National Dec 9, 2019
Yoshino underscores that the development of the batteries can be linked with that of AI, the “internet of things” and next-generation wireless networks.
Business / Corporate Nov 26, 2019
Major chemical maker Asahi Kasei Corp. has said it will purchase Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of the U.S. by February. The acquisition price will come to some ¥143.2 billion. Through the purchase of the U.S. drugmaker, Asahi Kasei hopes to establish a business foundation in the growing ...
National Oct 14, 2019
Nobel winner Akira Yoshino to focus on environmental issues during acceptance speech
Japanese researcher Akira Yoshino, who was named a winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry, said Monday he plans to highlight environmental issues in his speech at the award ceremony in Sweden in December. Yoshino, an honorary fellow of major chemicals maker Asahi Kasei ...
National Oct 10, 2019
Surprise and gratitude in Japan's after Akira Yoshino wins Nobel Prize
Akira Yoshino's winning of the Nobel Prize in chemistry has been greeted with surprise and gratitude in Japan. Yoshino was among three scientists given the award on Wednesday for their work on the development of lithium-ion batteries. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Wednesday ...
Business / Tech Oct 28, 2018
Battery boom: The future of cars rests with firms that predate the Model T
by David Stringer, Chisaki Watanabe, Jie Ma, Jack Kaskey, Andrew Noel and R.T. Watson
It took more than seven years for automakers to sell 4 million passenger electric vehicles. It'll take about six months to sell the next million. That surging demand is transforming the lithium-ion battery business, with more power packs expected to be installed in EVs this ...
Business Sep 6, 2017
Six-decade run of Japan's first private condominium to end with redevelopment plan
by Alex Martin
The nation's first privately developed condominium project that helped usher in a postwar apartment boom is to undergo demolition and redevelopment, drawing the curtain on its six-decade history. Yotsuya Co-operative House, a five-story, 28-apartment condominium located in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, was completed in 1956 and ...
National Jan 13, 2016
Contractors of a tilting condominium in Yokohama are given business suspension orders for malpractices, according to the land ministry.
National Jan 8, 2016
Bad management to blame for Yokohama piling scandal, interim report says
by Tomoko Otake
A third-party panel probing the Asahi Kasei Construction Materials piling scandal concludes sloppy management encouraged data manipulation but avoids stating whether workers engaged in a coverup.
Commentary / Japan Dec 6, 2015
It should be home sweet home, but not in Japan
by Kevin Rafferty
The destructive nexus between construction companies, bureaucracy and politicians is largely responsible for Japan's glut of rapidly depreciating houses.
National Dec 3, 2015
Prime contractor behind leaning building ordered pilings of insufficient length
The health ministry raids a manufacturer of blood products and vaccines after a panel accused it of several violations.
National Nov 30, 2015
70% of residents at tilting condo complex want entire site rebuilt
Nearly 70 percent of condo owners in the Yokohama complex with a tilting building want the entire site rebuilt, according to a survey conducted by the management association. The results, revealed by the association Sunday, show that 476 of the 705 households want the developer ...
National Nov 25, 2015
Asahi Kasei internal probe finds piling data falsified in over 10% of projects
Asahi Kasei Corp. revealed Tuesday that piling data had been falsified in at least more than 10 percent of the projects worked on by a subsidiary over the past decade. Amid a deepening data falsification scandal engulfing Asahi Kasei Construction Materials Corp., 61 workers were ...