Search Results for: japan

BY MARK ROWE
OVERSHADOWING the Japanese paint industry in recent years has been the overall shape of the country’s economy. The stagnation of the economy lasted for much of the 1990s but it showed signs of recovery in the first half of fiscal 2004-2005, driven by solid exports and strong corporate capital investment.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has annulled fines imposed by the European Commission on Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd and Sumika Fine Chemicals Co. Ltd for fixing prices of vitamins A, E, B2, B5, C, D3, beta?carotene…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CRITICS of European political institutions have sometimes been unkind about the Council of Europe, which has been accused of being a powerless talking shop. And although the Council lacks the power to fine and cajole member governments enjoyed by the European Union (EU) – from which it is completely independent – it has some important roles.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has acted to simplify the approval of ‘intelligent’ adaptive front-lighting systems (AFS) that boost illumination for drivers, while cutting the risk of glare for fellow motorists. It is proposing that manufacturers should bypass existing European Union (EU) complicated approval procedures for new technologies, by writing a draft United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) technical regulation for this kit into EU type-approval rules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
JAPANESE car manufacturers have agreed to limit the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in vehicles – emitted by paint, vinyl and other materials that cause the distinctive ‘new car smell’ – to levels allowed in homes. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association will apply the new standards from vehicles manufactured in 2007, albeit initially only to new model cars made and sold in Japan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EXPORTS in Hong Kong have warned that the human H5N1 strain of avian flu detected in northern Vietnam this year has proved resistant to Tamiflu, the commercial brand of oseltamivir, the powerful antiviral drug considered the best chance of fighting the disease, especially if human-to-human transmission arose.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A REPORT written for the European Commission before Hurricane Katrina could be something of a harbinger of doom for reinsurance, warning that a major disaster could put unbearable pressure on operators.

Written by consultants IMCC for the Commission’s competition directorate general, it said the reinsurance sector withstood the September 11 attacks “partly due to a lack of other disasters in the years previously”.…

BY MARK ROWE
ON Boxing Day 2004, as the shockwaves from the tsunami rolled out across the Indian Ocean, one very important procedure quietly went according to plan. Detectors at the Indira Gandhi Kalpakkam power station on India’s east coast sensed the rising water levels and automatically shut the plant down.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations’ International Seabed Authority has postponed agreement of new regulations governing how mining companies would explore and exploit deep seawaters for hauls such as polymetallic sulphide nodules and cobalt-rich crusts. These mineral resources are rich in copper, iron, zinc, silver, gold and cobalt, with the sulphides being found around volcanic areas and the crusts on oceanic ridges.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
JAPANESE car manufacturers have agreed to limit the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in vehicles – that cause the distinctive ‘new car smell’ – to levels allowed in homes. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association will apply the new standards from vehicles manufactured in 2007, albeit initially only to new model cars both made and sold in Japan.…