August 11 marks the inaugural celebration of Mountain Day, a new national holiday in Japan created to “take the opportunity of getting closer to and of giving

thanks for the bounties that mountains have to offer.” This year, a ceremony will be held in the Kamikochi region of the Japanese Northern Alps to celebrate the English clergyman Walter Weston who helped popularize recreational mountaineering in Japan. Mountain Day was established to mark the feelings of awe and appreciation Japanese have held toward mountains from ancient times. Mt Fuji, one of Japan’s best known icons, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but today mountains the world over

are impacted by environmental destruction and other problems. Mountain Day was established in the hope that it would provide a stepping stone toward a solution to such problems.

A Bimonthly Review of the Mitsubishi Companies and Their People Around the World 2016

August & September

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

©2016 Mitsubishi Public Affairs Committee

Volume 30 No.4

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

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

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 trains are so crowded at the Eid vacation that you can’t even find a place to stand inside. A lot of people ride on the train roofs. But we took the train anyway and went to our hometown village. Riding the train is fun.

Hamidur Rahman RahiAge 12, BoyPeople’s Republic of Bangladesh

11th

When the Islamic calendar month of Ramadan, during which Muslims must fast during daylight hours, is over celebrations are held and people wear their best clothes to pray at their mosque and to visit family and friends.

Over Celebrations of Eid

Mountain Day – New National Holiday in Japan

In the February/March issue through to the October/November issue of Mitsubishi Monitor in 2016, we shall be featuring some Enikki essays from the 2010-2011 (10th) and 2012-2013 (11th) editions of the Mitsubishi Asian Children’s Enikki Festa which give a sense of the national character and regional characteristics of the countries in which the submitting children live, along with photographs of the scenes portrayed in the Enikki.

©AFP/JIJI PRESS PHOTO

Bangladesh

Mt. Fuji ©AP/AFLO

Kamikochi ©Kelvin/PPS

Japanese Whisky:Unique Delicacy and Smoothness

Red Dot Award for D5 and D500

Nikon D5 and D500 digital SLR cameras have been awarded the

Red Dot Award: Product Design 2016 sponsored by Germany’s

Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. Celebrating its 61st

anniversary, The Red Dot Award: Product Design is a world-class

award presented to products released over the past two years

that exhibit superiority in terms of innovation, functionality and

durability. The D5 is Nikon’s latest flagship digital SLR. It offers

superior performance that begins with a markedly improved

ability to track moving subjects and notably better image quality

at high sensitivities, as well as the ability to respond to a wide

variety of scenes and subjects. The D500 is Nikon’s new flagship

DX-format digital SLR camera.

Multilayer Plastic Containers for Injectable Drugs Replace Glass

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical announced its OXYCAPT line of

multilayer plastic containers for injectable drugs at the SMI 3rd

Annual Pre-Filled Syringes East

Coast held in New Jersey and at

the SMI Pre-Filled Syringes West

Coast held in California this June.

Currently glass is commonly used in

such containers but its fragility has

led, in recent years, to studies into

its replacement by plastic materials.

Syringes and vials made using the

company’s OXYCAPT technology

are the only plastic containers on

the market that offer glass-like

oxygen barrier and moisture barrier

properties and are expected to be

used as glass-alternative plastic

containers in the rapidly growing field

of bio drugs.

■

http://www.mgc.co.jp/php/files_en/160406e.pdf

Syringe

Vial

U.S.A.

D5 D500

Aerial Display Projects Large Images Midair

Mitsubishi Electric has developed an

Aerial Display that projects into midair

images measuring approximately 56 inches

across the diagonal. The technology has

many potential applications where realistic

image expression is required, including the

floating of large images in the air above a stadium or the display

of man-sized images in the field of remote communications. The

company is developing image display technology that will meet

the expected requirements of society in the near future. Included

in this research and development, the Aerial Display technology

will be indispensable in vivid and realistic image expression.

Front Line

2

News&Products

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group(MUFG) has developed a

FinTech Accelerator Program that makes full use of Information

and Communication Technology (ICT) to promote innovation

within today’s financial service technologies (FinTech). MUFG

makes accelerating the use of ICT, one of its core strategies,

and is actively looking at new financial services and the use of

artificial intelligence(AI). Employing big data, AI, mobile biometrics

authorization and other architechnologies, the company is looking

at the application of the MUFG FinTech Accelerator Program in

all financial service sectors, including settlement, loans, asset

management and market investments. In addition to hosting

programs that support entrepreneurs and startups, MUFG is

also actively utilizing universities, research institutes and other

outside sources of knowledge. The company is focused on the

open-ended creation of new businesses without being tied to

conventional work systems.

Looking at New Financial Service Japan

Front Line

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.Est. 1919 ( Found. 1880)

7-1, Marunouchi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8388

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) is a core company of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, formed in the 2006 merger of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ. BTMU boasts a network of about 920 offices spread mainly in Kanto, Chubu and Kansai and beyond domestically. Overseas, BTMU’s network has about 1,170 offices spanning about 50 countries and including MUFG Union Bank in the U.S. and Bank of Ayudhya(Krungsri) in Thailand. BTMU offers customers highly specialized banking solutions in a wide array of promptly delivered products and services.

■ http://www.bk.mufg.jp/global/

Japan

■

http://www.bk.mufg.jp/innovation/accelerator/en/index.html

3

■

http://www.nikon.com/news/2016/0418_award_01.htm

The Profound World of a Single Grain Whisky

Cover Story

“The Fuji Gotemba Distillery Single Grain Aged 25 Years Small

Batch” whisky, produced by Kirin Brewery group company

Kirin Distillery in Gotemba near Mt. Fuji, was recently voted

the World’s Best Grain Whisky by the 2016 World Whiskies

Awards (WWA). This is the first time a Japanese grain whisky

has won the award. After going through a strictly enforced

marking system that includes blind tasting by judges from

all entrant countries, the entries underwent final selection in

London. Situated in what might be described as the perfect

environment for making whisky

as it lies hidden in a forest at the

foot of Mt Fuji and is blessed with

beautifully clear water and air,

and is the repository of whisky

technologies from the world over,

the Fuji Gotemba Distillery has

produced grain whisky since it was

commissioned in 1973. Representing

the crystallization of the knowhow

and experience accumulated over

these years, The Aged 25 Years

Small Batch is distilled in the only

“kettle” batch processing whisky

still in Japan. Slowly aging the flavorful

distillate unique to the batch process

in barrels over 25 years creates a fruity,

woody nose expressing aromas of ripe

bananas and prunes. The rich and deep

yet smooth sweetness that it unleashes

on the palate conjures up notes of brown

sugar and maple syrup. As grain whiskies

attract more attention worldwide, the

quality of Kirin’s products has received

global acclaim in this award.

Chief Executive, Corporate Services, CIO, Satoshi Murabayashi talks to an audience of people wanting to set up startups using the MUFG FinTech Accelerator Program.

The FinTech Challenge 2016 Hackathon held in March this year. College students and startup staff put forward many ideas.

The MUFG FinTech Accelerator Program aims to promote innovative business creation between entrepreneurs and startups.

HAKO-NO-MA Interior Shed Uses Native Timber

Mitsubishi Estate and

Mitsubishi Jisho Residence

have announced the HAKO-

NO-MA interior shed made

of Japanese native timber.

Depending on how it is placed

in the living or other rooms,

HAKO-NO-MA can introduce

change to the layout by

serving as a room divider or as the focal feature around which the

room is arranged. Larger than a piece of furniture but smaller than

a room, the easily moveable HAKO-NO-MA makes it possible to

create a living space offering innovative flexibility. This flexibility

makes it possible to cater to

widely diverse lifestyles. The

Mitsubishi Estate Group will

continue to forge new links with

city on a forestry theme through

its CSR activities.

Japan

HAKO-NO-MA in use

HAKO-NO-MA in use

■

http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news/2016/0217-e.html

Aerial display (center) with guide images (left/right)

The Fuji Gotemba Distillery Single Grain Aged 25 Years Small Batch

Fuji Gotemba Distillery

UK

Germany

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.

4 5

GlobalSpotlight

Switzerland

from

Quadrant is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance

thermoplastic materials in the form of semi-finished products and

finished parts. Since the invention of plastics, we have applied our

expertise and commitment to innovation and development to continuously improve the quality and

performance of our plastic products. We work in collaboration with industry leaders to identify new

application areas and solutions that offer superior performance characteristics to metals and other materials.

Our business activities are: stock shapes, machined parts, biocompatible polymers, lining solutions,

injection molded solutions, composite materials, cable protection systems and co-development projects.

With the acquisition of Piper Plastics, Inc., Quadrant can welcome a new member in the group. This addition

means both companies can capitalize on their synergies in the engineering polymer industry as Piper Plastics

will leverage Quadrant’s continually expanding, world-wide network of industry partners and customer

relationships while bringing new technologies, specialized skills and market expertise into the group.

I have worked for Quadrant AG for nearly 15 years. Although my function has not changed in all these

years, the scope of work has changed a lot with the Quadrant’s joining to Mitsubishi Plastics in 2009.

The job offers me an environment to grow and to further

develop my skills. Another nice aspect is to work locally

in a small team and, at the same time, to be part of an

international company.

Four Main Linguistic and Cultural Regions

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation (Latin:

Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a

federal republic in Europe which has a long history of armed

neutrality. It has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815. In addition to being the birthplace

of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to numerous international

organizations, including the second largest UN office.

Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between

the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285

km2. While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss

population of approximately eight million people is concentrated mostly on

the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found; among them the two

global and economic centers, Zurich and Geneva. Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural

regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

I live in an area which is called Wasserschloss

(water castle) where three of Switzerland’s largest

rivers become one. The area is a protected nature

reserve. The three rivers together carry an average

555 cubic meters of water per second. It is a nice

place for excursions by bicycle or foot but also a

good place for commuting to Zurich (25 minutes

away from Zurich by train).

Ms Astrid KellerInvestor & Public Relations

Quadrant AGA group company of Mitsubishi Plastics

My Career with Quadrant Enjoying the Challenge Every Day I have worked at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.

since 1997. I started out on the shop floor in the pneumatic

department then moving into the hydraulic department. After

12 years on the shop floor, I was promoted to Assistant General Foreman where I was in charge of 20

people. During this time, I learned how to completely assemble our product from start to finish. After two

years as Assistant General Foreman, I was promoted to another role in the office, Production Assistant. I

spent a year and a half in this role before being promoted to oversee the purchasing department as Senior

Purchasing Coordinator.

After two and a half years, I was then promoted

to Assistant Purchasing Manager, my current

position. Starting at the bottom and working my

way up through the company has helped me excel

in my current position. I know the product very

well. I know what parts need to be purchased first

and how the parts need to arrive in time for our

production team to build the product on time. The

five years I have been managing the purchasing

department have been challenging at times and I have had to process much information in a short time.

However, I enjoy the challenge every day and strive to make myself and the purchasing department better.

Teaching has taught me how to communicate better.

When I am not working, I like to spend time with family and to play sports.

I like playing basketball and tennis most. Before moving into the office, I

was the High School tennis coach for my former high school team where I

coached for six years. During that time we were able to break school records

for wins in a season for both the boys and

girls programs. This by far is the biggest

accomplishment during my coaching career.

Teaching kids and communicating with

parents has helped me to succeed in my current position. It has taught

me how to communicate better.

I still play myself but not as much as I use to. I also play in two different

basketball leagues during the year. One is in the summer and the other is during

the winter season. I also spend a lot of time at the park with my family playing

basketball and other sports. I like to go to as many basketball games as possible

with friends and family and this year I have been to six Cleveland Cavalier games.

I have been playing tennis and basketball since I was 10 years old and hope to

keep playing for as long as I can. Also, even though I don’t play football, I like to

watch the Dallas Cowboys. They are my favorite team, but since I live and work in

Ohio, most of my co-workers are Cleveland Brown fans, so I take a lot of grief.

from the U.S.A.

Mr. Jeff MooneyPurchasing DepartmentAssistant Manager

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.Tire Machinery Division

©AGE/PPS

Playing basketball in winter league

Zurich by night.

Teaching Tennis

Wasserschloss

Bicycle ride with my son Jan.

Team photo of the team that set school record

Roman Day which takes place in May each year in the city where I live and the neighboring village.

On-road Fleet Testing for Canter E-CELL Zero-emission Truck in Germany

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. has supplied

the Municipality of Stuttgart and a logistics company with

five Canter E-CELL fully-electric light-duty trucks for a

twelve-month fleet test to further pursue its commitment

to sustainable urban transport. The field test program is

designed to demonstrate to customers and to society

MFTBC’s zero-emission electric vehicle technologies

under tough, real-

world operating

conditions. At the

handover ceremony,

Dr. Wolfgang

Bernhard, Head

of Daimler Trucks

& Buses, said,

“Today’s combustion engine is highly efficient and eco-

friendly. In long-distance transport it will remain the only

option for a long time to come. In urban short-radius

distribution, a partial switch to electric trucks will become

technically feasible and economically viable within a few

years’ time.” The Municipality of Stuttgart will test two

Canter E-CELL vehicles equipped with hydraulic tipper

bodies for use in road construction and landscaping, and

two others with box bodies for furniture transport and

waste disposal operations. The logistics company will also

carry out a field test for parcel deliveries in urban traffic.

Green Diamonds

6 7

Green Diamonds highlights the ongoing efforts of Mitsubishi companies to foster a greener, more sustainable planet and brighter, more vibrant communities through wide-ranging environmental and social initiatives.

Collaboration with Exxon Mobil to Reduce LNG Costs Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Compressor Corporation (MCO) and Mitsubishi Hitachi

Power Systems (MHPS) have announced that they are

to collaborate with Exxon Mobil Corporation in the field

of liquified natural gas (LNG) plants. The overriding aims

of the collaboration are to reduce the complexity of LNG

processing plants, lower their lifecycle costs, and cut plant

emissions through enhancements to technologies of MHPS’s

H-100 two-shaft gas turbine and MCO’s state-of-the-art

compressor. The H-100 is a high-efficiency, heavy-duty,

high-reliability, and low-maintenance gas turbine. MHI CEO

Miyanaga commented, “we are very pleased that ExxonMobil

has qualified MHPS’ H-100 gas turbine technology for use in

LNG facilities and we look forward to continuing this work.”

H-100 gas turbine/compressors for LNG plant U.S.A.

U.S.A.

Second E-Scrap Center at Naoshima Smelter and Refinery Commissioned

The Metals Company of Mitsubishi Materials has

commissioned the Second E-Scrap Center at its

Naoshima Smelter and Refinery. E-Scrap refers to circuit

boards and other electronic scrap from which Mitsubishi

Materials recovers various valuable metals. The new

Center gives Mitsubishi Materials the largest E-Scrap

receiving and processing capacity in the world. Exploiting

the unique Mitsubishi Process continuous copper smelting

technology, which has the lowest environmental impact

in the industry, the Naoshima Smelter and Refinery has

been expanding its E-Scrap business and through its

collection and recycling operations is contributing to the

establishment of a sustainable society. Mitsubishi Materials

Group is aiming to become the world’s leading business

group committed to supporting recycling-oriented society

through materials innovation, and the use of its unique and

distinctive technologies.

Japan

■ http://www.mmc.co.jp/corporate/en/news/2016/ news20160523.htmlBuilding Exterior

Building Interior

■ http://www.mitsubishi-fuso.com/en/press/ 160412/160412.html

Canter E-CELL

Handover ceremony at Stuttgart, Germany

Germany

Hikawa Maru Designated asImportant Cultural Property The Hikawa Maru (currently the museum

ship NYK Hikawamaru), owned by NYK

and moored in Yokohama, has become the

first seagoing vessel in Japan to receive

Important Cultural Property designation.

The designation recognizes the important

social and economic role played by Hikawa

Maru which sailed between Japan and

Seattle as a cargo-passenger ship in the

first half of the 20th century, served as a

hospital ship during WWII and transported

demobilized soldiers and repatriated Japanese nationals

after the war. The designation also recognizes the ship’s

value in terms of shipbuilding and industrial art: powered

by the most advanced diesel engine at the time and with

its Art Deco interior design when launched in 1930. This

marks the first example of Art Deco architectural design

being directly imported into Japan. NYK will continue its

efforts to stimulate interest in the maritime industry and its

ships by providing current and future generations with a

link to Japan’s maritime history.

■ http://www.nyk.com/english/release/4208/004277.html

NYK Hikawamaru

Japan

■ http://www.mhi-global.com/news/story/160411en.html