In Japan, seeing shoppers make small purchases by waving a prepaid or credit card with an integrated circuit (IC) above a sensor is becoming a common sight, particularly for use in public transportation. Sales of Osaifu-Keitai, mobile phones that have the contactless payment circuits built into the handsets, are also increasing as mobile phone operators market these models as their main product.

Making a purchase with a wave of a phone

  To establish a firm presence in this growing market, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, along with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, UFJ NICOS and DC Card, teamed up with VISA International to expand Keitai Credit, a contactless payment method that uses the contactless IC credit card payment scheme Smartplus developed by UFJ NICOS. The new VISA-adapted service was announced in May 2006.
  UFJ NICOS, a member of MUFG, launched Smartplus in December 2004. As the scheme was designed to make maximal use of existing credit card infrastructure, such as issuing systems, terminals and processing networks, for merchants and credit card companies, the impact of developing systems and operations is very low.
  In launching the new VISA Smartplus scheme, MUFG provided VISA with the necessary technology, while VISA agreed to promote the platform to all its members in Japan.
  By 2008, the companies estimate the number of Smartplus members to rise to two million, with an estimated 100,000 shops accepting the card.

Japanese poster for temperature-sensing container tags

Transporting or storing sensitive goods such as medicines, chemicals, precision equipment or food is tricky, for they often require that temperatures be strictly monitored. But a new temperature-sensing container tag from NYK Logistics (Japan) makes things easier. After attaching a small reader to the outside of a container, the tag's integrated circuit (IC) accurately monitors and records the temperature inside the container, the information being wirelessly transmitted even through thick insulation. Moreover, the IC tag is waterproof and durable, does not require any power supply, and can be attached to any container. It also transmits on a frequency that is not susceptible to moisture interference.
  The IC tag, developed jointly with Oki Electric Industry and the HILLS Corporation, is the first of its kind in the world. NYK Logistics (Japan) and its co-developers expect the product to be highly popular with manufacturers, distributors and logistics companies. The three companies estimate sales of some one million tags by 2008.
  Before the IC tags become commercially available, they will be sent to a few select companies for pilot studies. During this phase, NYK Logistics (Japan) will work with NYK's other logistics companies to build opportunities for IC-tag use in global transportation and storage. Oki Electric Industry will supply the tags, and the HILLS Corporation will prepare the temperature-controlled containers.

High-speed, room-temperature wafer bonding equipment

In microdevice manufacturing, production speed, cost and yield are key elements. Now, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has developed and readied for market a new high-speed wafer bonder that works at room temperature to vastly improve the quality and productivity of MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) manufacturing. The few-millimeter-sized MEMS devices are used in various consumer products, ranging from cellular phones to automobile sensors.
  In manufacturing, MEMS devices are usually developed on device wafers and are packaged by bonding with sealing wafers—wafer-level packaging—then sliced into individual MEMS chips. In the conventional method of wafer-level packaging, these wafers that include silicon and other materials must be heated to bond, and therefore the process requires heating and cooling period and affects yield due to damage caused by heat.
  The new system of MHI, which is the first ever to offer volume production at room temperature, will both reduce cost and boost the production of MEMS chips, allowing for a strong, reliable stress-free bonding. By eliminating the need for heating and cooling, and automating the production process, wafers can be produced in just twenty minutes, a ten-fold improvement in production speed over past systems. By lowering the cost of making MEMS chips, and the next generation 3-dimensionally integrated chips, this production breakthrough paves the way for consumer and industrial electronics that are both cheaper and of higher performance.

Mitsubishi has a long tradition of responding to developing social and industrial needs by adopting new lines of business. Astomos Energy Corporation, founded April 1, 2006, has become the newest member of the Mitsubishi companies. Astomos Energy supplies 20% of Japan's demand for LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), making it the largest domestic gas provider. Focusing attention on benefiting lifestyles and providing solutions for both social and environmental issues, the company will strive to meet the expectations of consumers while contributing to the development of a national energy policy.
  Astomos Energy was created as the successor to Mitsubishi Corporation's LPG operations spin-off, Mitsubishi Liquefied Petroleum Gas Co., Ltd., and includes the merger of Idemitsu Gas and Life, Co., Ltd. The completely new company will integrate the LPG operations of Mitsubishi and Idemitsu in the areas of import, trading, international transport and domestic sales. It will take advantage of an expanded scale and resulting synergies to improve competitiveness in all respects. The company's name is the combination of two phrases in Japanese that mean "to light the way" and "reliable friendship." Astomos Energy means to light the way to the future for customers and dealers with stable supplies of environment-friendly LPG and next-generation energy.