トヨタの電気と燃料セルの将来車
Toyota concepts await show
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011
By HIROKO NAKATA Staff writer
Ahead of next month's Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday unveiled two fuel-efficient concept cars, one an electric vehicle and the other a fuel-cell vehicle.
New wheels: Toyota Motor Corp.'s Aqua hybrid, which will be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in December, is shown in a handout photograph. KYODO
The concept EV, called the FT-EVIII, has better range and speed characteristics than previous models. The auto giant has said it aims to start selling electric vehicles in 2012.
The FT-EVIII has a range of 105 km on a full charge, and it has a maximum speed of 125 kph.
The earlier FT-EVII concept car unveiled at last year's motor show can run 90 km and has a maximum speed of 100 kph.
Toyota also took the wraps off the fuel-cell concept car FCV-R, based on a sedan. It is more compact than the previous FCV, which was based on a sport utility vehicle like the Toyota Kluger.
The carmaker said it plans to release fuel-cell vehicles onto the market by around 2015.
Toyota also unveiled a prototype compact hybrid that it plans to launch in late December.
The car, called the Aqua in Japan and Prius c in other countries, can travel 35 km on 1 liter of fuel.
The Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the public on Dec. 2, will feature 15 Japanese auto brands and 25 foreign makers.
Insight: Dynamic CEOs defy Japan Inc's decline
By Linda Sieg and James Topham
TOKYO | Mon Apr 2, 2012 6:06pm EDT
TOKYO (Reuters) - When Yusaku Maezawa quit playing drums in a punk band to devote himself full-time to his business selling Tokyo street fashion on the Internet, his main goal was to have fun.
Twelve years later, Maezawa, 36, is the billionaire CEO of online fashion retailer Start Today, one of a clutch of growing firms led by a different breed of executives determined to avoid the errors of the global Japanese brands whose faltering fortunes are making Japan Inc synonymous with decline.
"I was in danger of becoming a 'salaryman musician'," Maezawa said in an interview at his company headquarters in a high-rise office building outside Tokyo, where framed T-shirts hand-sprayed by company executives with letters spelling out "NO WAR" adorn the entrance.
"On the other hand, the company was growing dynamically, I was meeting new people to work with and I heard customers were happy, so it felt like there was more dynamism and growth," added Maezawa, who named his firm for an album by punk band Gorilla Biscuits.
The company, which now has about 400 full-time employees, expects operating profits to rise by more than 46 percent to 8.56 billion yen ($104 million) in the year just ended.
Maezawa, whose firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's start-up section in 2007 and graduated to the first section in February, may be rare in preaching fun as a management gospel.
"I want to destroy the old concept that a company is a place where one sacrifices time for the sake of money," he said with an impish grin, confessing he now works a four-day week.
But his commitment to innovation and a laser-like focus on making consumers happy are shared traits experts agree set off Japan's emerging successes from once-proud but now-struggling firms such as Sony and Panasonic.
And it's not just those storied electronics groups that are at risk of being left behind in today's fast changing world. The stock market barometer, the Nikkei average, has dropped 74 percent from the heady highs of late-1989.
"Many people just rely on their past success, but things are moving and changing so fast, you need to self-innovate," Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of e-commerce operator and Amazon rival Rakuten Inc, told Reuters in a telephone interview as he travelled by car through Tokyo.
"Even Rakuten, if we stop, I think we are going to decline very rapidly. That's the new rule of the game," said Mikitani, whose firm, set up in 1997, now employs over 7,000 people and posted group operating profit of 71.34 billion yen last year.
Experts say more such success stories - found in sectors ranging from retail, Internet and mobile games to niche manufacturers - could help revive a Japanese economy stuck in the doldrums for decades and saddled with an ageing population.
Maezawa is a high school graduate; Mikitani studied at Harvard Business School. Several stand-out CEOs founded start-ups but others built up a family business or head an established firm.
What these executives do have in common, though, is an individualism rare in Japan's often staid business circles.
"Japanese society is changing and independent types are increasing, and every year more people are trying venture businesses," said Tatsuyuki Negoro, a professor at Waseda University's IT Strategy Institute.
"The question is whether things can change in time before Japan sinks."
1-3
Factors behind the well-chronicled decline of famed Japanese brands are legion, including an inability to ditch loss-making divisions and focus on core businesses, an obsession with building 'better' products that consumers don't want, and risk-averse 'salaryman CEOs' hobbled by a search for consensus.
Those management mindsets have contributed to the woes of companies such as Sony, Panasonic and Sharp, set to lose a combined $17 billion in the year to end-March.
"Japan is seeking something like stability," said Tadashi Yanai, 63, listed by Forbes as Japan's richest man with family assets of $10 billion, and CEO of Asia's largest apparel retailer, Fast Retailing. "Stability is fine, but if you try to be stable without a desire to grow, there is no stability.
"I think the biggest problem is that that awareness has faded," Yanai said at his biggest store just days before it opened last month in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza district as part of a bid to rejuvenate profits for casual clothing chain Uniqlo by burnishing the brand at home and expanding abroad.
For Yanai - a second-generation retailer and author of a book titled "One Victory, Nine Failures" - and other successful CEOs, fear of failure isn't part of their management lexicon.
"Without knowing what I was going to do, I decided to jump off the cliff," said Mikitani, recalling his decision in 1995 to quit a job at the then-prestigious Industrial Bank of Japan and start his own firm - a move he says he'd never contemplated until the bank sent him to study at Harvard Business School.
Kohey Takashima, 38, whose online grocery firm Oisix Inc has yet to list publicly but who already dreams of expanding in Asia, said he has never calculated the cost of failure.
"I didn't think about the risk, because I didn't think I would fail," said Takashima, who worked for consultancy McKinsey & Co before starting his company with college friends.
"If you think you might fail, you won't take the risk," said Takashima, whose company in 2008 won the Porter Prize for innovative companies, named after Harvard Professor Michael Porter, author of the book "Can Japan Compete?"
A clear focus on satisfying consumers rather than mindlessly upgrading technological quality is another characteristic of the newer breed of thriving firms, experts and executives say.
"Companies that are struggling focus on product features, added functions, physical features. But by producing these, they don't really satisfy the consumer," said Shintaro Okubo, partner at consulting firm Bain & Co's Tokyo office.
"Those that are doing well are not bringing new features or functions, but entertaining the consumer."
Rakuten's Mikitani hopes that approach can differentiate his "online shopping mall" model from global giant Amazon, as he pushes overseas through M&A deals, though analysts say he may struggle in developed markets where Amazon has a big head start.
"People like to buy products and be proud of it, not just the product, but the process," Mikitani said in the fluent English he insists his executives must learn.
"Of course, price and convenience are also very important, but our strategy or way of thinking of our business (is that) shopping is not just about convenience and price, it's about experience and communication."
2-4
With a boldness experts say established firms would do well to imitate, Start Today's Maezawa says he'd abandon his online fashion business rather than try to undercut rivals with lower prices and wages if he starts losing to such competition.
"I want to create new value by doing something people haven't done before," said Maezawa, whose Zozotown shopping site had nearly 1.9 million active members as of February.
"If competition heats up in terms of price and labor conditions ... I would let the imitators do it and develop a new innovation."
HURDLES AHEAD
Success when firms are younger and nimble is easier than producing similarly dynamic growth as the organization expands and ages, so many firms now winning plaudits and investor attention will have to fight to maintain a growth trajectory.
Finding a successor to current dynamic CEOs could also be a problem, experts say.
"There's a risk (that they will stall), but their management is always saying they must avoid that and doing management calisthenics to shed fat," said Shinji Higaki, a portfolio manager at Fidelity Worldwide Investment in Tokyo.
Like their stodgier corporate brethren before them, thriving Japanese firms are stepping out overseas and betting on growth from Asia in particular to offset a mature domestic market.
Takeshi Niinami, CEO of Japan's No.2 convenience store chain Lawson Inc, longs for a corporate jet to help execute what he termed "a mission to seek opportunities in Asia".
"We CEOs need to be constantly travelling abroad. For that, a private jet - not one of the big 2-3 billion yen ones but a small 200-300 million yen one - to jet around Asia would be enough," Niinami, who plans to operate 10,000 stores in China by 2020, up from 355 outlets now, told Reuters in an interview.
Mobile social gaming firm Gree Inc, which last year bought U.S.-based online games network OpenFeint Inc, aims to quintuple its global users to 1 billion in 3-5 years and is looking to Asia for longer-term growth, said CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka, dubbed Asia's youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes in 2009.
These executives know they face a tough balancing act to maintain unique appeal developed at home with adaptations to local tastes in markets where competitors may be already entrenched - Fast Retailing's Yanai, for example, has already had one taste of failure in an earlier foray abroad.
"Japanese that go overseas and do things the Japanese way are limited in what they can accomplish," said Niinami, a Harvard Business School graduate parachuted in from Mitsubishi Corp to run the chain after the trading house took a major stake in 2002.
"Japan's technology is advanced, but you need to leverage local employees who really understand the cultures of these places to tell you what is appropriate for that country."
3-4
Individual success stories aside, experts and executives agree Japan needs more dynamic, risk-taking business chiefs.
"There are huge numbers of people working at companies who have never seen their firm grow in the years since they got their jobs," said Gree's Tanaka, who himself got a taste of start-up success when he worked at Rakuten - and whose offices occupy the same Roppongi Hills complex that was home to a once high-flying Internet entrepreneur, Takafumi Horie.
"So even if you tell them that growth and success are interesting or fantastic ... it doesn't seem real."
Aggressive self-starters also remain a minority in part because those who succeed too well risk a social backlash.
"Japanese who become truly successful are often pulled down by society for that very fact. It's the cost of jealousy," said Akira Sato, a partner in Japanese consultancy Value Create.
Gree's stellar profits may be one reason the firm has attracted criticism from media for the big bills run up by minors buying virtual accessories to improve their scores, Waseda's Negoro said. Last month, Gree announced it was capping the amount under-20s could spend.
"Japanese don't like it if someone makes too much money. You should make just enough," Negoro said. "That's the Japanese tradition."
Rakuten's Mikitani, though, thinks the chill in Japan's appetite for entrepreneurship that followed Horie's 2006 arrest and subsequent prison sentence for accounting fraud is thawing.
Horie's aggressive takeover battles and high-flying lifestyle rattled corporate Japan, and many felt his 30-month prison sentence reflected an establishment backlash.
"We are feeling that young people are being a little more ambitious and the trend is turning back again," Mikitani said.
On-line organic food grocer Oisix's Takashima says opportunities abound for the ambitious, though he adds he wants to make the world a better place, not just rake in profits.
"Japan is the world's third biggest market, is very attractive and is being ignored," Takashima said. "There isn't much competition, so I have a lot of freedom. It's a great environment. I'd like to keep that a secret.
($1 = 82.2950 Japanese yen)
(Additional reporting by Reiji Murai and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
4-4
「problems in Japan in product innovation, supply chain management and slow management decision-making, as well as a focus on the domestic market over exports.」。携帯の次はテレビ、将来は車の製造でも日本に経済的打撃を及ぼすことが予想される。ショッキングなのは日本は官民提携で、国民の税金が大量に使われている。それにもかかわらずテレビ製造では韓国が日本を凌駕して利益を出している事実だろう。
****
Analysis: As technology shifts, Asian giants wrestle for TV control
By Tim Kelly and Clare Jim
TOKYO/TAIPEI | Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:54pm EDT
TOKYO/TAIPEI (Reuters) - LG Electronics will steal a march on its rivals by bringing forward the launch of a 55-inch flat TV using next-generation technology, raising the stakes in a cut-throat battle for the living room between Asia's top tech powerhouses.
The South Korean firm will introduce its organic light emitting display (OLED) TV in several European countries in May, well ahead of an original plan to launch in the second half, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
That would edge out cross-town rival Samsung Electronics and cement, at least for now, South Korean dominance in the television market over long-time leaders Japan, but it also highlights the fierce competition reshaping Asia's flat panel industry.
"(In the past) if you wanted a top quality TV you had to buy a Sharp, Panasonic or Sony. Those days are gone," said Steve Durose, Senior Director and Head of Asia-Pacific at FitchRatings.
The Japanese, who ruled the global TV market in the 1980s and 1990s, have been battered by their aggressive South Korean rivals, weak demand for the TVs they make and a stronger yen that erodes the value of the their exports. Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp expect to have lost a combined $21 billion in the business year just ended.
Some 200 kms across the Korea Strait, LG Electronics is expected to report a quarterly profit of $267 million later on Wednesday, even after LG Display, a flat-screen maker in which it has a near-38 percent stake, posted a $156 million operating loss for January-March. On Friday, Samsung will announce a record profit of $5.2 billion for its latest quarter alone.
The red ink bleeding across Japan's tech industry comes at a time when the TV market is heading for a technology choice - between credit-card-thin OLEDs or ultra-high definition sets - that may consign today's LCDs to the bargain shelf. Whoever can mass produce affordable OLEDs will have a headstart.
Sony, for one, will recall with concern how it lost out in a similar consumer technology battle over home videotapes in the 1980s, while Toshiba's HD DVD format was later crushed by Blu-Ray.
IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Sony was first to market OLED TV technology in 2007, but halted production of the $2,000 home screens three years later amid a global downturn, and switched its focus to 3D. Sony limits sales of OLED screens costing as much as $26,000 to businesses that can afford the high price tag.
In January, Samsung and LG displayed prototype 55-inch OLED screens at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Samsung has already signaled its intent on OLEDs, saying in February it will spin off its LCD panel business.
For makers of OLED displays, which boast sharper images and do not need backlighting, the obstacle to consumer acceptance is price. You can buy 10 LCD TVs for the likely price of $10,000 for a big Samsung or LG model. That means LCD is likely to remain the dominant force in the global TV market for a while.
An executive at LG Display, a flat screen maker in which LG Electronics has a near 38 percent stake, said an internal study indicated consumers would start buying OLED TVs once the price falls to 1.3 to 1.4 times that of an LCD set.
1-3
Japan, meanwhile, has a potential rival offering - ultra high-definition sets, dubbed 4K, that boast pictures four times sharper than today's HDTV sets. Sony, Panasonic and Sharp all have this technology, but face a broadcasting infrastructure hurdle, as television stations would need to record in 4K for viewers to watch the new ultra high-definition standard.
"However, if the sets are used to view video downloaded from the Internet then higher definition could be viewed more easily," said Kazuhira Miura, an industry analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo, potentially giving Japan an edge in any trend for connected smart TVs.
Given that, it's too early to write off the Japanese, but they may need help to get their operations back on track.
GRAND ALLIANCE?
One option being explored is an alliance of Japan's major TV makers, brokered by the government, which would allow them to pool their R&D cash, engineering know-how and eliminate overlapping costs. Japan has already taken a step down this road, with Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi Ltd combining their small LCD operations into Japan Display, a state-sponsored company two-thirds owned by the taxpayer.
But TVs may be a different matter.
"Creating a united maker is going to be hard," said Yoshiharu Izumi, analyst at JP Morgan in Tokyo, citing different corporate cultures and traditions and entrenched feelings of rivalry after decades of competition. "An alliance just to cut costs doesn't really make sense. Of course any tie up doesn't have to be between Japanese companies, it could be Taiwanese."
Indeed, there are signs that cooperation is picking up between Japan and contract manufacturers in its former colony of Taiwan to take on South Korea, another former colony. Taiwan's manufacturers have plants and know-how at low prices as well as a complete supply chain for LCD production.
"The Japanese need the capacity, while the Taiwanese need outlets. Japan has the technology, but may not necessarily be able to implement. So it's a match," said David Hsieh, Taipei-based Greater China market vice president at specialist research firm DisplaySearch. "Because Japan's scale is smaller, that's why it has to work with Taiwan. The added scale in TV panels will match Korea."
MORE COLLABORATION
Recent media reports have linked Sony with AU Optronics in a tie-up to make TVs, while Taiwanese component maker Hon Hai Precision Industry, which belongs to the same Foxconn group as LCD panel maker Chimei Innolux, recently became the top shareholder in Sharp and invested in its Sakai plant, Japan's most advanced LCD facility.
Taiwan's LCD industry would benefit from tie-ups with Japan through increased cooperation and outsourcing. The industry lost $4.3 billion last year, and AU is expected on Thursday to report a first-quarter loss of some $430 million.
"Taiwan doesn't have the edge in many of the technologies," said H.P. Chang, head of research at Taiwan-based specialist LCD industry research company Witview. "Even if your company wants to consolidate, others may not want to. Samsung will not sit and wait for you to grow. Taiwanese and Japanese companies need to explore ways to collaborate."
While Taiwan's government has leaned on banks to help loss-making Chimei extend its loan repayments, it takes the view that any consolidation should be led by the industry itself, though it would look at how it could help.
"I don't think Taiwan's government really wants an industry consolidation because that will create many job losses," said Samson Hung, a Taipei-based analyst for UBS.
2-3
But, without consolidation, business will be tough for Taiwanese firms as they lack international branding and their investment costs are forever rising.
"They have to consider how to allocate resources, how to share intellectual property. They have argued for a long time," said Jamie Yeh, Taipei-based analyst at Barclays. "Not just country to country, but they also have to consider cultural and language factors."
CHINA CHASING?
Also in Taiwanese makers' rear-view mirror is China's fledgling panel industry - at a fair distance today, but one that could quickly catch up. Some rising players in China include TCL Corp, BOE Technology, Tianma Microelectronics and Infovision Optoelectronics.
"I think Chinese players will keep working on their own. They don't have financial concerns," said Witview's Chang. "They will keep growing and eventually become a threat to Taiwan's capacity."
Of course, Japan's tech manufacturers could bite the bullet and seek to tie-up with the South Koreans, tapping into their lead in OLED TVs. There is a precedent: Sony had an LCD joint venture with Samsung, though exited it last year.
"Japanese firms will probably be considering OLED tie-ups with not just Taiwanese but also Samsung and LG, as the technology is more likely to become the next display for TVs and they haven't invested heavily into this technology yet," said Ji Mok-hyun, an analyst at Meritz Securities in Seoul.
For now there is an air of confidence in South Korea, looking across at a struggling Japanese industry.
"We've been No.1 in the TV market for six years and I think Japanese firms are sticking to their massive, but unprofitable, TV business simply because it's their legacy business," said a senior executive at Samsung, who asked not to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
James Jeong, chief financial officer at LG Display, told Reuters: "We're talking to TV manufacturers, including Japanese, for cooperation (in OLED supplies). There'll be plenty of opportunities for cooperation and tie-ups in the display industry ... as long as it's not your sworn enemy."
A senior LG Electronics executive, who also didn't want to be named, noted problems in Japan in product innovation, supply chain management and slow management decision-making, as well as a focus on the domestic market over exports.
"It's like a swimming contest," the executive said. "Once there's a gap, it's really difficult for the follower to narrow the gap dramatically as the one ahead continues to move ahead."
($1 = 29.5060 Taiwan dollars) ($1 = 1139.4000 Korean won)
(Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim in SEOUL and Argin Chang in TAIPEI; Writing by Jonathan Standing; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
3-3
