Invest Fukuoka North America | Newsletter Vol.3

VOL 3
JUN 2010

Growing Business Between Fukuoka & North America

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MILSTONE NEWS

Rakuten purchased the e-commerce sites Buy.com and PriceMinister in an effort to break into the U.S. and European markets. Rakuten had already established a joint venture with Baidu in China, and aims at eventually expanding to 27 countries worldwide and having 70% of its total transactions based overseas. Rakuten plans to have firmly established English as the official in-house language by 2012.

GAME CHANGERS

New Marketplaces
»Air"BnB": "BnB” is short for bed and breakfast. Air"BnB" is an online marketplace for lodging in the homes of everyday people.
»CustomMade: This online marketplace serves as an intermediary between buyers and artisans of custom-made furniture.
»ShoeDazzle: Each month, for about $40, a stylist recommends a fashion item to fit your own personal preferences.
»Abe'sMarket: This online marketplace offers a wide variety of natural products, from children’s clothes to foods.
Online Health Care Information
»Healthcare.com: The U.S. government has established this website, which allows comparison of public and private health plans suited to each individual’s circumstances.
»BingHealthMaps: This provides maps for the comparison of health indicators by region.

FUKUOKA HIGHLIGHTS

Kyushu University and Asahi Kasei Develop Non-platinum Electrode Catalyst

Kyushu University and Asahi Kasei have developed the world’s first electrode catalyst able to generate electrical energy from ethanol. It is expected to be of use in developing catalysts to replace expensive, precious metals such as platinum, as well as in fuel cells powered by biomass.

Fukuoka Prefecture Developing Ruby for Embedded Software

Ruby is a statement-light programming language suitable for web systems. The new Ruby specifically for development of embedded software, is also under development, with Yukihiro Matsumoto, Fukuoka CSK, Kyushu University, Toshiba Information Systems, and Fukuoka Prefecture participating.

Tmsuk Demos Wheelchair Robot RODEM

The wheelchair robot developed by the Veda International Robot R&D Center has no backrest and allows users to get in and out in a forward-leaning position, making it ideal for use by elderly and handicapped persons. It feels like riding on someone’s back, and is operated with a joystick-like device. Tmsuk held a test-ride event at the offices of the National House of the Representatives. » Read More

IDEX Builds World's First Biomass Hydrogen Plant

IDEX (Fukuoka City) has constructed the world’s first commercial plant for production of hydrogen by gasification of woody biomass in Omuta City. The plant employs hydrogen production technology from Japan Planning Organization that makes use of biomass gasification. Compared to conventional hydrogen, CO2 emissions from production can be reduced by as much as 75%.

Takada Corporation Developing High-speed Cutting Device for Silicon Carbide

ULTEX has successfully used ultrasound technology to perform high-speed cutting of silicon carbide, which is the subject of much attention as a material for next-generation power semiconductors. Takada Corporation is now working on development of an ultrasonic cutting device for silicon carbide, ceramics and glass substrate.

Level-5 Opens Los Angeles Office

Videogame developer Level-5 (Fukuoka City) has established its first overseas office in Los Angeles. The company has worked on such games as Dark Cloud, Dragon Quest VIII and the Professor Layton series.

" If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney