Innholdsfortegnelse for August 19, 2022 i Newsweek International

2018 “Critics and allies alike began asking: What happened to Elon Musk, the hero of Silicon Valley, the high-tech visionary who was going to save the planet with electric vehicles?” Newsweek wrote, citing the Tesla CEO’s Twitter rampages against journalists and others who spoke critically of the company. Since then, Musk has used his account to comment on the platform itself, questioning its position on free speech. This year, the billionaire struck a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter—one he is now trying to back out of. A Musk-Twitter trial is set for October. 1976 “Behind them lay a very real threat that the Republican ultras, if they didn’t get a ticket to their liking, would split off into a rightwing third party,” Newsweek wrote. Now, some might say “Trumpism”…

The ‘Made in Japan’ brand has long been synonymous with high quality. And behind the superior Japanese quality that Nippon manufacturers offer is the monozukuri philosophy, which focuses on craftsmanship, attention to detail and the constant pursuit of innovation to meet client, market and societal demands. And while Japan has faced stiffer regional competition in recent years, the ‘Made in Japan’ brand still dominates when it comes to niche B2B fields, where monozukuri-made parts, equipment and materials are still the top choice for clients seeking unbeatable quality. A case in point, Nitto Kohki’s unique ‘CUPLA’ series of quick connect couplings, which are used in a range of industries, have been copied but never matched by competitors. “There are companies in China and other countries utilizing our trademark for pirated versions,”…

Whenever an industry undergoes a drastic change, solutions are developed which not only respond to that sector’s specific challenges, but can also be utilized in a wide range of fields. Founded in 1946, vehicle parts producer Akashi-Kikai, a subsidiary of Daihatsu, has always focused on creating small and cost-effective solutions which have multiple applications, and the sudden increase in demand for EVs has only sharpened this focus. Many of the company’s key components, such as its steering gear and transmission gears, have been developed with weight in mind and will continue to be used in EVs. The backbone of the company’s longevity has been its dedication to nurturing its human resources. Company president Tetsuo Miura explains: “I like to think of it as building human capability. If you have good…

“Our strength is in our collaboration with customers in every field; our strategy is not to develop new products, but new methods to manufacture them.”Hiroyuki Iguchi, President & CEO, Shoei Kogyo Co., Ltd. Though known as a manufacturer of automobile and electrical components since its foundation in 1946, Shoei Kogyo has also had notable success in the medical sector. Company president Hiroyuki Iguchi, however, is keen to emphasize that his firm is neither focused on a specific industry nor does it offer a specific product. Rather, the company’s strength is in providing solutions, and in particular streamlining the research, design and development process by integrating departments that would otherwise operate independently of one another. As Mr. Iguchi explains: “We don’t just translate designs into products, but develop the design proposals…

“Our hydraulic products can contribute to wind power generation and electric vehicles.”Hideharu Nagahisa, President, Yuken Kogyo Founded in 1956, Yuken Kogyo specializes in hydraulics, supplying its hydraulic equipment and systems to various industries. Starting with the establishment of its overseas manufacturing base in Taiwan in 1969, the company has built a group network for manufacturing and sales throughout Asia. “Today the business environment is changing at an accelerated pace due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” says Hideharu Nagahisa, President of Yuken Kogyo. “Our group of companies is therefore aiming to create added value to meet our customers’ needs, whilst improving our global production system to support our growth.” Though the company deals primarily with oil hydraulic products, the group president stresses how Yuken Kogyo – like all Tier 1 businesses…

“Our Excellent series of products have specific quality standards to ensure superior performance.”Yasuhiro Oka, President, Eight Tool Co., Ltd. “We provide high-quality products for superior performance and work-cost efficiency,” says Eight Tool president Yasuhiro Oka. “That is why they’ve been accepted by industry professionals for over six decades.” This is best demonstrated with its unique alloy steel, SNCM+V, which “provides the ideal balance of hardness and torsional resistance that is specifically suited for hexagon wrenches,” explains Mr. Oka, while another critical strength is the ‘fitness’ of the wrench heads to bolt walls, “aiding wear resistance and torsional power transmission.” “A unique and popular feature is Taper Head, an enhanced ball-point function that enables a wrench to be inserted into a bolt cap from tilted angles. Countless tests and redesigns, along…

The digital revolution has led to an explosion in the number of electronic devices we use on a daily basis, but what happens when these devices become obsolete? Japan’s Hamaya Corporation, founded in 1991, is one of the companies leading the way in the recycling of ‘e-waste’. The Japanese firm, which also focuses on used home appliance exports and scrap metal, works to ensure the uncountable number of electronic devices being produced are properly managed through both reuse and recycling. Hamaya has been handling printed circuit boards from scrap electronic devices for several years and expanded its purchasing from Japan to markets including Brazil, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei, among others. Company president Shigeru Kobayashi understands the importance of working with local companies in foreign markets such as…

USING A BELOVED FILM LIKE A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN AS SOURCE MATE-rial for a new Amazon Prime series of the same name comes with more than just anxiety, as co-creator and star Abbi Jacobson is acutely feeling now. “This is people’s favorite f**king movie. There’s so much pressure.” Not based on the film, the dramedy (August 12) explores a more diverse set of stories about the women who made up the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943. “It was really important to us to get to tell those stories that were missing from the film, but also try to maintain the spirit and the energy.” The show explores the queerness of some of the players, the stories of Black women denied entry into the league and the treatment…

On the Sunday before Juneteenth, the Rev. Ryan Marsh stood in front of about 50 mostly white parishioners to announce a “reparations distribution” program for the church. Marsh’s congregation at Salt House, a young Lutheran church in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, is among dozens of churches that in the last two years have begun taking the initiative in making reparations for centuries of slavery that many religious leaders, at the time, justified on theological grounds. These faith-based groups are giving donations to Black-led organizations, gifts to Black individuals (not necessarily church members) and royalties for Black musicians each time a congregation sings a Black spiritual. Salt House dedicates 1 percent of the church’s budget—roughly $6,000 annually—to reparations efforts and encourages parishioners to donate for a reparations fund that distributes…

The acquisition of three foreign companies in five years continued ShinMaywa Group’s long-term vision oriented towards 2030, which looks to expand profits and sales with overseas growth through such alliances. “These companies had the technologies we were missing, so that’s why we purchased them,” explains company president and CEO Tatsuyuki Isogawa. “Our monozukuri (manufacturing) was developed over our 100-year history. We now have started to transform into a ‘future-oriented’ corporate group that can contribute to the realization of a better global society.”Tatsuyuki Isogawa, President & CEO, ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd. “The alliances, whether domestic or foreign, are to acquire unique technology, and while Southeast Asia is a good source for this growth, a sales and distribution partner is required so that we can maximize our local production capabilities.” Social contribution is…

“We want to work with both Japanese and foreign manufacturers for joint development and lower production costs.”Yuichi Kimura, President & CEO, Tokai Kogyo Co., Ltd. Founded in 1947, Tokai Kogyo specializes in automotive materials and parts manufacturing, with a focus on superior design. “We want to contribute to and enrich society through our monozukuri,” says President and CEO, Yuichi Kimura. “Our strength is the assurance and control of high-quality products, enabling us to gain the trust of the international community to compete in the global market.” Collaboration is vital for the company’s business model, says the president, highlighting that “every country has its own culture, language and mindset, so local partners acting on our behalf is crucial.” With such human resource challenges, automation certainly has its place, but is not…

“When it comes to adding value to our products, we are pursuing the aspects that will provide advantages for our customers.”Saeko Takenaka, President, Takenaka Seisakusho Formed in 1935 as a manufacturer of nuts and bolts for ships, today Takenaka Seisakusho’s products support critical physical and social infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, railways, expressways, bridges and hospitals. “When it comes to adding value to our products, we are pursuing the aspects that will provide advantages for our customers,” says Saeko Takenaka, President of Takenaka Seisakusho. “One of those advantages we’ve pursued is the TAKECOAT®-1000, which was designed to prolong the life of the metal used in bolts and extend the time before they start to rust. This is just one example of the problems that our clients brought forward for us…

“Data is the new oil” has almost become a cliché, but when we think of data not just as a mass of figures but also as useful feedback, it’s true that its value becomes clear. One company that is truly dedicated to using this feedback as the cornerstone of its business is Japanese grinding wheel producer New Registon Co., Ltd. Founded in 1967, New Registon specializes in high-performance grinding wheels for cutting, grinding, and polishing metals. As is often the case with Japanese producers, B2B specialist New Registon’s strength is in the added value incorporated into its products; value that is ultimately derived from its customers. As company president Kenji Yamauchi explains, traditionally it has been difficult for engineers in the grinding wheel industry to obtain feedback from the end…

“We strive to be an attentive company that provides detailed care, sensing what our customers need.”Hisashi Kikugawa, President, Chrysanthemum Co., Ltd. In the automotive industry, the ability to produce the lightest, most streamlined products possible while ensuring strength is paramount, especially as the transition towards electric vehicles (EVs) marches on. One of the companies working to make high-quality yet lightweight components is Japan’s Chrysanthemum Co., Ltd. Founded in 1960, Chrysanthemum manufactures products in two categories: stranded inner cables and coated cables. The stranded cables are mainly made of two materials, high carbon steel and stainless steel, and finished with zinc plating (galvanizing) or the company’s special KIKU-GT finishing. The cables are then coated with resin in response to customers’ need. Chrysanthemum works to ensure its cables are as thin as…

“The CALUX method can tackle cancer-causing dioxins globally once it becomes the international standard method for dioxin measurement.”Hiroshi Murata, President, Hiyoshi Corporation One of the major causes of environmental and social damage globally is pollution. And there are some environmental pollutants such as dioxins that are hazardous to human health. Dioxins are called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as they take a long time to break down once they are in the environment and so are found throughout the world, particularly in the global food chain. Indeed, today more than 90% of human exposure is through food, mainly meat, dairy products, fish and shellfish. Highly toxic, these compounds have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems, as well as being a cause of cancer. In Japan, dioxins became a major social…

PeriscopeNEWS, OPINION + ANALYSISAFGHANISTAN ALMOST EXACTLY A YEAR AGO, THE LAST AMER-ican troops left Afghanistan and the Taliban regained full control of the country. Since then, Afghanistan has descended into worsening poverty, repression, particularly of women and girls, and international isolation, underscored by the killing last week of Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri by an American drone strike in Kabul. Azra Jafari, an Afghan politician and human rights activist, who was the sole woman co-author of the country’s 2003 constitution and in 2008 became her nation’s first female mayor, has watched all this from exile in the U.S. with growing despair. “We were a working democracy for 20 years and during this 20 years we were hopeful,” she tells Newsweek. “Now, we have nothing. What we worked on for 20…

“We aim to be the best company in the world at creating one-of-a-kind value and inspiring our customers.”Kazuhiro Ito, President, Dynax Corporation Price competition is getting tougher globally, but Japanese companies continue to have a large share of niche markets thanks to their multi-product, multi-functional production. One such business is Dynax, a specialist in various components for automotive, construction and agricultural vehicles. “We aim to be the best company in the world at creating one-of-a-kind value and inspiring our customers. One-of-a-kind value means pursuing unique manufacturing that only we can do. In the clutch field, that would be friction materials,” says Kazuhiro Ito, President of Dynax. Since its foundation in 1973, Dynax has researched, developed and designed products such as wet-type friction plates, clutch pack assemblies and synchronizer rings. However,…

“We would like to bring our stamping and core technology to the highest level. It is our goal to keep challenging ourselves in new markets worldwide.”Takashi Shimizu, President, Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd. With an industry presence for more than 60 years, Nissin Kogyo initially came to prominence manufacturing electron guns for television sets, establishing an enviable reputation for its niche core technologies. But reputations live and die on a company’s ability to adapt quickly to societal change, and with the market for tube TVs in terminal decline, finding the next opportunity has been a challenge. In the last few years, armed with knowledge of burr control, surface treatment and assembly technologies, and eager to contribute to an emerging market, Nissin Kogyo has successfully repositioned itself as a high-quality manufacturer of…

In an era where regional competitors are replicating the concept of monozukuri and threatening to push Japan out of mass production markets, it would be easy to conclude that, for some companies, quality plays second fiddle to cheap labor costs. For Nitto Kohki president Akinobu Ogata, however, nothing could be further from the truth. In recent years, he says, customers the company had previously thought lost have returned and helped increase the coupling giant’s market share. The pursuit of excellence not only obliges Nitto Kohki to invest proper time and money in research and development, but also helps to differentiate the firm from its competitors. Having a reputation for quality, meanwhile, means Nitto Kohki’s coupling products continue to be used in leading-edge industries, such as semiconductors, where reliability is by…

“Since my 2013 arrival, the company has transformed through DX technologies. We’ve already curtailed the annual labor cost by 3 million dollars and electricity use by 22%. In addition, we’ve begun a transformation process from an auto parts manufacturer for TOYOTA to an IT-focused enterprise.”Tetsuya Kimura, President, Asahi Tekko Co., Ltd. Since his arrival at Asahi Tekko, a major automobile parts manufacturer with over 80 years’ experience, President Tetsuya Kimura has set about implementing kaizen, or continuous improvement, through digital transformation (DX). “When I came from Toyota in 2013, I realized there were some management problems, and the company was in a deficit,” Mr. Kimura explains. “Without change, I knew our company would not survive.” He continues: “My basic philosophy is to let people do value-added work. What I want…