good, long bath to attain better health — that's the kind of story that I believe (other countries) will show great interest in,' Mita said. — AFP
NHK
06-06-2025
- Business
- NHK
Japan firm's second attempt to put lander on moon fails
Tokyo-based venture firm ispace says its second attempt to touch down a lunar lander on the surface of the moon ended in failure. It had aimed to become the first private Japanese company to successfully complete a lunar landing. The CEO of ispace, Hakamada Takeshi, said: "We concluded it was difficult to complete our second mission to touch down on the moon's surface. So, we decided to end it." The lander started its descent after 3 a.m. on Friday, Japan time. It was scheduled to touch down on a crater-less area in the moon's northern hemisphere at 4:17. But ispace announced about 15 minutes later that it had yet to establish communication with the lander. The firm held a news conference and revealed that the lander was not able to slow down to the scheduled touchdown speed. The company's CEO said the lander was likely to have had a hard landing. Hakamada also said: "It's our duty to thoroughly use the lessons from this failure for the next time. We want to continue maintaining the current trend of lunar exploration and activities in Japan. A rocket carrying the craft lifted off from the US state of Florida in January. The lander entered orbit about 100 kilometers above the moon in late May. The first lunar landing attempt by ispace failed in 2023. It later overhauled the lander's control system and changed the touchdown target for the second mission. Only two US firms have successfully performed lunar landings.
