Official Website ■ http://www.mitsubishi.com/mpac/e/monitor/back/index.html

The Mitsubishi Monitor is published by the Mitsubishi Public Affairs CommitteeMarunouchi Nakadori Bldg., 2-3, Marunouchi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, JapanPhone: 81-3-5218-8660 Fax: 81-3-5218-8661

©2018 Mitsubishi Public Affairs Committee

Volume 32 No.2

For more information about the Mitsubishi companies, see “Mitsubishi Profile” ■ http://www.mitsubishi.com/mpac/e/activity/profile.html

Printed in Japan on recycled paper

We want your feedback! ■ http://www.mitsubishi.com/mpac/e/talk/form.html

A round the middle of April, the Japanese

great wisteria comes into full bloom with its

purple flowers cascading down in countless

strands. This is the scene at the Ashikaga Flower Park,

some eighty kilometers northeast of Tokyo, the only

destination in Japan included in the 2014 dream vacation

wish list compiled by the CNN Travel crew. Visitors can

walk under the 150-year old Great Miracle Wisteria,

designated a Tochigi Prefecture natural treasure, and

past other wisteria displays which cover an area of a

thousand square meters in the Ashikaga Flower Park.

Through social and other media, the park has become

a must-see destination in SE Asia and attracts over

100,000 visitors from overseas each year.

©Jiji Press Photo

Started in 1990, the Mitsubishi Asian Children’s Enikki Festa is a program that seeks to promote literacy education and to stimulate cultural exchange among children by allowing them to learn about each other through “enikki” (illustrated diaries).

■ http://enikki.mitsubishi.or.jp/e/index_f.html

＊ The Enikki entries above, when necessary, have been translated into English from the language they were originally written in.

The above picture depicts the Jagannath Temple in Puri of Orissa. Lord Jagannath, the supreme God, lives in the heart of millions and millions of people all over the world. The people of this faith start their day taking the name of this almighty whose blessings bring peace and prosperity, and the whole world is one whose Lord is Jagannath, and I being one of them start my day by saying Jay Jagannath.

Ambuyat is one of the most favorite Bruneian delicacy. It is made of sago starch from the Rumbia tree. When eating ambuyat we have to use a bamboo stick calledcandas and eat with binjai fruit sauce and some seafood and vegetable. Our family love eating ambuyat so much.

Tamanna SwainAge 11, GirlIndia

Awangku Muhammed Isa Daniel MuqriAge 10, BoyBrunei Darussalam

1,000 m2 of Unworldly Wisteria Attracts Global Attention

CNN describes the Great Miracle Wisteria as an otherworldly experience nearly identical to “Avatar’s” spiritual Tree of Souls.

Feature

A Bimonthly Review of the Mitsubishi Companies and Their People Around the World

2018

April

–

May

▶ World Scope▶ Global Spotlight Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Singapore Pte. Ltd. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe, S. A

▶ Annual Events in Japan Great Wisteria

* “Aruku” means “walking.”

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AGC Asahi Glass

Mitsubishi Estate Group

Other Award Winners● Furniture – HAKONOMA Mitsubishi Jisho Residence● Condominium – The Parkhouse Ichigaya Koracho Mitsubishi Jisho Residence● Condominium – The Parkhouse Toyocho Residence Mitsubishi Jisho Residence● Condominium – PLACE VILLA KITAMI Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, Tokyu Land,

Odakyu Real Estate● Adding Value to Air and Branding Condominiums – Condominium Branding

Strategy with New Condominium Aerotech Technology Providing a Clean, Pleasant and Energy-Saving Environment within the Home Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, MEC eco LIFE

● Residential Estate Construction Initiatives – Establishment of a Precast Concrete Construction Method for Residential Estates Jointly Developed by Different Industries Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, Kiuchi construction

● Condominium – BAYZ TOWER&GARDEN Tokyo Tatemono, Mitsui Fudosan Residential, Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, Tokyu Land, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Nomura Real Estate Development, TEPCO Power Grid, Incorporated (TEPCO Power Grid)

● Office Building – Otemachi Financial City Grand Cube Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei● Japanese Inn – HOSHINOYA Tokyo Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei, Azuma Architect Associates

Mitsubishi Jisho Residence and Mitsubishi Logistics aimed to create a condo that restores a sense of Aoyama's unique essence to the neighborhood, eroded in recent years by ultra-modern development, and enhance the area's value. The Good Design panel judged that the value of the design lies in the way it consciously incorporates the sense that the building forms part of a community corner to present a street view well integrated with the landscape.

● Condominium – The Parkhouse Gran Minamiaoyama Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, Mitsubishi Logistics, Tokyo Tatemono

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https://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/45715?token=oZLQMiZuL3&locale=en

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Mitsubishi Electric

Nikon Group

Kirin Holdings Group

Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance

Other Award Winners● Particle Therapy Systems – Proton Beam Therapy System MELTHEA Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric won a Good Design 2017 award for the MELTHEA particle beam therapy system before the company announced it was transferring its particle therapy system business to Hitachi, Ltd. and integrating to one entity.

● Refrigerator – MR-CX series Mitsubishi Electric● Air Conditioner – Kirigamine MSZ-ZW Series, MSZ-ZXV Series Mitsubishi Electric● Air Conditioner – MSZ-AP Series Mitsubishi Electric● Air Conditioner – One direction cassette MLZ-RX series, MLZ-GX series, MLZ-HX series

Mitsubishi Electric● Air to water heat pump outdoor unit – ecodan PUHZ-SW/SHW-AA series Mitsubishi Electric● Car Speakers – DIATONE DS-SA1000 Mitsubishi Electric

● Environment-resistant Communication gateway – Mitsubishi Communication gateway XS-5 series Mitsubishi Electric

● Wire-cut Electrical Discharge Machining – MV-R Series Mitsubishi Electric● HF-OSR (High Frequency Ocean Surface Radar) – Technologies Supporting Tsunami Radar

Monitoring Mitsubishi Electric● Industrial Sewing Machines -PLK-J6040R (J Series) Mitsubishi Electric

Other Award Winners● Binoculars – WX 7x50 IF/10x50 IF Nikon Vision● Digital SLR Camera – Nikon D7500 Nikon● Action Camera – KeyMission Nikon● Inverted Research Microscope – ECLIPSE Ti2/Ti2 Control Nikon● Application software – Auto MeasureEyes Nikon

Other Award Winners● Packaging designs for bottles – KIRIN Namacha Decaf

Kirin Beverage

Good Design 2017 Best 100 awarded the “Voice-activated Drawing UI,” a world-first user interface that combines voice-recognition and drawing functions to enable users to display their spoken words on a tablet or smartphone by simply dragging their finger across the screen as they speak. The technology is expected to be combined with other functions, such as picture drawing and multilingual translation, to help people with hearing disabilities or who do not speak foreign languages and thereby promote smoother global and interpersonal communication.

While embodying the toughness and oper-ability nurtured through the Nikon D series, feature evolution in the new D850 includes a reworked grip which is slightly deeper and more comfortable in an external design which has been trimmed down and more focused to offer quicker and more positive access to the control buttons. Other improvements include a 45.8-million pixel CMOS sensor, 153-point AF system, standard sensitivity range of ISO 64-25,600 with continuous shooting at up to 7 fps, and in-camera 4K UHD record-ing at 30 fps using the full width of the sensor. Now shapelier than ever, it still retains the readily identifiable Nikon styling.

Evoking the lines of a wine bottle, the smooth form of the bottle blends with its label to suggest the texture of semi-translucent glass. Designed to create a new kind of green tea culture that complements a variety of life scenes, the modern, reserved design of the label harmonizes with the color of the tea and the shape of the bottle. The panel rated highly the design for presenting a new shape for plastic green tea bottles, one which breaks free from the conventional image.

This product, the first of its kind in the industry, provides policyholders with a wearable device and returns a portion of insurance premiums according to the number of steps walked over a given period, these being recorded using a special app. Focusing on walking, an activity almost anyone can make part of their daily life, the product has been developed to allow customers to manage their own health in terms of exercise, diet and sleep. The panel awarded Aruku Hoken a Good Design award for the way it helps protect people from serious illnesses by making them aware about lifestyle improvements and for the fact that they are encouraged to continue exercising by the financial benefits offered.

● Application for tablet, smartphone – User Interface for Voice-activated Drawing Mitsubishi Electric

● Digital SLR Camera – Nikon D850 Nikon

● Packaging designs for bottles – KIRIN Namacha Kirin Beverage

● Medical insurance – Aruku* Hoken Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance

The type of award is indicated by red and green dots. ● Good Design Award ● Good Design Best 100

Founded in 1957, the Good Design Award is Japan’s only comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system. In 2017, 4,495 designs were submitted for consideration, the most in recent years, of which 1,403 were granted a Good Design Award.

The ideas and methodology within good design provide clues for how to better approach our lives and work. In this article, we introduce some of the Good Design Award 2017 winners from Mitsubishi companies.

■

http://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/45917?token=9QfAHCRMfc&locale=en■

http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news/2016/pdf/0209.pdf

■ https://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/4

5866?token=WM6iY6f6va&locale=en

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https://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/45129?token=Tj8OSxd3pa&locale=en

Lacobel Plume is special interior color glass which is some 60 percent lighter while retaining the feel of regular glass and being both easy and safe to handle. The glass-resin foam hybrid structure of this beautiful - looking interior material minimizes fragment scatter in the event of breakage to give excellent safety performance. The panel also rated this product highly for the fact that it can be

easily installed using double-sided tape, making it suitable for DIY enthusiasts as well as glass contractors. Lacobel Plume extends the possibilities for interior color glass.

● Color glass for interior wall – Lacobel Plume AGC Asahi Glass

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https://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/45313?token=gwPE50WH1i&locale=en

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https://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/45947?token=nzqknYEAdC&locale=en■

http://www.tokiomarinehd.com/en/sustainability/theme3/longevit.html

Utilizing the transparent property of polycarbonate resin, this product expresses gold, silver, bronze, anodized aluminum, plated tones and other beautiful colors, which have not been available with conventional toning. Moreover, unlike low-toughness acrylic resin, the toughness of high polycarbonate resin makes it suitable for use as an industrial product even after coloring. The use of transparent pigments makes it possible to vary light direction in a number of new ways. The panel judged that the value of this product lies in the fact that it improves the decorative possibility in addition to development efficiency and reducing environmental load.

● High Design Quality Polycarbonate Resin Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation

■

https://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/45476?token=eUriIp57qr&locale=en

Mitsubishi Chemical Mitsubishi Gas Chemical

Feature

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Note: The information shown was correct at the time of the presentation of the awards (October 2017), but the particulars of the designs may have changed since.

Cover:Good Design Award-winning entries featured in this section with a circled number are pictured on the cover. The numbers correspond to those in the illustration on the left, showing the position of the entry on the cover.

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International Certification for AMOLEA™ 1224yd Low-impact RefrigerantAGC Asahi Glass (AGC) obtained certification from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in October 2017 for AMOLEA™ 1224yd, a new refrigerant with a lower environmental impact. This marks the first time a Japanese company has obtained ASHRAE approval for a new chemical substance. AGC started commercial production of AMOLEA™ 1224yd in early 2018.

MRI Chairman of the Institute Receives Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama, Chairman of the institute of the Mitsubishi Research Institute, has won the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award 2017.Dr. Komiyama advocated and led a vision for solving social issues and building a better future for humanity.

Blockchain Technology for Marine Cargo Insurance Claims Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, working with NTT Data Corporation, in November 2017 began testing a blockchain-based “insurance policy” for ocean freight. Promising to speed up and improve the accuracy of the payment process, this is expected to reduce payment time and document mailing costs.

CO2 Capture Technology Licensed to Major Russian Chemical Company

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) was awarded anagreement to license technology for its flue gas carbondioxide (CO2) capture plant to PJSC Metafrax, a majorRussian chemical company. MHI’s flue gas CO2 capture technology, known as the “KM CDR Process™,” uses an advanced absorption solvent (KS-1™) jointly developed with Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. to achieve substantial reductions in energy consumption compared with earlier methods. The CO2 capture plant, which will be the world’s largest of similar chemical plant application, will be installed at a facility in Perm, located on the western side of the Ural Mountains, and is scheduled for completion in 2021.

Named in CDP Climate Change and Water A-listsThe following Japanese companies have been included in CDP’s Climate Change A-list and Water A-list, which name world businesses leading in environmental performance. CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is an international NGO which works to bring about a sustainable global economy.• Kirin Holdings: Climate Change A-list (fourth year running), Water A-list (second year)

• Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings: Water A-list (first time)• Mitsubishi Electric: Climate Change A-list (second year), Water A-list (second year)

Mitsubishi Electric was also named in the CDP Supplier Climate and CDP Supplier Water A-lists for the second year running.

Contributing to Local Communities – MUFG Gives BackMitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has designated November as “MUFG Gives Back,” beefing up its global CSR activities as an opportunity to contribute to their local communities. This initiative was originally designated to express gratitude for the support Japan received in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. During the month, employees the world over work together on initiatives to host local contribution activities. November 2017 marked the fifth year of the initiative and saw MUFG employees engaging in a variety of activities across 40 countries.

New Biological Microscope Objective Supports Whole Brain ImagingNikon Corporation has released a new objective for biological microscopes, the CFI90 20XC Glyc, designed for deep imaging of the brain and other whole organs treated with a variety of tissue clearing methods. The new objective enables high-throughput imaging with exceptionally bright, high-resolution images that support cutting-edge neurobiological research such as neural network mapping.

Japan

Japan

Japan

Malaysia

Russia

Mitsubishi Monitor introduces some of the latest news about Mitsubishi companies as they play an active role on the world stage.World Scope

■

http://www.agc.com/en/news/detail/1196012_2814.html

■

http://www.nikon.com/news/2017/1109_cfi90_20xc_glyc_01.htm

TCS and Malaysia Airlines have been developing a relationship since 2010.

Currently, the world's largest post-combustion CO2 capture and compression system is for the Petra Nova Project in Thompson, Texas, supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. The captured CO2 will be used for enhanced oil recovery. It successfully started its commercial operation in December 2016.

■

http://www.mhi.com/news/story/1712252100.html

Started in 2014, this international award takes the name of the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai and is presented to those who have made a significant contribution to building the knowledge economy.

■

http://en.ir3s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/news/2017/2235/ ■ http://www.knowledgeaward.com/news/misk-

foundation-hiroshi-komiyama-and-wendy-kopp-win-mohammed-bin-rashid-al-maktoum-knowledge

Malaysia Airlines Reaches the Cloud with TCSTata Consultancy Services has implemented a large-scale and industry-first transformation project to migrate Malaysia Airlines’ datacenter to a 100% hybrid-cloud model. The pioneering move makes Malaysia Airlines the world’s first full-service airline to completely replace its existing data centers and adopt full-scale cloud solutions.

■

https://www.tcs.com/malaysia-airlines-reaches-cloud-with-tcs

Surveyor

Confirmation of payment amount

Claims AgentCargo Owner

(Claimant)

Assessment notification

Latest insurance policy

Payment

Request for appraisal

SurveyReport

Survey Report

Blockchain

Accident report Accident report

Insurance claim Accident report

Accident notificationReceipt of accident notification

Documents required for claim ● Insurance policy　 ● Accident report ● Claim form (repair costs, etc.) ● Invoice　● Bill of lading ● Photographs, other evidence of damaged goods

Accident notification

TMNF(Tokio Marine and

Nichido Fire Insurance)

Payment

TMNF(Tokio Marine and

Nichido Fire Insurance)

Cargo Owner(Claimant)

Shipping company

Surveyor

Claims Agent

Shipping company

Insurance policy

■ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tokio-marine-ntt-data-complete-

blockchain-based-cargo-insurance-certificates-1618300

■

http://www.mufg.jp/english/csr/juten/community/givesback/

In Karachi, MUFG works with the Indus Hospital organization which supports children in low-income families who are suffering from intractable diseases. Events to cheer up such children were held engaging with the UN’s Universal Children’s Day.

■ https://www.cdp.net/en/info/about-us■ https://www.cdp.net/en/scores-2017

World

World

World

Photo courtesy of NRG and JX Nippon

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Introduction to Singapore

Singapore – the only place where your country, state and city are all the same. A multi-racial, multi-

language country, it also offers a very wide variety of cuisine. This country has managed to turn itself

from a stranger on the global market to a country that has real potential. Due to this, many companies

have established their Asia regional head office here and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical is one such company.

My work in MGCS

Most tourists who visit Singapore come for the iconic view

of Marina Bay Sands, which also happens to be a view I can

see from my office. Being a multi-racial country, Singaporeans

always seem to have some trouble deciding what they would

like for their next meal.

At Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Singapore (MGCS), we have

various teams taking care of a wide range of products. We

have both a trading team and a development team. I am a

sales and marketing executive in the development team where

my focus is finding new customers and new applications for

MGC’s strategic products in Southeast Asia. Because of the

heavy workload, I work in a team with two other colleagues

and we all support each other. Oxygen absorbers (AGELESS)

for food and pharmaceuticals and high performance

engineering plastics (Nylon-MXD6, Iupilon Sheet and Iupizeta

resin) are promising products in our growing market.

Sometimes, I travel to MGC in Tokyo for strategy meetings as I try to work in line with the direction

that the company is moving. During such visits, we work and have some fun after office hours.

My life after work

In the past, prior to my marriage, I used to be a landscape

photographer. Due to this passion/interest, I prefer taking photos

of scenery instead of people. Singapore is a very small country

so I try to take scenery photos whenever I travel overseas (either

for work or for leisure) . I would have loved to show more of the

photos I had taken in Japan but my storage media failed on me

this time (so much for all my hard work). Since I started on this job, I have started learning Japanese

and wanting to travel to Japan. As such, I did some research with my wife for a personal trip to Japan.

We went to Karuizawa and were able to enjoy these beautiful cherry blossoms.

Wonders of Singapore and Japan

AGELESS product training at Tokyo Techno Park

Dinner with Aromatic Chemicals Division, Aromatic Chemicals Company. Namahage demon and myself.

Cherry blossoms in Karuizawa

Mr. Ryan Tan Sales & Marketing Executive

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MGCS)A group company of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical

Global Spotlight focuses on employees from the Mitsubishi companies who are excelling in their respective fields around the world. In each issue we will get to know different employees, who will tell us about their hometowns, businesses, culture, and pastimes.

GlobalSpotlight

Singaporefrom

from PortugalLuck requires a lot of hard work

I grew up in Abrantes, a city in central Portugal which dates back to

300 BC when the Celts established the first settlements in the area. The

name of the city derives from the Latin word Aurantes due to alluvial gold

deposits along the Tagus River, the biggest in the Iberian Peninsula. I

completed almost all of my education at the Pupilos do Exército, a military

vocational education school, where I earned my Bachelor in Machinery

Engineering. Later, I earned another degree, this time as Licentiate in

Mechanical Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.

My favorite free - time activities are sports and travelling! Each

opportunity I have is spent travelling around Portugal and Europe, and of course, if it is sunny, the

beach is always my number one destination! But I also love to put on my gear and go skiing over the

snow or to do a triathlon – and I never forget my regular running training while I try to keep fit.

Did I mention my two other passions? Music and my Honda Transalp 650 are part of my daily life. And,

obviously, as does any good Portuguese, I love spending time with family and friends, with lots of long and

delicious meals of fantastic Portuguese cuisine, especially in my home, in Sardoal, near Tramagal, where I

live with my wife and Pipoca, my cat!

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Among the many things that bring joy to my life is

my work. Moving from the aeronautics industry,

I started my career with Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks

Europe, MFTE, in 1996, first in the component

development area and later in procurement. In 2004, my production adventure began: I was a member

of the assembly department until 2012, when I was promoted to Production & TOS Manager. I now

have under my supervision 292 people, divided in three departments: Production, Internal Logistics

and Truck Operating System (TOS) – divided into a total of 14 teams. I am responsible for the entire

production process: from the reception and unloading of components, to the moment we have a

completely built vehicle unit (CBU) leaving our plant.

I am committed to the constant improvement and optimization of production processes, and I am a

big supporter of Lean Management, TOS and the strength of people-to-people relations. I try to know

every inch of the shop floor and everyone’s needs, while also learning, humbly, from them. I appreciate

the fact that everyone does their work well, but it is essential for everyone to be involved and enthusiastic

about what they are doing. You know that where there’s a will there’s a way and this approach helps

everyone work together. Moreover, if you love what you are doing you will do great work, and be prepared

for new challenges on the road to success. Taking pleasure in my work is a concept I always try to follow,

and when someone reaches this point, as I have, it is something absolutely fantastic!

One last reason why I love my job is the possibility it gives me to travel all over the world, finding a

sense of belonging each time I enter a FUSO plant! The exchange of professional, cultural and personal

experiences marks me deeply.

I am proud to be in a company where people want to work, alongside skilled workers, and in a

motivating atmosphere. Assembling the Canter model since 1980 makes MFTE one of the more

experienced of Fuso's plants, which gives us more responsibility and makes us want to give our best

every day! As I always say, luck requires a lot of work!

From Portugal to the World

Mr. Luis Leitão Manager, Production

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe, S. A (MFTE)A subsidiary of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation

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