Japans

Japan’s madness with garbage reaches the point that, in some areas, they separate it into 45 different categories. And, despite everything, it recycles half as much as Spain

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At the end of the 90s, the thousand or so residents of Kamikatsu (a small town in the Japanese prefecture of Tokushima) became a question that would change them forever: “Why do we generate so much waste?” The response led them to be the first Japanese municipality to declare themselves ‘zero waste’, to sell garbage cans and to ask their neighbors to separate their waste into 45 different categories. Waste that they carry themselves to the local clean point. One sees this and can only ask one question: have these Japanese gone crazy? And the answer is neither “yes” nor “no”: it is both at the same time. Why are we talking about this? As often happens lately, everything starts with a video. A tiktoker who resides in Japan (@nuriape_) has shown how what apparently is “jack, knight and king” works: the garbage system. And the truth is that it is curious: each building has its own waste area. The one in the video is quite broad and, as he explains, super strict. In addition, much of the processing is done by neighbors: things like cleaning the bottles and depositing them in places other than the caps or leaving the cardboard perfectly folded are part of the process. The collection, it seems, is daily. Now that the new waste rates have returned to waste management to the public debate in our country, the question is… is the Japanese system, in addition to being striking, effective? How does the Japanese waste system work? Since ’97, Japanese laws require separating glass, PET and cardboard. However, over time, the situation has become more and more complex. And, today, the collection categories range from nine in the “less advanced” municipalities to 45 in many areas of the country. And no, it is not optional: if you do not separate the garbage correctly, it will not be collected and that’s it. A garbage collection machine. As a result of these almost three decades of social pedagogy, the country of the rising sun is a well-oiled machine in terms of citizen separation and collection logistics. The problem is, well, it doesn’t help much either. Because collecting is not recycling. And Japan is the best example: its actual recycling rate is surprisingly low. While Spain (with an infinitely less obsessive system) recycles around 39%, Japan is around 20%. It is not that in our country we are here to “shoot rockets”: According to EU plans, we should be around 55% since last year. However, there is something we are doing better than Japan just as there are things we are doing worse. No overflowing containers. That’s perhaps what works best in Japan. Faced with the unequal Spanish management (because they depend on municipalities and councils), the Japanese system prioritizes segmented daily collection, precise calendars and logistical inflexibility. In addition, they also incorporate things that work in the rest of Europe and Spanish legislation contemplates, but almost no one implements: payment per garbage bag. Something that encourages waste reduction and inherently improves the system’s capacity. On the other hand, Spain does interesting things (whether they work better or worse): the main thing perhaps is that the system extends responsibility to producers. What we have in common. While Japan has a hyperdependence on incineration (75% of its garbage ends up burned), Spain has a hyperdependence on landfills (50% ends up buried), we both share a problem with single-use plastics. It is true that Japan is much more worrying (it is the world’s second largest producer of plastic packaging waste per capita), but we both have to think about the matter. Image | Jonas Gerlach In Xataka | We have been thinking for decades that plastic recycling was worth something. Maybe we were wrong

Japan’s problem is not that it is stopping having babies at a record speed. It’s just that he did it 17 years earlier than he should have.

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If there is a way out of demographic pitJapan still hasn’t found it. And not for lack of effort. Although all your effortsof the imagination and million-dollar investment that has been allocated to birth policies, its balance of births continues to be disastrous. The last one has just been published by the Government and shows that in 2025 they were born in Japan 15,179 fewer babies than in 2024. It is the tenth consecutive year of decline, a new historical low and above all a scenario in which Japan did not expect to find itself until 2042. The question is: Is Tokyo willing to cover this birth rate disaster with a greater migratory flow, the demographic table that keeps afloat other countries? What has happened? that Japan has received a hard bath of demographic reality, something that is beginning to be common. The Ministry of Health has just published the birth rate for 2025, a document that leaves little room for optimism. Throughout last year, 705,809 babies were born in the country, a bad figure no matter how you look at it. It represents the lowest record since statistics began to be compiled in 1899, and above all it confirms that the birth rate has been declining for ten consecutive years… with no prospect of improvement. In annual terms, these 705,809 births represent a decrease of 2.1% compared to 2024. If we look further back, to the last decade, the drop is around 30%. The only good news is that the data improves (slightly) some forecasts launched by the Japanese press a few months ago and that the speed at which the birth rate falls seems to be slowing down little by little. At least it is lower than that of the 2022-2024 period, when it exceeded 5% annually. Is it that bad news? Yes. For several reasons. The main one is that the Japanese demographic crisis is worsening much faster than the Government believed, which years ago prepared for a pessimistic scenario. In 2023 the National Population and Security Research Institute and Social Security (IPSS) published a report in which it calculated that the number of annual births would not decrease to 700,000 until 2042. The reality is that the country has already moved within that range in 2025, 17 years than expected. What’s more, the IPSS estimated that 774,000 babies would be born in 2025. The actual data that we know today (705,809) is closer to its most pessimistic projection (681,000). Why is it a problem? Because Japan is proving that, despite its multiple attempts, it has not managed to close its demographic gap. It is not just that their birth rate is falling, it is that vegetative growth (difference between births and deaths) gives clear alarm signals. Although the deaths have decreased by 0.8%the Japanese population shrank by 899,845 people last year. Media like Nikkei either The Japan Times In recent hours, they have published analyzes that warn of the gradual aging of the country and (above all) the pressure it puts on its social security system and pensions. There will be something positive, right? More or less. The statistics leave some positive readings or that show possible paths to follow, although with nuances. For example, in 2025 marriages increased slightly compared to the previous year (1.1%) to reach 505,656. The question is whether this rebound is the result of the hangover from the pandemic, when many couples postponed their weddings. Another curious fact is that there are territories that seem to have hit the right demographic key: in Tokyo the births increased by about 1.3% last year, reaching 88,518, and it is estimated that its metropolitan area accounts for almost a third (30%) of all births registered in the country. What is the solution? The big question. The difficult thing is to answer it. Japan has tried with economic and labor incentives, programs for pair…Everything to boost your birth rate, a goal to which you have dedicated millions and millions. It has been of little use to him. There are those who believe that in this scenario a possible salvation is to rethink the national immigration policy. “Refusing to accept an adequate flow of migrants is not only ignoring economic reality, but giving up on our collective future,” pointed recently to The World Akito Tanaka, from the Migrant Solidarity Network. “Policies that are increasingly limiting the entry of foreign workers are exacerbating precisely this problem,” Tanaka insists.who warns that Japan faces “an unprecedented demographic crossroads.” The latest data from the Ministry of Health actually leaves an interesting idea: the 705,809 babies registered in Japan in 2025 not only correspond to births to parents of Japanese origin, but also include foreigners. What is Tokyo’s position? It does not seem very willing to bet on foreigners to revive its population. In fact just yesterday transcended that Japan’s immigration agency has tightened the guidelines that applicants for permanent residence must comply with. In practice the changes make it more difficult meet the requirements to obtain the visa, for which it is key to demonstrate good conduct and financial self-sufficiency, among other conditions. It’s not exactly new. It has been known for months that the government of the conservative Sanae Takaichi was planning double the time minimum stay that foreigners must remain in Japan to qualify for citizenship. Can it change? In the midst of an avalanche of international tourism (which has generated multiple tensions between foreign visitors and the native population) the presence of foreigners has become a relevant issue in Japanese politics. In fact, after taking the reins of the Government, Takaichi did not take long to promote an immigration policy that revolves around regulations with an eloquent name: “Law for a society of orderly coexistence with foreigners.” His last results at the polls They show that their position does not upset the electorate. Image | Andrew Leu (Unsplash) In Xataka | If Korea believes it is experiencing a demographic crisis, it is because it does not … Read more

Chinese fighters have targeted Japanese fighters over Okinawa. Japan’s response has been forceful: an archipelago of missiles

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The tension between China and Japan has entered a cycle of accelerated deterioration that is no longer limited to diplomatic exchanges or formal protests. In recent weeks, the western Pacific has been the scene of maneuvers increasingly aggressive in which the lines between deterrence, warning and provocation become dangerously blurred. In the last few hours the most serious episode to date has taken place. A strategic rivalry. It all started on the weekend, with the lighting with fire control radar of Japanese fighters by J-15 aircraft from the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning near Okinawa, a situation that has set off all the alarms in Tokyo. The gesture (an act iunequivocally hostile in military parlance) comes at a time when Japan has committed to reinforce its presence in the area around Taiwan and the Ryukyu island chain, a decision that Beijing perceives as a frontal challenge to its regional ambitions. The spiral is worsened by the statements of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, pointing out that an attack on the strait could activate collective defense Japanese, a phrase that China has elevated to the rank of strategic provocation. Radar, aircraft carriers and a risk. Aerial interaction near Okinawa fu much more an isolated incident: it marked the first time that Japan officially disclosed a radar lock Chinese about their fighters. The Japanese Ministry of Defense registered about a hundred of takeoff and landing operations of Liaoning aircraft, in parallel to two episodes in which the J-15 fixed their firing sensors on Japanese F-15s, forcing the latter country to immediately deploy its own combat air patrols. China responded accusing Japan of interfering in their exercises, alleging that it had previously delimited the maneuver area. Chinese aircraft carriers and destroyers moved through the Miyako Strait, one of the sea corridors connecting the Pacific to the East China Sea, while official Chinese media they ridiculed Japanese defensive capabilities and warned that any move toward a more active military role “would lead to its own destruction.” The language, accompanied by real maneuvers which combine naval presence, air patrols and psychological pressure, defines an environment where any tactical error could lead to a crisis. Liaoning Ryukyu as an advanced shield. Faced with this escalation, Bloomberg told that Japan has undertaken the largest military reconfiguration since the Cold War, articulated around a concept that analysts have called the “missile archipelago”. Yonaguni, the country’s westernmost island, has become a surveillance and electronic warfare outpost just a stone’s throw away. 110 kilometers from Taiwan. From 2022, after the salvo of Chinese missiles that fell near its coasts, Tokyo has multiplied the installation of anti-aircraft batteries, long-range radars and response units amphibian distributed throughout the Ryukyu chain. The military presence in Kyushu is also increasing, with deployments of F-35s and long-range missiles. At the same time, the government has started to prepare to the local population with briefings that reveal both the magnitude of the challenge and the growing concern among citizens who vividly remember the trauma of the battle of okinawa. The militarization of the region, although supported by a majority of young Japanese, continues awakening misgivings between sectors that fear that a conflict in the strait will turn their islands into the first line of fire. Japanese military in Okinawa Fight for historical legitimacy. we have been counting. The operational tension is added to an equally volatile front: the historical dispute. Chinese state media has reactivated narratives that question Japanese sovereignty over the Ryukyu, reinterpreting the postwar period and selectively citing statements of 1945 to present Japan as a nation whose sovereignty “is to be determined.” Beijing takes advantage of these references to reinforce its claim about the Senkaku and to argue that his view on Taiwan has a historical legitimacy that Japan cannot contradict. Tokyo responds by appealing to Treaty of San Francisco and to the existing international legal framework, but its effort to maintain stability collides with Chinese pressure, which combines repressive diplomacy with psychological operations aimed at local communities. In other words, the historical dispute is not rhetorical: it feeds the perception in Japan that the conflict with China is not temporary, but deeply structural. Taiwan in the shadows. The link between Japanese security and the fate of Taiwan is today explicit. The doctrine collective defense revised in 2015 allows the country to intervene if Japan’s survival could be compromised, and security analysts they point out that a hypothetical American operation to defend the island would require the use of Japanese bases. Tokyo’s refusal to cooperate with Washington, in such a scenario, would put the alliance itself at risk, making Japanese participation almost inevitable. China is fully aware of this and concentrates its efforts on fracturing the perception of inevitability, putting political, military and psychological pressure to erode the Japanese margin of decision. On that board, the new electronic warfare units in Yonaguni and the missile batteries distributed throughout the archipelago, they could become, if necessary, key nodes in an integrated attack chain between Japan and the United States, which would make them priority targets for a Chinese offensive in the initial phase. Uncertainty. The result of these dynamics is a western Pacific that advances towards an area permanent frictionwhere each movement is interpreted as a dress rehearsal and every political statement is magnified as a strategic notice. The air raidsnaval exercises, the militarization of the islands and the historical dispute between great powers converge in a reduced geopolitical spacedensely populated and highly symbolic. For Japan, the crossroads It is complex: reinforce its defense without reigniting domestic fears about militarism, coordinate with the United States without becoming an automatic target, and respond to China without setting the region on fire. For Beijing, the key is in maintaining the pressureexpand its margin of future action in the Taiwan Strait and fragment the strategic unity of its adversaries. Image | US Indo-Pacific Command, GoodFon, rhk111, RawPixel In Xataka | China has just shown Japan a diplomatic dart that it had been keeping for decades: World War II … Read more

The throne on the list of the most reliable cars of 2025 has changed. What does not change is Japan’s domain

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Usually, after a house, The purchase of a car It is the second greater expense that we have to face. It is still something indispensable in the day to day of us, But with upward pricesit is necessary think very well what is bought. Apart from choosing a motorization model or personal tastes, it is always advisable to take an eye on the lists of the most reliable cars in the market. And the new analysis of Consumer Reports It is a great help to make that decision. Changes in the noble zone. Although they focus on the US market, there are common models in different territories and lists like the one we have in hand or JD Power’s are very interesting. They handle reports sent by thousands of consumers, analyze several key points of new cars and are so relevant that some of their findings They have forced brands to take action (such as the failure in the rotary engines of Mazda in 1973). Every year they make their list with the most reliable car brands, Those who go down the least for the workshopand in which they have just published they take reports from 2022 to 2024, as well as the first bars of 2025. Normally, it was a boring table, but in this year’s edition we see that Toyota and Lexus, who had been dominating for years, have lost one position each due to the rise of another brand that, to anyone’s surprise, remains Japanese: Subaru. Graph | Consumer Reports The tail does not change. The domain of the Japanese in the upper part is a constant in recent years, this reliability being one of the presentation cards held by cars in the ‘rising sun’. In the lower part of the reliability list there are also some position changes, but the names we see are the same (and the countries too). If the Japanese stand out above and in the middle part of the South Koreans like Kia or Hyundai, in the lower part those who dominate are the Americans. Jeep, GMC or Cadillac are not well stopped. Nor does the German Volkswagen (again) and the red lantern is Rivian. The one who became the Third most important car manufacturer in the world In the stock market, they collapsed in record time, losing 90% of its value in just three years. It is the brand that worst score takes this year’s list. And if you are wondering where Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Mitsubishi or Fiat are, from CR points out that they did not have enough data to be able to add them legitimately to the list. We will see if for the final report of the year contemplating everything 2025 changes the thing. What do they analyze. View the list, let’s see the data and conclusions of Consumer Reports. For this year’s report, they have asked their members about the problems they have had with their vehicles in the last 12 months. In total, data from more than 300,000 vehicles from 2000 to 2024 have compiled, but as we said, also with 2025 models that have had sufficient units on the street to be relevant to the compilation. They analyze 20 problem areas ranging from brakes to the engine, through broken embellishness, potential problems outside battery, transmission and problems that affect the electric and hybrids as the battery and load and create a score for each vehicle from 1 to 100. Hybrids stand out. As they point out, all that previous experience and the data of newer models have allowed this year’s list to be the most complete for hybrids and electric. They claim that they continue to improve, but that if there is a king on all electrified, they are the HEV hybrids. Jake Fisher is the technical director of Tests at Consumer Reports and points out that, although hybrids “remain extremely efficient in fuel consumption, they also offer reliability that is similar to conventional combustion cars despite their added difficulty.” He continues to affirm that “on average, they have a similar number of problems that cars propelled by a combustion engine” and comments that the most reliable models are from Toyota, Lexus, Kia and Hyundai, with cars such as Corolla, Rav4, Elantra el Sorento, Highlander or Lexus NX. But with reservations. It also points out that not all hybrids are the same and that Ford, for example, has a reliability problem with both the F-150 as with the F-150 hybrid. In addition, they strive to indicate that the most reliable of electrified are pure hybrids, since PHEV or plug -in hybrids They are less reliable. And, as a final recommendation, from the report they clarify that, although a brand can be very reliable, there are always models that stand out and others that lower the average. If we are interested in particular, it is worth looking for information from that and not getting carried away by the general reliability guides. And they say it with a specific model in mind: the TOYOTA BZ4Xbeing the one that lowers the score of the brand. Interestingly, it is the basis of Subaru’s single, and also lowers the average of this company. In Xataka | The German ITV has analyzed the reliability of the Tesla and has reached a conclusion: Dacia is above

We thought that Japan’s tourist boom was an opportunity for AI. It has become an unexpected remedy

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Japan is one of those countries that one thinks knowing without having stepped on it. For his millenary temples, For their trains that exceed 300 km/hfor its technology and for its robots. That is why it does not strange that Millions of people Make the bags every year to travel their cities, their mountains and even its less known rural areas. What is surprising is this: how AI begins to break through where, until now, only human talent was accepted. The paradox is as Japanese as its culture: a country where hospitality is deeply valued, and, at the same time, where those who can practice it are scarce. Because if something has revealed the tourist tsunami that Japan is receiving is that the lack of bilingual guides has become a serious problem. It is not new. Many retired during the difficult years that the sector was going through during the pandemic, others changed from sector. But now the situation squeezes, and the country begins to respond. Where before there was a guide with smile, now there is an app with ia The scarcity of guides is not an anecdote. It is a reality that begins to leave a mark on the experience of thousands of travelers. As Nikkei Asia collectsJapan had something more than 46,000 bilingual guides. The figure included both licensed professionals and certified by local governments, and even people with sufficient knowledge and to perform that role. Four years later, the figure had fallen almost 20%. In 2023 there were about 37,700. The trend is still down. The reasons are understood quickly. The pandemia devastated the tourist calendars, froze reservations and left thousands of guides Freelance No stable income. Many looked for another way. Some retired. And although years have passed since those times, what has remained is an aging template: about 60 % of licensed guides are over 60 years old. If we talk about the official exam, in 2024 only 380 people approved it. The agencies notice it. Some recognize that they have had to Cancel or reprogram tours Because, simply, there was no one available to attend them. Before, when their workforce was at the limit, they could resort to independent professionals. Now, not that. And although Since 2018 Japan allows Make payment tours without the need for the official license, a good part of tourists and agencies continue to prefer authorized guides, with knowledge, accreditations and, above all, trust. Today, in places like Okinawa, there are tourists who prefer the robotic voice of applications such as the operator Cerulean Blue before running out of tour. The system detects its location by means of the mobile GPS, shows real -time information with augmented reality and active audioguías as the visitor advances. That gesture, almost imperceptible, says much of the present … and perhaps also of the future. Because AI still does not improvise jokesHe does not feel pride when talking about his city, he does not respond with a smile. But when the guide does not arrive, technology seems to be ready to respond. And the most interesting thing is that tourism is not an isolated case. What is happening with the guides is part of a broader pattern that begins to be noticed strongly in Japan. In agriculture, for example, Companies are using Apps based on AI capable of identifying plants diseases with just one photo. In schools, English teachers do not supply, so some already use virtual assistants who talk with students. In public administration, municipalities Like Yokosuka They have started using Chatgpt To summarize meetings and write documents. According to calculations of the Consistory itself, the time saving is counted in thousands of hours a year. All this responds to the same structural problem: the lack of hands. Japan is a technological power, yes. But it is also a country that is aging and has a very low birth rate. Images | Micah Camper | Angel | Geoff Oliver In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

Japan’s commitment to lead the chips industry is held on these three companies

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For Japan, as for South Korea, Taiwan, China or the US, the semiconductor industry has a strategic character not only because of the deep beneficial impact it has on its economy, but also by the impulse that gives its technological capacity. This is the context in which the Japanese government announced in the middle of last November A public plan that will injected into companies that are dedicated to the design and manufacture of chips no less than 325,000 million dollars within ten years. In addition, it prepares additional 65,000 million that seek to support the activity of local companies. There is no doubt that it is a very strong and more ambitious bet even than those designed by the US, China or Europe. Only South Korea prepare an economic investment of a similar size. The first reactions of Japanese companies have not been waiting. “We are working with our clients to develop technologies that teach four generations in the future.” These words of Nobuto DoiVice President of Tokyo Electron, are a declaration of intentions. However, before moving forward in this article it is important that we briefly review where Japan comes from. At the end of the 80s this Asian country dominated the global industry of the integrated circuits with an indisputable forcefulness. Nec, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Matsushita and other Japanese companies They monopolized in 1988 Nothing less than 50% of the chips industry. However, today none of these companies is positioned among the leaders of a sector dominated with iron fist by Taiwanese, American, Chinese, South Korean and German companies. Tokyo Electron: Japanese Asml This company is one of The pillars of the Japanese industry of integrated circuits. It is dedicated to the design and manufacture of lithography and waking -up equipment, so its machines often live together in the TSMC, Intel, Samsung, Micron Technology or SK Hynix plants, among other companies, with the teams of the Dutch company ASML or the American Apply materials. Its importance for Japan is such that it is currently one of the Japanese companies that are being backed by subsidies approved by the Japanese government. The new Tokyo Electron plant in Oshu will be intended for the manufacture of advanced team deposition equipment and logistics In fact, it is building several buildings in the prefecture of Miyagi that will presumably be completed in 2025. The most ambitious project that will address in these facilities will consist of the design and manufacture of some some WAFSMA TEACHING BY PLASMA Very advanced. They are precisely the machines that Nobuto Doi speaks in the statement that I have included in the second paragraph of this article. These equipment are involved in the definition of the pattern that will later be transferred to the wafer. The Japanese company Hitachi also has plasma wafering engraving machines, but the singing voice in this particular market has tokyo electron. Apparently the engineers of this last company are working side by side with their clients to develop solutions that, according to doi, four generations ahead will be positioned. However, its plan goes beyond the facilities of the Prefecture of Miyagi. And it is that Tokyo Electron is also building a new plant in Oshu, in the prefecture of Iwate, which will be intended for the manufacture of advanced wafering deposition equipment and logistics. We can be sure: Tokyo Electron is the Japanese Asml. Without it, the ambitious plan pergeted by the Japanese government for its semiconductor industry would not be viable. Rapidus Corporation: The spearhead of Japan The company that is destined to compete from you to you with TSMC, Intel or Samsung in the chip production market is Rapidus corporation. In fact, it has been expressly created to replace Japan at the forefront of integrated circuits. This is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 by the Japanese government with an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (just under 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting, Sony, Toyota, Nec, Softbank, Kioxia, Denso, Nippon Telegraph and Mufg Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very bulky, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it have an indisputable relevance in the sectors of technology, automotive and telecommunications. Rapidus is currently putting a circuit manufacturing plant integrated in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), in which it plans to produce 2 Nm semiconductor. The first prototypes of these chips are already readybut large -scale manufacturing will not arrive at best until 2027. Rapidus is making a chip manufacturing plant in northern Japan in which it plans to produce 2 Nm semiconductors What is causing the new Rapidus factory to monopolize the looks of the semiconductor sector is that, according to Atsuyoshi Koike, which is the president of the company, it will be completely automated. Its purpose is to resort to robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to tune an automated production line that will be specialized in the manufacture of 2 nm chips for AI applications. Its plan consists, in short, to produce integrated circuits faster, with a lower and more quality cost. To manufacture these semiconductors, equipment of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) produced by the Dutch company ASML, and practically all manufacturing processes are automatic. However, the tests of test and validation, interconnection and packaging of the chips are still largely carried out manually in most manufacturing plants. According to Rapidus, its automation technology of all these processes will allow you to reduce the delivery time of your chips by 66% compared to the times they usually offer TSMC and Samsung. JSR Corporation: The photor resistance monopoly is in his hands There is a Japanese company that is indisputably leader in its specialty. It is little known outside the scope of the semiconductors, and yet it is one of the bastions of Japan. Is called JSR Corporation and specialized in the production of photorers. The photolithography equipment designing and produces ASML … Read more

Japan’s only hope to dominate the chips industry is an unknown: Rapidus

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The Taiwanese company TSMC and South Korean Samsung are the two semiconductor manufacturers that have the most advanced integration technologies in production. In fact, both manufacture Integrated 3 Nm circuits Since 2022. However, for many months The performance by wafer They obtained was very improvable, which transformed their nodes of 3 Nm into a bottleneck that perceptibly increased the cost of these chips. Three years later the 3 Nm nodes of these two companies are much finer. His performance by wafer has increased perceptibly and presumably is already exceeding 70% established by the semiconductor industry as a reference. Currently these two companies are in a relatively comfortable position, but there is a company that seems to be prepared to disturb them. To them already intel. His name is Rapidus corporation, he is Japanese and plans to manufacture 2 Nm semiconductors with an unpublished technology and unbeatable mate performance. Rapidus is the spearhead of Japan In 1988 NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Matsushita and other Japanese companies hoarded nothing less than 50% of the chips industry. However, today none of these companies is positioned among the leaders of a sector dominated with iron fist by Taiwanese, American, Dutch, South Korean and German companies. Whatever the government of Japan is determined to recover its ancient glory. The administration led by Shigeru ishiba claims the preeminent position he had in the semiconductor industry three decades ago. Its economy is at stake. But it has a plan. And it is already underway. In fact, he began to display his strategy to reinforce his integrated circuit industry more than two years ago, so the first results begin to see the light. Japan is currently investing more money in its integrated circuits sector than the US, Germany, France or the United Kingdom Japan is currently investing more money in its sector of integrated circuits than the US, Germany, France or the United Kingdom. Not in terms of net value, but its effort is greater if we weigh the investment of these countries on their gross domestic product (GDP). The US dedicates 0.21% of its GDP to its semiconductor industry, and Germany 0.41%. France, according to Nikkei Asia0.2%, and, finally, the United Kingdom 0.04%. The difference is very significant and puts on the table the effort that Japan is making with 0.71% of its GDP. As expected, Japanese companies have a leading role in the reconstruction plan of the Japanese chips industry. Tokyo Electron, Canon and Nikon are the main designers and manufacturers of integrated circuit production equipment. AND JSR Corporation leads the production of photorestoning materials. Curiously, it is necessary to pour these fluids on silicon wafers with the purpose of preparing them for the transfer of the geometric pattern that delimits the distribution of transistors, connections and other elements that make up an integrated circuit. The surprising thing is that, in reality, none of the companies I just mentioned is the best trick of Japan to catapult the competitiveness of its semiconductor industry. Not even JSR, which, as we have just seen, leads the manufacture of photorers. The company that is intended for compete from you to you With TSMC, Intel or Samsung in the chip production market is Rapidus corporation. In fact, it has been expressly created to replace Japan at the forefront of integrated circuits. This company’s website explains the background that has triggered its constitution and its purposes in The following six “commandments”: The importance of semiconductors has increased, and, at the same time, the growing concern for the decline of the chips industry in Japan has done so. The role of semiconductors in economic security has become an urgent matter. Many integrated circuit factories are located in Taiwan and Continental China. Given the increase in the use of semiconductors in cars and artificial intelligence, as well as the added value of the chips in the devices that will arrive during the next decade, it is necessary to guarantee manufacturing in Japan. After the summit between Japan and the US, both countries are developing next -generation semiconductors. It is necessary to establish 3D LSI technology (Large Scale Integration o large -scale integration) next -generation and Nanosheet Gaa (Gate-alall-around) in collaboration with the US and Europe, as well as build a cooperation framework with the manufacturers of materials and equipment in Japan and abroad. Our purpose is to establish an integrated circuit factory of 2 Nm avant -garde in Japan. The first four precepts recognize to what extent Japan has lost the relevance that had decades ago in the chips industry and support the need for rebuild a sector which currently has a strategic role. And the last two slogans outline the objective of Rapidus in the short and medium term, which goes through competing in The incipient market of 2 nm semiconductors in which this year TSMC, Intel and Samsung will enter. Rapidus is making a circuit manufacturing plant integrated in northern Japan in which it plans to produce 2 Nm chips Rapidus is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 by the Japanese government with an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (just under 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting, Sony, Toyota, Nec, Softbank, Kioxia, dense , Nippon Telegraph and MUFG Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very bulky, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it have an indisputable relevance in the sectors of technology, automotive and telecommunications. Rapidus is currently putting a circuit manufacturing plant integrated in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), in which it plans to produce semiconductors of 2 Nm. According to Nikkei Asia The first prototypes of these chips They will be ready in April 2025but large -scale manufacturing will not arrive at best until 2027. So far there is nothing really surprising because presumably at that time TSMC, Samsung and Intel will already be manufacturing integrated circuits with comparable lithographs. Rapidus’s competitiveness … Read more

Japan’s biggest enemy has left a $90 billion bill in the nation’s pocket: climate change

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Few things are more accurate in understanding a problem that affects everyone than appeal to the stomach. In March of last year, Japan woke up to news that made more than one person raise their eyebrows. Wasabi was experiencing a “bittersweet” moment (curry rice tooin fact). The reasons stemmed, first of all, from international demand due to the success of the nation’s cuisine. However, there is not enough wasabi on the planet to satisfy everyone, and part of the blame lay with a usual suspect that threatens many of the planet’s crops: climate change. The last bill of the nation is an announcement to sailors. The economic catastrophe of climate change. Japan, a country with a long history of natural disasters, faces an unprecedented increase in the costs derived from climate change. Despite its recognized expertise in risk management and disaster resilience, the country continues to suffer some of the highest economic losses on the planet. To give us an idea, according to a report from the International Chamber of Commercebetween 2014 and 2023, Japan accumulated Climate-related losses totaling a whopping $90.8 billiona figure only surpassed by the United States, China and India, nations considerably larger in population and territory. Not only that. The projected future costs are even more alarming. An analysis conducted last December estimates that if current global climate policies continue, Japan will face damages worth a total of 952 trillion yen (about $6 trillion) until 2050a figure that far exceeds the nominal value of its current economy, estimated at 591.9 billion yenaccording to the Cabinet Office. The problem of not being able to stop it. As we said, Japan’s disaster history is extensive, with devastating events like the Noto earthquake in 2023, Typhoon Hagibis in 2019 either the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March 2011. In this regard, recent warnings about a possible megaquake in the Nankai Trench have further highlighted the constant threat facing the country. In fact, the nation ranks sixth in the Disaster Risk Index of the telecommunications company Intersec, which evaluated the economic and human losses of almost 160 countries between 2000 and 2024. The country registered total economic losses of 2.35 billion dollars and 543 fatalities and/or injuriesadjusted to its population of 124 million. Image of the 2011 Tsunami The “urban” layout, another problem. Furthermore, the pattern that we see in all natural disasters such as those that occurred in l is repeated.The Los Angeles fireseither DANA in Valencia: Inhabited areas in disaster-prone areas. In the case of Japan, the combination of its extensive coastline, the high concentration of assets in densely populated urban areas and the scarcity of natural resources make it a highly vulnerable enclave to large-scale disasters. Despite these risks, Japan has managed to mitigate the loss of life by advanced risk management strategiesas early warning systemsresilient infrastructure and emergency response plans. However, the economic costs continue to increase exponentially. The price of inaction: it is urgent to take action. They told in Japan Times A week ago, the impact of climate change is also increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the country, such as floods, typhoons and forest fires. In this regard, a study by the International Chamber of Commerce analyzed almost 4,000 extreme events that occurred between 2014 and 2023, concluding that Global economic losses amounted to 2 trillion dollars. Japan was among the most affected countries, with economic costs higher than those of Germany (although below those of India). The impact in Japan. Economic losses resulting from natural disasters amounted to 320 billion dollars worldwide last yearof which only 140 billion were insuredaccording to the report from the insurer Munich Re. This figure represents the fifth largest loss since 1980 and is significantly higher than the averages of recent decades. In Japanese terms, it is expected that Climate change will reduce the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by almost 10% annually if more ambitious policies are not adopted to mitigate its effects. In fact, an economic model from the Asian Investors Group on Climate Change estimates that Total economic losses until 2050 will reach 970 trillion yenwhich is equivalent to the loss of hundreds of thousands of yen per Japanese household annually. By then, projections indicate that Japan will be more affected than the United States and Europe. Initiatives and adaptation. It is possibly the big question facing Japan and the entire planet, what can we do to mitigate disasters or adapt? In that sense and despite the gloomy perspectives of the studies, the Times emphasized that Japan has the potential to lead the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through development of innovative technologiessuch as advanced batteries and offshore wind energy. According to a recent report, if the country adopts a net-zero emissions scenario by 2050, the economy could benefit from a boost of 13.6 trillion yen annuallyplus savings of 40 trillion yen per year compared to current climate policies. In addition, Japan has also taken a leading role in funding international initiatives to help vulnerable countries. For example, has contributed $10 million to the United Nations Loss and Damage Fundaimed at mitigating the impact of climate change in developing nations. Insurance and the Japanese pocket. It is the last leg of that global enemy, one that directly affects the nation’s pocketbook. Japanese households are already experiencing the impact of climate change through increased insurance premiums. In October 2024, the country’s four main insurers increased fire insurance rates by an average of 10%marking the fourth increase since 2019. Furthermore, Japan’s General Insurance Tariff Organization has explicitly linked these increases to the increasing risk of disasters induced by climate change. Additionally, and according to climate campaign group Insure Our Future, climate change-related disasters accounted for more than $600 billion in insured losses between 2002 and 2022. Data and more data, figures and more figures, which only highlight the urgency of more effective climate action to avoid or mitigate greater economic and social impacts of a common enemy. Image | 岩手県宮古市, … Read more

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