Search Results for: Japanese

BY DOMINIQUE PATTON

CHINESE perfume brands are dwarfed by the big brands from the West, mostly because of their origins. Perfume remains a foreign concept and local producers struggle to attain credibility beside their foreign rivals.

A handful of companies have however carved tiny shares in the market thanks to their understanding of local tastes.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON, in London; LUCY JONES, in Dallas; JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo; and KEITH NUTHALL

GIVEN the spate of oil tanker accidents in recent years involving substantial pollution of seas and coastlines around the world, it is no surprise that international organisations have weighed in with regulatory controls and guidelines on shipping standards.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE JAPANESE motor manufacturer Toyota is pushing ahead with a tie-up with the giant French energy firm EDF (Electricité de France) to develop plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV) in Europe. Tests have begun in France on vehicles equipped with Toyota’s hybrid technology which combines a gasoline engine with an electric battery-driven motor that can be charged by plugging into the domestic electricity supply or at public charging stations.…

BY JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo

THE OBSESSION among many European women for tanned skin is fading, particularly among women in their late 30s, according to a new study by Japan’s Kanebo Cosmetics, meaning there is a small but growing market for whitening products.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE NEXT tightening of emissions standards for lorries within the European Union (EU) will be introduced by 2014 at the latest, with EU ministers approving a blueprint for the next Euro VI standards that would probably mean an 80% reduction in NOx emissions for lorries of 2.6 tonnes or more.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON in London

AUTO manufacturers in the European Union (EU) will be under further pressure to produce cleaner vehicles now that the EU Council of Ministers has approved a new air quality directive setting strict limits for PM 2.5 particulate matter in air.…

BY MONICA DOBIE

JAPANESE scientists have discovered a new species of bacteria called microbacterium hatanonis, which is so robust, it can contaminate hairspray, claimed a study in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

Scientists examined the appearance and diet of the bacterium, then analysed its genome to show that it is an entirely new species.…

BY JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo

BY any standards, it has been a tough couple of years for the Japanese nuclear energy industry. Still stinging from public, political and media criticism of atomic energy operators’ practices – including the way in which companies consistently failed to report data that might have been damaging to their operations – the industry was then dealt a blow by Mother Nature.…

BY MONICA DOBIE

JAPANESE scientists have discovered a new species of bacteria called microbacterium hatanonis, so robust that it can contaminate hairspray, claimed a study in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. Researchers from the Japan Collection of Microorganisms say it is a previously undiscovered bacteria strain, but are uncertain if it poses a danger to humans.…

BY JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo

JAPANESE society is going through some dramatic changes that will have far-reaching effects on the nation’s domestic consumption patterns in the immediate future, as well as over the longer term. Arguably one of the most susceptible to these changes will be the cosmetics industry, which will have to wrestle with rapidly changing demographics among its core customers.…