Softbank Announces 110 Mbps Network, May Handle IPhones

Softbank Announces 110 Mbps Network, May Handle IPhones Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile carrier and exclusive purveyor of the Apple iPhone in the country, said Thursday it would launch in November a new data network allowing downloads of up to 110 Mbps (megabits per second), faster than many wired connections provide today. The new "Softbank 4G" network will initially be available via portable modems that create small wireless networks for computers and other devices, with the company aiming to have the country's main populations centers covered by April 2013. It will be compatible with a growing Chinese standard that media reports say Apple will support, meaning that future iPhones on Softbank's network could have access to the blazing download speeds.
1 Oct The language is unmistakably Japanese, the lyrics delivered in familiar high-pitched tones over a backdrop of electronica. But the wave of pop music sweeping Japan is not the sugar-coated homegrown variety that has long clogged the airwaves. Japanese teens and twentysomethings who once had ears only for J-pop are now transfixed by K-pop, a phenomenon from South Korea that is taking the world's second-biggest music market by storm. Korean pop culture's first foray into Japan was led almost a decade ago by Bae Yong-joon, a TV and film actor whose legions of mainly middle-aged, female devotees nicknamed him Yon-sama, or the Honourable Yon. (guardian.co.uk)
1 Oct With schoolchildren playing in front of her house every day, a tsunami survivor who identifies herself only as "Mrs. Sugawara," says she often thinks about suicide. Her daughter and two sons survived the March 11 disaster, but her husband and three grandchildren did not. "They were my future, and now they are gone and not coming back," says Mrs. Sugawara, 69. "The tsunami took my sense of hope away with them." Her lonely struggle mirrors that of thousands of tsunami survivors, especially seniors now isolated in temporary houses after spending months in crowded but more sociable gymnasiums. Since her children have gone to work elsewhere, Mrs. Sugawara lives alone, in a prefab unit in the parking lot of a junior high school overlooking the obliterated northeastern city of Rikuzen-Takata. (Washington Times)
1 Oct Local ordinances prohibiting companies from trading with organized crime syndicates will be put into force Saturday in Tokyo and Okinawa with the expectation of stopping their cash flow funds and eventually putting the mob out of business. Some legal experts welcome the moves by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Okinawa Prefectural Government, but they also urge local police to properly disclose to the general public detailed information about gangs so they can avoid trading with them and provide concrete examples of cases being banned by the new ordinances. (Japan Times)
30 Sep Tokyo Metropolitan Police earlier this week arrested the principals involved in the sale and copying of large quantities of uncensored adult video DVDs in Ikebukuro, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 30). Yoshitaka Iwaki, 45, verbally touted the sale of uncensored discs copied electromagnetically from a store he operated in Ikebukuro, located in Tokyo's Toshima Ward. A signboard with photos allowed customers to select discs they wished to purchase. Eiji Imai, 40, presided over an apartment, also in Toshima Ward, where the discs were stored. During a search of the premises on Wednesday, officers seized approximately 50,000 discs and copying equipment. (Tokyo Reporter)
30 Sep Investigators continue to search for a man who held up a suburban Tokyo bookstore by threatening the manager with a lit firework, the Metropolitan Police Department said Sept. 29. The man described as being about 160 centimeters tall and wearing a gray hoodie and white surgical mask made off with 5,000 yen (around $65) in cash after threatening the bookstore manager in Nishitokyo on Thursday night. (majirox news)

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Prologis Announces 233400-Square-Foot Build-to-Suit in Japan - MarketWatch (press release)

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Prologis, Inc. /quotes/zigman/5338164/quotes/nls/pld PLD -2.10% , the leading global owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate, today announced it has signed a new build-to-suit agreement with Hitachi Transport System, the leading 3PL company in Japan, for a 233,400-square-foot (21,680-square-meter) distribution facility in the southern part of Japan.

The new three-story facility, Prologis Park Tosu 2, will be built at an industrial park in Japan's Saga Prefecture, a key logistics and manufacturing hub for the southeast region. Construction is planned to commence in November 2011, and the customer will occupy the facility upon its expected completion in July 2012.

"This agreement with Hitachi Transport System Group extends our relationship with a target customer to 12 leases in 5 countries and we are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with such an important 3PL company in Japan," said Mike Yamada, President of Prologis in Japan. "We continue to see strong demand for new large-scale modern logistics facilities; developments such as this one enable us to provide solutions for our customers while monetizing our land bank."

Prologis Park Tosu 2 is located in the city of Tosu, Japan, near the junction of several major transportation routes, including the Kyushu Expressway, the Nagasaki Expressway and the Tosu Interchange. The park offers easy access to these motorways, as well as the Japan Railway Tosu Station, the Saga Airport and the Fukuoka Airport. The region is home to nearly 1,000 companies, including automobile manufacturers Nissan, Toyota and Daihatsu.

Prologis is a leading provider of distribution space in Japan, with approximately 24 million square feet (2.2 million square meters) completed and under development, as well as 76 acres (30 hectares) of land available for future development. Other Prologis customers in Japan include Panasonic Logistics, Kirin Logistics, Sagawa Global Logistics, Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc., Yamato Logistics and Costco.

About Prologis

Prologis, Inc, the leading owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate, focused on global and regional markets across the Americas, Europe and Asia. As of June 30, 2011, Prologis owned or had investments in, on a consolidated basis or through unconsolidated joint ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 600 million square feet (55.7 million square meters) in 22 countries. The company leases modern distribution facilities to more than 4,500 customers, including manufacturers, retailers, transportation companies, third-party logistics providers and other enterprises.

Some of the information included in this press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, and you should not rely on the forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events or circumstances reflected in forward-looking statements might not occur. You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "pro forma," "estimates" or "anticipates" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily dependent on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and we may not be able to realize them. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our analysis only and speak only as of the date of this report or the dates indicated in the statements. We assume no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements: changes in general economic conditions in California, the U.S. or globally (including financial market fluctuations), global trade or in the real estate sector (including risks relating to decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges); risks associated with using debt to fund the company's business activities, including refinancing and interest rate risks; the company's failure to obtain, renew, or extend necessary financing or access the debt or equity markets; the company's failure to maintain its current credit agency ratings or comply with its debt covenants; risks related to the merger transaction with ProLogis, including the risk that the merger may not achieve its intended results; risks related to the company's obligations in the event of certain defaults under co-investment venture and other debt; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by customers, lease renewals at lower than expected rent or failure to lease properties at all or on favorable rents and terms; difficulties in identifying properties, portfolios of properties, or interests in real-estate related entities or platforms to acquire and in effecting acquisitions on advantageous terms and the failure of acquisitions to perform as the company expects; unknown liabilities acquired in connection with the acquired properties, portfolios of properties, or interests in real-estate related entities; the company's failure to successfully integrate acquired properties and operations; risks and uncertainties affecting property development, redevelopment and value-added conversion (including construction delays, cost overruns, the company's inability to obtain necessary permits and financing, the company's inability to lease properties at all or at favorable rents and terms, and public opposition to these activities); the company's failure to set up additional funds, attract additional investment in existing funds or to contribute properties to its co-investment ventures due to such factors as its inability to acquire, develop, or lease properties that meet the investment criteria of such ventures, or the co-investment ventures' inability to access debt and equity capital to pay for property contributions or their allocation of available capital to cover other capital requirements; risks and uncertainties relating to the disposition of properties to third parties and the company's ability to effect such transactions on advantageous terms and to timely reinvest proceeds from any such dispositions; risks of doing business internationally and global expansion, including unfamiliarity with the new markets and currency risks; risks of changing personnel and roles; losses in excess of the company's insurance coverage; changes in local, state and federal regulatory requirements, including changes in real estate and zoning laws; increases in real property tax rates; risks associated with the company's tax structuring; increases in interest rates and operating costs or greater than expected capital expenditures; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; and our failure to qualify and maintain our status as a real estate investment trust. Our success also depends upon economic trends generally, various market conditions and fluctuations and those other risk factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and our other public reports.

SOURCE Prologis, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2011 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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Rugby: Kirwan announces World Cup squad

Japan coach John Kirwan on Monday unveiled his 30 for next month's Rugby World Cup, describing them as a "much more complete" team than the one that lost three and drew once four years ago.

Kirwan pulled no surprises for the Sept. 9-Oct. 23 tournament in New Zealand, dropping flanker Tadasuke Nishihara from a list of 31 for Japan's last two warmups against Italy and the United States.

"I think we've improved right across the board," former All Black Kirwan said, a night after Japan defeated the American Eagles 20-14 in its final tuneup. "This team is much more complete. I think we're stronger, faster and we understand our strengths and weaknesses much better."

"It's very important for Japanese rugby to finish with a great tournament and achieve the goals we set four years ago," Kirwan said.

Takashi Kikutani will lead the Brave Blossoms onto the pitch as captain in their opener against France on Sept. 10.

Japan, in search of its first World Cup victory since 1991, is in the same group as host New Zealand, Canada and Tonga. At France 2007, Japan picked up its first points since '91 in a 12-12 draw with Canada.

Thirty-three-year-old wing Hirotoki Onozawa, the most capped on the team with 64, is heading to his third consecutive World Cup. Panasonic Wild Knights and Suntory Sungoliath produced the most players from the Top League with six players each.

"From the day we get back together on the 29th until our first game, we need to make our team even better than what it is right now," Kikutani said.

"We have to be in the best possible shape we can be in for the France game."

Added scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka, "My goal has never been to be picked for the World Cup. The goal is to help the team obtain the results we've been targeting all long."

Kirwan's side four years ago included seven foreign-born players. This time, the former Italy coach selected 10.

While Kirwan understands the calls for him to pick a squad with fewer foreigners, he does not believe Japan — which has risen to a record 12th in the world rankings over the last four years — is quite at that level yet.

"I understand some people might like an all-Japanese side but at this stage, we need to balance between getting success and making sure that Japanese rugby union is moving forward up the rankings," he said.

Props: Hisateru Hirashima (Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers), Naoki Kawamata (Panasonic Wild Knights), Kensuke Hatakeyama (Suntory Sungoliath), Nozomu Fujita (Honda Heat)

Hookers: Yusuke Aoki (Suntory), Shota Horie (Panasonic), Hiroki Yuhara (Toshiba Brave Lupus)

Locks: Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba), Toshizumi Kitagawa (Toyota Verblitz), Luke Thompson (Kintetsu Liners), Justin Ives (Panasonic)

Flankers: Takashi Kikutani (Toyota), Michael Leitch (Toshiba), Sione Vatuvei (Panasonic)

No. 8: Ryu Koliniasi Holani (Panasonic), Itaru Taniguchi (Kobe Steel)

Scrum-halfs: Fumiaki Tanaka (Panasonic), Tomoki Yoshida (Toshiba), Atsushi Hiwasa (Suntory)

Stand-offs: James Arlidge (Nottingham), Murray Williams (Toyota Industries Shuttles)

Centers: Yuta Imamura (Kobe Steel), Ryan Nicholas (Suntory), Koji Taira (Suntory), Alisi Tupuailai (Canon Eagles)

Wings: Hirotoki Onozawa (Suntory), Kosuke Endo (Toyota), Takehisa Usuzuki (Toshiba)

Fullback: Shanu Webb (Coca-Cola West Red Sparks)

Utility back: Taihei Ueda (Honda)

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Qantas Announces Asia, Japan Carriers on International Losses - BusinessWeek

August 15, 2011, 8:36 PM EDT By Robert Fenner

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s biggest airline, will create a full-service carrier in Asia and a budget unit in Japan as it seeks to turn around A$200 million ($210 million) in annual losses at its international unit.

The Asian-based carrier will have a different name and appearance than existing brands, while its budget unit is teaming with Japan Airlines Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. to start Jetstar Japan by the end of 2012, Sydney-based Qantas said in a statement today. The company will cut about 1,000 jobs.

Qantas will revamp its fleet plans for the new structure and order as many as 110 Airbus SAS A320 jets, including 78 fuel-efficient “neo” versions. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce is revamping his international operations amid a slump in market share as travelers switch to premium rivals including Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Dubai-based Emirates Airline.

Qantas rose as much as 4.3 percent in Sydney trading, the biggest intraday gain in a month. It was up 2.6 percent at A$1.57 at 10:10 a.m.

The Australian carrier also said today it will delay delivery of its final six A380 superjumbos for as long as six years, leaving it with 12 of the double-deck planes by the end of 2011.

The airline will also switch its South American direct services to Santiago from Buenos Aires, increase flights via Singapore through a venture with British Airways and further develop flights with AMR Corp.’s American Airlines unit though Dallas/Fort Worth.

--Editor: Dave McCombs, Neil Denslow

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Fenner in Melbourne rfenner@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Neil Denslow at ndenslow@bloomberg.net

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