Wasanbon Sugar

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The Feature Story
The World of Sugar
Sugar as a raw material comes in two guises : “sugarcane sugar” and “beet sugar.” The global sugar yield is about
100 million tons, of which 70% is sugarcane sugar.
The annual consumption of sugar per person in Japan is 20 kilograms or less, which is the lowest among advanced
countries and 98th among the 160 countries of the world. Given the relationship between sugar consumption and
certain health concerns such as obesity and diabetes, the trend in Japan is to reduce sugar intake. Bearing this
in mind, this issue is all about sugar.
Sugar was originally made from sugarcane grown on islands
in the South Pacific; it was then transported via Southeast
Asia to India. There are descriptions of sugar and sugarcane in Indian Buddhist holy script dating from the 5th to
10th century B.C. However, at that time it was initially
used as a type of medicine. In 334 B.C., Alexander the
Great encountered sugar when he was on an expedition
1. Sugar Spreads
throughout the World
[Sugar Refining Technology in
China and Mesopotamia]
Marco Polo visited China (then the Yuan
Dynasty; Emperor: Kublai Khan) from
Europe via the Silk Road in the 13th century. In the "Travels of Marco Polo," which is
based on his journey, he wrote that sugarrefining technology had already been established and was producing large amounts of
sugar. In addition, sugar spread from Persia in the west to Mesopotamia where sugarcane was grown and refined in the 7th to
9th centuries; later, these technologies were
carried to the Mediterranean region.
from his native Macedonia to India. He wrote, "In India,
there is a fungus that produces honey without depending
on bees," and he added, "there are sweet stones in India
that crumble when bitten." It appears that this was a sort
of brown sugar made from hardened honey. Eventually,
sugar was conveyed to Japan in 754 via Persia (now Iran)
and Egypt to the west and via mainland China to the east.
[Sugar Refining from Beets
and the Spread of Beet Sugar
by Napoleon]
In Europe, the only place where sugarcane
grows is along the Mediterranean Sea due
to the genial climate. As a result, Europe
has historically been highly dependent on
imported sugar. Within this context, Marc
Clark, a German scientist, succeeded in
extracting sugar ingredients from beets
(sugar beets and beets). His apprentices
then made the process of refining sugar
from beets more practical and the first beet
sugar plant was established in Germany in
1801.
Meanwhile, the French Emperor
Napoleon and his expeditionary forces battled European countries in the early 19th
[Crusade Armies Spread Sugar
in Europe]
Sugar was carried through Europe by the
Crusade armies who also fulfilled the role of
absorbing information from the East. Once
sugarcane was brought back to Europe, it
began to be actively cultivated and refined
in the gentle climate of the Mediterranean
area. Sugar was considered an expensive
extravagance and was apparently sold in
pharmacies.
[Columbus Transports Sugar
to the American Continent]
Columbus brought sugar to the New World.
Columbus reached the West Indies in 1492.
The following year he made his second voyage to the islands when he replanted sugar
cane grown in Canarias, West Africa on Hispaniola Island (currently the Dominican
Republic and Haiti). The sugar business in
the New World was first developed in Brazil
and exports began to be sent to Europe in
the late 16th century. In the 17th century,
production spread to Jamaica, Puerto Rico
and the United States. In the late 18th century sugar was first taken to Cuba, which is
now famous for its sugar production.
1
shosha Summer 2003
Sugarcane a raw material for sugar
century and seized control of most of
Europe, excluding England. As he could
not dominate England, Napoleon wanted
to torment it, so he prohibited European
countries from trading with England.
Because of this, imported sugar from the
West Indies to Europe fell sharply and led
to Napoleon devoted a great deal of energy
to industrializing beet sugar production.
This industry now accounts for 30% or
more of sugar production worldwide.
2. The Spread of Sugar
in Japan
[Sweeteners before Sugar]
Before sugar was introduced to Japan, the
sweeteners used were mainly honey, so
(Japanese "cheese"), amazura (southern ginseng) and gluten. We still have honey and
gluten but it is very rare to taste real so and
amazura. Amazura is a kind of ivy that grows
wild in the mountains. Amazura winding
around pine and cedar trees is cut down
from fall through winter, and a liquid containing a rich sweetness is obtained from it.
Since the amount supplied is greater compared to honey and gluten, documentation
suggests that it used to make a considerable
contribution to the diet. However, it is
believed that people probably stopped
using amazura because of problems in guaranteeing the quality of sweetness.
So is a sweetener made from animal matter. Butyric is made from animal milk, so
from butyric and daigo from so. In other
words, it is a dairy product, similar to the
finest fresh cream or cheese. In the Nara
Period, it was seen as a significant honor
and was also used as a medicine. Since
daigo is a refined juice of butyric and its flavor is so sweet, it is the origin of the word
"daigomi," which means wonderful satisfaction.
Honey is collected from beehives and is
used as a sweetener and medicine even
today. Judging from the fact that it is mentioned as far back as the Chronicles of
Japan (643), Japan's oldest document, it
seems that honey was first cultivated a very
long time ago. In the old days gluten was
made of rice sprouts or wheat sprouts and
eventually came to be made from malt.
Gluten production first began to expand in
the Muromachi Period, and sweets made of
gluten mixed with beans came to be
savored among the higher classes.
Local Dishes and Sugar
[The Introduction of Sugar to
Japan]
During the Nara Period (710~793), sugar
entered Japan from China and was used as a
medicine rather than for food. It was also
considered precious and was used as an
offering. This trend changed rapidly from
the late Kamakura Period (1192~1333)
through the Muromachi Period (1334~1573)
when trade with other parts of Asia escalated.
From the middle of the 15th century, tea
ceremonies caught on among aristocrats
and warriors. Japanese-style sweets were
developed as an accompaniment. In 1523,
the Portuguese landed on Tanegashima
Island and trade started with the West; as
part of this, sweets including castella
(sponge cake) and confetti (sugar candy)
were imported. As seen in images of Yoshimasa Ashikaga (1436~1490), whose favorite
was yokan (sweetened and jellied bean
paste), and Nobunaga Oda (1534~1582),
who loved konpeito (confetti sweets – View of
the see bottom) made with sugar were
loved by many daimyo (warlords).
traditional manufacturing process. In
those days, a system
was used whereby
the various domains
bought up all the
sugar made in their
domains and sold it
wholesale to the
market in exchange
for money. At the
end of the Tokugawa Shogunate
form of government
(in the mid 19th
century), the domestic production of
sugar had reached
about 30,000 tons
and ordinary people
had gradually begun
to consume sugar.
However, it was
after the beginning
of the Meiji Period
(1868~1912) that
sugar spread more
widely.
Many different regions of Japan have their own local dishes;
and the farther the region is from a big city, the stronger this
tendency is. However, nowadays meals that are characteristic
of the big cities are gradually becoming common in the countryside; this means that local dishes peculiar to particular
regions are considered specialty dishes even in their home
region. The main reasons behind this are the diffusion of various recipes via magazines and TV programs and the ease of
integration of foodstuffs due to advances in transportation
means and logistics.
In the middle of the Meiji Period sugar became a common
seasoning. In local life, sugar was so valuable that it was used
only when cooking red beans paste during the Bon Festival
and New Year's Holiday during the period after World War II.
Using large amounts of sugar for guests was seen as a sign of
real hospitality.
Sugar in Tea
Tea is now so widespread across the world that there is apparently no nation that does not drink tea. However, tea was originally an Asian specialty based around the Yunnan Province in
China and the border of Thailand and Myanmar. Since tea
was introduced to England via the Netherlands, the English
way of making and drinking tea has tended to be dominant unlike the Asian method, tea in England is normally consumed with sugar and milk, and black rather than green tea is
used. That being said, adding milk to tea was not unprecedented as there are some areas in Asia such as Mongolia
where goat milk is added to tea; however, it used to be the case
that sugar was not added to tea in Eastern Asia.
[The Sugar Industry in the
Meiji Period and After]
[The Spread of Sugar in the
Edo Period]
Due to the national isolation order issued
around 1633 during the Edo Period
(1603~1867), overseas trade was limited to
Dejima Island (now Nagasaki Prefecture)
and imported sugar was called "Dejima
Sugar." The volume of imported sugar in
the early Edo Period was about 3,800 tons;
this was paid for with exported silver and
copper.
However, as the domestic output of silver
and copper dropped around 1680, the
shogunate came up with resource conservation measures. As sugar imports were
decreasing, so the domestic production of
sugar was more vigorously promoted, and
sugar was successfully produced in
AmamiOshima Island (now Kagoshima Prefecture) and Ryukyu Kingdom (now Okinawa) in the final years of the 17th century.
Yoshimune Tokugawa (1684~1751) personally test grew sugarcane within Edo Castle. Then, as he promoted sugarcane planting in other areas across the nation the
sugar industry was established in various
regions. The most successful sugar business
was in the Shikoku region where wasanbon
sugar continues to be produced with the
Under the unequal treaties concluded with
various overseas countries, cheap sugar
from overseas (mainly white sugar) entered
the country. The land of Japan itself
(excluding certain regions) is not ideal for
sugarcane cultivation and expensive, poorquality domestic sugar was not competitive.
Therefore, the sugar industry had almost
disappeared by around 1900. A beet sugar
manufacturing plant was constructed and
operated in Hokkaido in the 1880s, but production was suspended in the mid 1890s
due to a bad harvest of beets and management failure. Although the domestic sugar
industry did experience hard times, it
revived significantly after Japan's occupation of Taiwan following the Sino Japanese
War.
Just over a decade after Taiwan Seito
Co., Ltd. was established in Taiwan in 1900,
sugar-refining plants were created one after
the other. At the same time, sugar-refining
plants began to be built in Japan and there
was an increase in the number of traders
who transported crude sugar. In this way,
the Japanese production system developed.
In addition, the once closed beet sugar
industry began to attract the attention of
sugar manufacturers who were now doing
well and wished to expand. Consequently,
cutting-edge plants were built in the 1920s.
At the industry's peak, eight companies
operated around fifty plants in Taiwan; and
in 1938 sugar production volume reached
1.37 million tons. Domestically produced
sugar entered a stable era and sugar took
hold among all levels of society.
[The Outbreak of World War II
and Following the War]
The situation changed with the outbreak of
World War II in 1941 and daily necessities including sugar - were rationed under
Japan's general mobilization system. Sugar
was the first product called into question as
people said, "sugar is a luxury item," and
the annual consumption per citizen, which
had been almost 16 kilograms at its peak,
dropped to about 3 kilograms in 1944 and
0.64 kilograms in 1945, when the war
ended. Consequently, sugar distribution
was almost completely halted.
After the war, raw sugar was distributed
as a principal foodstuff. However, as the
amount distributed was so small, citizens
began to crave for sweets and artificial
sweeteners such as saccharine and dulcin
gained popularity as an alternative.
[The Revival of the Japanese
Sugar Refining Industry and
the Present Situation]
The Japanese sugar refining industry began
to be revived with the making of a small
amount of refined sugar. From 1945, forshosha Summer 2003
2
Wasanbon Sugar
Wasanbon sugar is widely used in the world of Japanese sweets.
Wasanbon is a domestically produced light yellow sugar that is
made through a traditional Japanese manufacturing process
and a particular specialty in the Shikoku region. As wasanbon
sugar is made entirely by hand and the process is quite
detailed, mass production is impossible. Due to this and other
reasons, the price is higher than for ordinary sugar. The raw
material is chikuto, a kind of sugarcane with a thin stem, and
the manufacturing process is as follows :
-Squeeze the liquid out of the chikuto using a squeezer and
make shiroshita by boiling the liquid down.
-Put the shiroshita into a big "boat" the size of a tatami (rushmat), and knead it while adding water.
-Put the kneaded shiroshita into a bag made of hemp on the
outside and cotton on the inside and wring it.
-Place the entire bag into a "pressing boat" made of wood,
hang weights down from the tops of the cabers and apply
pressure via the principle of leverage.
-When pressure is applied, molasses is generated from the
shiroshita. Place the shiroshita remaining in the bag, not
the squeezed molasses, into the "boat" again and repeat the
same process three to five times. The shiroshita remains in
the bag, and is sifted through a sieve after being dried.
Wasanbon sugar crystals are fine, smooth and soft and melt
in the mouth while generating an elegant sweetness. In the
world of Japanese sweets, the taste of sugar is the life of the
sweet and is a treasured part of all Japanese sweets.
eign currency used for importing was allocated to sugar refining companies according to their respective production capacities
in line with a quota; and each company
sought to enhance its facilities as much as
possible. Although sugar's retail price was
high due to chronic shortage, demand was
also high. In 1962, the annual amount of
sugar consumed per person reached 16.8
kilograms, almost the same as current levels.
With the liberalization of raw sugar imports
in 1963 and the Sugar Price Stabilization
Law in 1965, the sugar industry evolved to
its current status.
[Sugar and Health] [Sugar Culture in Japan Today]
Sugar is the same
type of carbohydrate
as rice and potatoes.
When it enters the
body, it breaks up
into glucose and
becomes a source of
energy. When too
much energy has been
used glycogen stored
in the liver runs out,
meaning that sugar
cannot be supplied to
the blood, causing
fatigue. It takes a certain amount of time
for sugar contained in
general food to be
transformed into
blood glucose. Sugar
is a combination of
glucose and levulose
molecules. Decomposition into glucose is
the most effective way to recover from
exhaustion.
Although the brain accounts for only
about 2% of body weight, it consumes
about 18% of all energy. The only energy
source needed by the brain is glucose,
which also helps to provide mental relaxation. Although it naturally depends on the
amount obtained, the appropriate level of
blood sugar makes people feel satisfied,
while low blood sugar levels make people
edgy. Incidentally, France even has a traffic
safety slogan that says, "Drive safely with
cubed sugar and candy."
Supply and Demand Balance by Country for Sugar (Fiscal 2002)
Country
Austria
Belgium/Luxemburg
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Spain
UK
Russia
Poland
South Africa
Egypt
Cuba
Mexico
U.S.A.
Brazil
Japan
India
China
Australia
3
shosha Summer 2003
Production
Volume
505
1,073
5,384
4,375
1,533
1,141
1,148
1,554
1,685
2,085
2,963
1,615
2,625
4,895
7,493
23,903
873
18,859
10,218
5,370
Import
Volume
19
818
1,061
291
498
64
364
1.676
5,100
70
31
840
86
150
1,456
0
1,542
100
900
10
(Unit: thousand tons)
Export
Consumption
Volume
Volume
336
153
607
1,224
2,327
3,175
3,148
1,485
1,804
232
723
445
1,355
118
2,497
486
6,730
700
1,728
484
1,363
1,473
2,312
35
689
2,025
4,705
220
8,709
113
9,828
14,110
2,412
3
19,566
1,957
9,600
500
1,108
4,270
(Unit: kilograms)
Sugar Consumption
per Person
41.0
58.9
39.5
39.3
31.0
44.3
33.4
41.6
45.2
45.1
30.1
32.7
58.1
44.6
31.9
55.7
18.5
18.2
7.0
54.6
In today's culture of staying slim and preventing adult diseases, there is a noticeable
tendency to cut down sugar intake. Sugar is
an essential ingredient for Japanese cooking, along with sake (Japanese wine), soy
sauce, vinegar and mirin (sweet Japanese
rice wine). Yet, recipes these days come
attached with the warning: "Don't make it
too sweet".
Recently, however, the virtues of sugar
are being given a second look. Glucose is
an energy source that has an instant effect;
the brain, for example, relies on glucose for
energy. Recent studies have also shown that
sugar stimulates the brain, stabilizes and
relaxes people psychologically, and even
helps the brain secrete endorphins, a substance that is said to help protect against illnesses.
Sugar was once considered a precious
item and was given as a gift on celebratory
occasions. It was used during weddings as a
Sugar shaped as a celebratory tai (sea
bream) fish said to bring good luck is
sometimes given to guests at weddings
gift for guests. Other than its obvious function as a flavoring for food, sugar is also
used to craft large decorative fish such as tai
(sea bream) and Japanese spiny lobsters.
They were said to bring good luck. Even
today, magnificent creatures made from
sugar can be found in many rural areas.
Today, sugar is given as a present in
return for money gifts that guests bring to
funerals and Buddhist services. It is given
out in the form of sticks of sugar that weigh
around 5 grams each, making them convenient for daily use. However, sugar is not
regularly given at these occasions today as it
was in the past.
You can enjoy Japanese style cakes made
from sugar, in various shapes and sizes, for
each season and any type of ceremony. If you
want to savor the taste of pure sugar, you
could try a traditional dry confectionery. If
you drop by a Japanese tearoom or a Japanese cake shop, you can enjoy sweets that melt
on in your mouth, sweets that have elegant
names, sweets shaped like a spring butterfly
and so on.
A more reasonable alternative is sweets
such as "rakugan" (made from glutinous
rice and sugar) that you can buy as souvenirs at many tourist locations.
Marubeni's Sugar Business
products in accordance with consumer demand. In other
Almost all of the 2.2 million tons of refined sugar conwords, they supply not only granulated sugar (the most
sumed annually in Japan is also refined domestically.
popular sugar in the world), but also some types of soft
Most of this refined sugar is produced from imported raw
sugar (soft white sugar that is unique to Japan, widely
materials (about 1.4 million tons) and the remaining
consumed soft white sugar and soft brown
from domestic sources (about 150,000 tons
sugar), stick sugar and liquid sugar.
from sugarcane grown in Okinawa and the
Sugar Sales by
Another entity involved in our sugar
AmamiOshima Islands and 700,000
Usage
operations is Miyako Sugar Manufactons from Hokkaido sugar beets).
turing Co., Ltd., a group company
Marubeni presently imports
located in Okinawa prefecture.
about 120,000 tons of raw sugar
Miyako supplies raw cane sugar
from four different countries
to Toyo.
(mainly Thailand and South
Other 25.0%
Toyo is also not limiting its
Africa) and is also involved in
scope to sugar. It has recentraw sugar trading among
Bread/sweets 35.8%
ly branched out to produccountries other than Japan.
tion of alternative sugar
At the same time, we handle
Home 7.0%
products and non-sugar
about 160,000 tons of sugar
peripheral businesses like
domestically.
Stevia, a sweetener made
The core of our domestic
Frozen foods,
from natural plants, and Vitasugar business is Toyo Sugar
dairy products 3.2%
Beverages 8.2%
min P, which is extracted from
Refining Co., Ltd., which prothe Japanese pagoda tree.
duces a wide variety of sugar
Small lot
commercial 6.1%
Seasonings, pickled
vegetables 7.8%
Medical products
6.9%
Sugar products of Toyo Sugar Refining
Inside a warehouse to store unrefined
sugar before being sent for refining
The control room (center), granulation process (bottom left)
and packing and shipping process (bottom right) at a sugar refinery
shosha Summer 2003
4
Backing Given to
“Lacoste” in Japan
On April 25, Seibu Department Stores transferred its Fabricant Co., Ltd. shares to
Marubeni following an agreement between
Marubeni and Devanlay S.A. of France,
another shareholder. Fabricant owns the
exclusive rights to manufacture and sell
“Lacoste” clothing, a French sports casual
wear brand, in Japan. As a result, Devanlay
and Marubeni hold, respectively, 66.6% and
33.4% of Fabricant’s shares.
The “Lacoste” brand was created by legendary French tennis player Rene Lacoste.
It has more than 70 years of history and,
along with its crocodile logo, has been popular in Japan for over 30 years. It is a top
global brand, boasting about 120 billion
yen in worldwide sales in fiscal 2002 on a
wholesale basis (of which about 86 billion
yen is from clothes). Lacoste welcomed
Christophe Lemaire as Creative Director
last year, a designer highly praised for his
work in the Paris Collection, and highly
thought of in Japan as well.
Marubeni has been delivering products
manufactured in Japan including polo shirts
and T-shirts to Fabricant for some time.
The investment opportunity developed
from Marubeni being highly valued for its
trading company functions. This includes
having production bases for materials and
products in Japan and overseas, and the
ability to provide high quality products in
short delivery periods.
Fabricant is expecting sales totaling 9 billion yen in the year ending February 2004
and anticipates the wholesale of products to
department stores and directly managed
boutiques among other outlets.
5
shosha Summer 2003
Establishment of
Marubeni Textile
(Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
On May 1, 2003, operations began at
Marubeni Textile (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in
the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone.
This company is a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Marubeni Group (80% Marubeni and
20% Marubeni Shanghai Co., Ltd.), with
paid-in capital of US$500,000. There are 45
employees – eight of whom have been especially dispatched from Japan – and the company will sell textile raw materials and
poration that had been trading with China
for some time. China is now expected to
become the Asian center for textile trade
and the textile industry is expected to further expand with the country’s joining of
the World Trade Organization (WTO). As
a result, Marubeni decided that there was a
need for an organization to act as a control
tower that was specially focused on the
entire Chinese market. Therefore, Marubeni
formed a new local corporation by combining the functions of the two organizations.
From now on, Marubeni will operate the
new corporation as one its Textile Division’s
most important overseas bases with the aim
of further expanding comprehensive transactions of raw materials to final products in
China. In addition to the traditional exporting of textile raw materials from Japan,
Marubeni will seek to strengthen its local
transactions of textile raw materials in China
and increase exports of fabrics, raw materials and other such goods from China.
The new company is also planning to
integrate and unify bases all over China
related to textile raw materials and fabrics,
although it will initially start operations centering on Shanghai. Furthermore, the company anticipates sales of about 300 million
U.S. dollars in three years.
First Ever Novel Fuel
Cell Using Digestion
Gas in Operation
Building where the Marubeni Textile
(Shanghai) Office is located
fabrics in China.
Marubeni had been operating two bases
in Shanghai. One was the Shanghai office
of Marubeni Textile Asia Co., Ltd. that was
established in Hong Kong in November
1999. This company was set up as a control
tower for the trading of Asian textile raw
materials and fabrics and its Shanghai office
was operated as the liaison office there. The
other base was the Textile Department of
Marubeni (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a local cor-
On April 2, Marubeni commenced regular
power and steam supply from the Molten
Carbonate Fuel Cell (250kW) installed at
Kirin Brewery’s Toride Plant (Toride City,
Ibaraki Prefecture). This new type of fuel
cell utilizing digestion gas is the first of its
kind commissioned for commercial operation and will provide roughly 4% of the electric power and about 1% of the steam used
at the Toride Plant. The fuel cell was developed by the US company FuelCell Energy,
Inc. with the support of the US Department
of Energy.
The facility has been installed on the
basis of an energy services company (ESCO)
agreement concluded with Kirin Brewery.
Note:Job titles of people named in these articles were current at the
time of the events described and are subject to change.
Wireless IC Tag
Experiment at
Maruetsu
The molten carbonate fuel cell installed at Kirin
Brewery’s Toride Plant
It has a generating capacity of 250kW and
produces steam by way of waste heat recovery on a scale of 175kg/h. The molten carbonate fuel cell has a much higher
generating efficiency than the conventional phosphate fuel cell. In addition, it marks
a significant step toward easing the environmental load by having low CO2 emissions and generating almost no NOx, SOx,
soot, dust, and other harmful emissions.
Under the Air Pollution Control Law, the
facility does not constitute a smoke and soot
generating system. The fuel cell uses the
waste heat associated with power generation
and thus benefits from fuel reforming. As
a result, it has no flame generating equipment and is capable of generating power
without releasing practically any NOx, soot
and dust. In addition, in line with the revision of the interpretation of an article on
“Power Plants and Facilities not Requiring
Permanent Monitoring,” which defines the
technical standards for power generating
equipment under the Electric Power Industry Law, it may not be necessary to monitor
the plant by permanent supervision as long
as the plant conditions laid down in the
interpretative article are met.
With the assistance of New Energy and
Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Marubeni conducts all
the capital investment, installation, maintenance and operational management of the
fuel cell. Kirin Brewery is responsible for
the fuel supply and the purchase of the electric power and steam generated from the
facility. The fuel for the fuel cell system consists of digestion gas generated at the wastewater treatment facility in the Toride Plant.
The entire power generated from the fuel
cell and the steam generated by way of waste
heat recovery will be supplied as process
energy for the beer brewing process at the
plant.
Marubeni will build up delivery and sales
performance of such facilities in Japan and
promote the fuel cell as an easy-to-use power
generation facility that has a small burden
on the environment.
Marubeni and Mighty Card Corporation
announced that they will participate in an
experiment utilizing wireless IC tags at
Maruetsu, Inc., a supermarket chain, this
September. This experiment will be conducted with NTT DATA Corporation and
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
In this experiment, wireless IC tags will
be attached to food products including perishables and commodities from the shipment stage. The information stored in the
tags will be read by reader equipment at
each base in the distribution process to be
collected, analyzed and utilized at an information center.
The companies are aiming to improve
the efficiency of the entire distribution
process by understanding the movement of
products through each stage, from manufacturing to the store shelves. Value added
information such as food traceability
(including information on its origin) will be
available to consumers and aims to increase
productivity of the stores by promoting efficient inspections of products as well as
checkout at cash registers. The gathered
information will also be utilized as common
marketing data to benefit both manufacturing and sales.
Mighty Card plans to provide the IC chip
know-how on overall radio frequency identification (RFID; an automatic recognition
technology that is expected to realize the
next-generation product management
scheme by utilizing wireless IC tags) and
provide overall support for the experiment.
Penetrating the
Building Management
Market with Niagara
Marubeni and Marubeni Network Systems
Corporation(MNET) have begun full-on
sales of the building monitoring and control middleware Niagara, developed by Tridium, Inc. of the U.S. Marubeni has invested
in Tridium and is the sales agent for Tridium products in Japan. A contract has been
concluded recently in which Marubeni will
supply the middleware to Tokyo Biso Kogyo
Corporation, one of the major building
management companies.
Tokyo Biso has developed a vendor-free,
remote monitoring and control system for
open building facilities called BEARCOS
IIthat is powered by Niagara. Tokyo Biso
began operating and marketing the “TB
Customers Center” on June 1. This product utilizes the BEARCOS II system and
serves as a round-the-clock remote monitoring center. MNET has been entrusted
with part of the development of the
BEARCOS II system.
In the traditional building facility system,
monitoring was not possible unless the same
vendors were used for the remote monitoring system and the building facility system,
as specifications differed depending on the
vendor. There are also many cases in which
the facility system vendors differ for each
building, even though the owners are the
same. This resulted in high operating costs
for the remote monitoring system. It also
made it difficult to manage buildings as a
group.
Niagara is a new Java-based framework
that seamlessly integrates air conditioning,
lighting, and other facilities and equipment
communication protocols to enable central
monitoring control. Using Niagara for the
integration of a building automation system
enables the selection of facilities in a more
open environment without limiting oneself
Building management with Niagara
to a single vendor for the respective facilities in the system. The product is being utilized in the U.S. in offices, department
stores, other commercial buildings, as well
as facilities managed by energy service and
other energy companies. Niagara has
launched a good start in becoming the defacto standard for the building facility industry in the U.S.
The BEARCOS II system developed by
Tokyo Biso utilizes open frameworks, the
shosha Summer 2003
6
cornerstone to Niagara, to bring about a
vendor-free, open system. This enables lowpriced remote building monitoring and
multiple-building management. As a result,
customers are able to reduce facility management costs by reducing the number of
on-site managers during the day, switching
from full-time on-site management to management on rounds, and by leaving the
building site unmanned during the night.
In addition to this, the optimal building
facility management system can be achieved
by incorporating the Vykon Series in line
with user requirements. The Vykon Series
is a series of hardware and software products powered by Niagara with controller
functions and Web server functions.
Facility management costs contribute to
about 50% of building management costs,
in which a significant proportion is accounted to personnel costs. Through the launch
of BEARCOS II, Tokyo Biso is confident that
it will meet the needs of building owners
seeking to reduce building management
costs. Furthermore, Tokyo Biso seeks to
meet its sales objective of expanding the
BEARCOS II system into 300 buildings in
the next three years.
Marubeni and MNET are also in the
process of introducing Niagara into the
Nippon Koei headquarters building, via
Flexible Energy Service Co., Ltd., an energy
service company. In addition to Marubeni’s
aim in establishing Niagara as the industry
standard for building management system
integration in Japan and abroad, it will continue to pursue its adoption within the
energy service industry, wind power companies, companies that specialize in distributed power generation and other new
businesses.
The “AVENSIS” manufactured at Toyota’s
plant in England
The “AVENSIS Presentation Party” at the
Accra International Conference Center in
Ghana
Toyota Europe Design Development, while
the car itself is built at the Toyota factory in
the United Kingdom. In addition to creating a futuristic and sophisticated style, a
wide, spacious cabin space has been generated through the application of a new-generation package. AVENSIS offers superior
handling and passenger comfort through
the use of a newly designed suspension
system. The car has proven to be very popular in Ghana among individuals who have
tested the car and among the press. TGCL
aims to develop a new customer base and
further enhance its performance with the
introduction of this “medium-class luxury
sedan.” The AVENSIS is expected to be
imported and sold in Japan starting this fall.
URL: http://www.marubeni-newtech.com
“Marubeni Vision
Toyota Ghana Unveils Techno Center”
New AVENSIS
Opens
“Marubeni Vision Techno Center (Tokyo)”
(“MVTC Tokyo”) opened on July 2 in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. MVTC Tokyo will serve
both as a showroom for the machine vision
system and as the cradle for Marubeni’s
product concept development.
Machine vision system refers to the eye
of machines. As revealed by the spread of
digital cameras and videos, machine eyes are
now frequently used at production sites for
inspection and measurement.
The machine vision system is a technology that integrates mechanics, optics and
computer technology. However, it is not
easy for the user to obtain a machine vision
system it wants, since the elemental technologies are spread among a large number
of small manufacturers. Machine vision
system manufacturers also face the problem
of heavy R&D load resulting from the
uniqueness of each product.
MVTC Tokyo provides new, dual-faced
business features by providing users with the
optimal machine vision system solution that
is not bound to any specific manufacturers,
and by proposing machine vision product
concepts to system integrators. This is
accomplished through Marubeni’s business
network.
<Examples of Developed Products>
1. Inspection system for foreign material in
filled IV bags: Detects foreign material as
small as 100u floating in IV bags.
2. Inspection system for porosity on engine
bore liner: Inspects for air bubbles on the
inside surface of an engine bore liner
<Other>
Primary targets: Beverage, medical product,
electronics and automobile industries
Primary partners: Kurabo, NEC Robot Engineering, HISEC, etc.
<Marubeni Vision Techno Center>
URL: http://www.marubeni-visionsys.com/
Inside the Marubeni Vision Techno Center
Toyota Ghana Co., Ltd. (TGCL), a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Marubeni Group
held the unveiling of the “AVENSIS” on May
23 at the Accra Conference Center. A hundred media and affiliate companies were
invited, along with the Minister for Private
Sector Development, the Japanese Ambassador in Ghana, Managing Director of
Ecobank Ghana Ltd. and the Chairman of
the Council of State. The AVENSIS is a car
developed strategically for the European
market. The exterior design is conceived by
7
shosha Summer 2003
For additional news about Marubeni, please visit http://www.marubeni.com/news/index.html
The Khabarovsk Office
The Khabarovsk Chamber of Commerce
building where the Khabarovsk Office is located
Khabarovsk can be found on the bank of
the Amur River, in the middle of the
Russian Far East. The city has become
important to the Russian economy and
is the Far East’s largest administrative,
industrial, transport and cultural center,
with a population of 617.8 thousand
people.
The Khabarovsk Krai has about a hundred steel and saw mills, shipyards, foodprocessing and light industry factories.
The region as a whole covers 787,600km2
and about two-thirds of this area is covered with forests, making the timber
industry among the most developed
here. Of the forests in the Far East, 90%
are exploitable and of high market value.
The Khabarovsk Region is also rich in
ores, such as gold, platinum, tin, copper,
lead, and zinc; in addition, the area’s coal
mining and pipelines for crude oil and
natural gas attract a great deal of interest. Khabarovsk is one of Russia’s main
transport centers, with the region’s
biggest railroad as well as the ports of the
Amur River. In recent years, the city of
Khabarovsk has been developing rapidly
as the Russian economy as a whole continues to be stable.
In April 1990 Marubeni opened a liaison office in Khabarovsk, to cope with
the Russian economy’s regional diversification. Since then, the Khabarovsk
Office has played a major role in foreign
trade activities between the Russian Far
East and Japan. The core business fields
of the Khabarovsk Office are the export
of saw logs and coal to Japan and the
import of construction machinery. Our
main customers are timber producers,
who constantly need machinery for
timber provision. As the quality of Russian produced machinery still has not
reached the high technical level of that
produced in Japan, our clients greatly
appreciate the Japanese vehicles supplied
by Marubeni Khabarovsk.
I, Elena Degtyarenko, am the Sales
Manager of Khabarovsk Office and started working for Marubeni Khabarovsk in
1991. My first assignment was with the
Department of Construction Machinery,
importing machines to the Russian Far
East. Following these duties, I have
supervised and coordinated contracts
and deliveries for the machinery business. This work gave me substantial commercial experience and has led to an
increase in the number of import contracts. Now, my primary duties encompass a number of areas, including
machinery, raw materials and general
merchandise. To facilitate a smooth relationship with customers, I maintain daily
contact with the headquarters in Japan.
Working with Marubeni means getting
to know many people from different
parts of the world, who are all part of one
unified Marubeni team. This international corporate atmosphere as a sogo
shosha (integrated trading house) is very
inspiring, and provides a way of meeting
and interacting with a wide range of
diverse cultures.
The Khabarovsk Office took part in
some of the large-scale projects that have
made a positive contribution to the development of local industry in the region.
One of those projects is the procurement
of equipment for the production of dairy
products, realized within the funds provided by JEXIM (currently JBIC). For
this project, the Khabarovsk Office
worked together with the Industrial Plant
Section-I. Consequently, a baby-food
plant was opened in Khabarovsk in 1999
with equipment supplied from Japan and
Denmark that was arranged by Marubeni
Headquarters. Originally this project was
based on the Russian state program “The
children of Russia,” which intended to
provide people with fresh milk products
to improve infant health. During this
time, when economic reforms brought
inflation and instability, many people in
Russia were suffering great hardship, and
the establishment of this dairy product
plant for infants brought a sense of pride
to all the staff involved.
Another memorable achievement
of the Khabarovsk Office was equipping a newly built Medical Diagnostic
Center in the city of Irkutsk, which is
situated near the famous Lake Baikal.
The hospital has become a modern
center of advance technologies and
equipment, brought over from Europe
and Japan. This project was also funded
within the JBIC program. The Irkutsk
Diagnostic Center became a symbol of
business cooperation between Japan and
Russia when the leaders of the two countries shook hands with the doctors of the
Diagnostic Center during the historic
meeting in March 2001 between Yoshiro
Mori, then Prime Minister of Japan, and
Vladimir Putin, the Russian President.
– Elena Degtyarenko
The work area inside the Khabarovsk Office
The beautiful circus newly built in Khabarovsk
Established: 1990
Main Business and Products:
Saw logs, coal, construction
machinery and pipes
Employees:
2 local staff (as of April 2003)
Business Areas:
Far East of Russia, Japan
shosha Summer 2003
8
— Global Developments of Marubeni Affiliates —
From Seed to Sail
WA Plantation Resources
Pty Ltd
Address:
Perth Office: Level 5, BGC Centre, 28 The
Esplanade, Perth, Western Australia 6000
Regional Operational Offices in Bunbury,
Manjimup and Albany
Tel: 61-8-9420-8300 Fax: 61-8-9322-7895
Web: www.wapres.com.au
E-mail: [email protected]
Established: 1976 - Woodchip export business
1980 - First plantation
2000 - Acquired by Marubeni
Ownership: Marubeni 60% and Nippon Paper
Industries Co., Ltd. 40%
Main Business: Production and export of woodchip.
Plantation ownership and management.
Business Region: Southwest of Western Australia
Employees: 100 (as of June, 2003)
Marubeni has successfully traded woodchip from
Western Australia since this business was first set
up in 1976. In 2000 the opportunity arose to
take a direct interest in the business, and WA
Plantation Resources (WAPRES) was formed to
buy the woodchip and plantation management
operations, together with a large plantation
estate. Marubeni sold a 40% stake in WAPRES
to Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. in 2002,
strengthening the market position of WAPRES.
Currently WAPRES is a key supplier of three
Japanese paper companies.
The motto of WAPRES, “from seed to sail,”
reflects the vertical integration of its business –
from seed and seedling production, through the
growing, harvesting and processing of trees, to
the eventual export of woodchip. WAPRES has
operations spread across the southwest corner
of Western Australia. This area covers over
64,000 square kilometers and, unlike much of
9
shosha Summer 2003
one million tons per annum
Australia, which is dry
The spectacular ancient Karri forest in
export program, compared
and arid, is renowned
Western Australia(Photo courtesy of the
to just 10% in 1998.
for majestic ancient
WA Tourism Commission)
With the expansion of
forests and national
the industry, WAPRES is
parks, wineries, world
seeking to increase its profamous surfing beaches
duction capacity by building
and spectacular coasta woodchip mill near its
line.
export facility in Bunbury, a
The region’s mild
small coastal city about 200
Mediterranean climate
kilometers south of Western
and reliable rainfall creAustralia’s capital, Perth.
ates an environment in
This multi-million dollar
which both native forests
development will secure
and plantations can
WAPRES’s position as the
thrive. Among the indigeregion’s major producer
nous species found in the
and exporter of woodchip.
area are the spectacular
During 2003 WAPRES is
Karri forests. Karri is the
also planning to begin
second tallest hardwood
exporting from the historic
tree in the world, reachport city of Albany, 400 kiloing heights of up to 90
meters south east of Perth.
meters, and is ranked among the top 10 largest
As part of its commitment to sustainable
living things on the planet, weighing up to 150
forestry practices, WAPRES recently attained certons. The climate also allows WAPRES to grow
tification of its operations to the ISO 14001 Enviplantations of Tasmanian Bluegum (Eucalyptus
ronmental Management Systems Standard. This
globulus), an Australian native hardwood species
certification strengthens the reputation of
favored by pulp and paper mills around the world
WAPRES as a reliable, safe and secure exporter
due to its good pulping characteristics and light
of woodchip for the production of quality pulp
colored woodfiber. WAPRES currently manages
and paper products.
about 30,000 hectares of bluegum plantations,
mainly grown on land leased from farmers.
– Melissa Campbell
Bluegum plantations grow very quickly, and
every ten years they are harvested and re-grown.
WAPRES annually harvests about 4,000 hectares
of its own and other investors’ plantations to produce 750,000 tons of woodchip. WAPRES is
involved in a number of major national cooperative research programs with the aim of further
improving wood quality and growth rates in its
plantations. The quality and availability of
bluegum woodchip has seen plantations largely
replace native forests as a resource for woodchip.
The nurseries facilities can cultivate 10 million
Bluegum now comprises 75% of the WAPRES’s
seedlings per year
WA Plantation Resources Bunbury Port Facility
has exported over 20 million tons of woodchip
Over 800,000 tons of bluegum logs are delivered
each year to woodchip mills around the southwest
Want Something Very Japanese?
Part XIV: : The World of Seaweed – Experiencing the Ocean
Due to Japan being surrounded by the ocean, seaweed has been eaten for ages and many culinary cultures have been formed
around it. Seaweed is rich in iodine, minerals and vitamins. It is not only a part of traditional Japanese cuisine, but is also
an essential part of the Japanese food scene today among Japanese who treasure things that are good for the body.
Tokoroten (gelidium jelly) served with
mustard is one of the small chilled dishes
that adorns the summer table. This jelly
is formed from seaweed and enjoys a
long history.
There are around 100 types of seaweed appropriate for eating. Among
those often eaten in Japan are laver, gelidium, hijiki, konbu, wakame and mozuku.
The coasts along the islands of Japanese stretch narrowly north to south and
are washed by both warm and cold currents. The growth of seaweed is intimately dependent on ocean currents and
these conditions of the Japanese islands
are the source of a rich variety of seaweed. There are said to be 8,000 types
of seaweed in the world and 1,200-1,500
of these can be found in the waters surrounding Japan.
Seaweed has been eaten in Japan since
before agriculture began and the oldest
collection of Japanese poems – “The
Anthology of Myriad Leaves” (written
around 770) – includes at least 100 pieces
of tanka poetry (31-syllable poems) with
references to seaweed. This provides evidence of the familiarity of seaweed
among people in those days. In addition,
seaweed from all over the country was
already being delivered to the royal court
and there are 21 types of edible seaweed
recorded in the encyclopedia “Wamyouruijyusho” compiled around 930.
Seaweed was not only offered to gods
and eaten by royalty, it was also regularly consumed by the common people and
eaten as a preserved food.
In particular, the konbu variety of sea-
Tokoroten (gelidium jelly) a traditional chilled
summer dish in Japan
weed was processed and enjoyed as a type
of snack from the Kamakura Period (11921333). In the Muromachi Period (13341573) , the uses of konbu had spread to the
extent that soup stock made from konbu
was used in Zen cooking.
In the Edo Period (1603-1867), industry was promoted by each clan in their
efforts to accumulate financial prosperity and this led to distribution also taking
off. The national penetration of “Asakusa
- laver” is an example of this.
Even konbu farmed in Hokkaido is
now eaten widely thanks to the opening
Tengusa (gelidium) being dried on Dogashima
Island of Izu Peninsula
of transport routes on the Japanese Sea.
This konbu has been processed in Osaka
and many unique culinary methods have
hence been utilized. These steps led to
tsukudani (a preserved food created by
being slowly stewed in soy sauce, mirin
and sugar) and sliced konbu.
Gelidium jelly is formed by stewing
gelidium until it dissolves and then hardening it. The jelly was already being eaten
in the eighth century and it was at this
time that merchants selling gelidium jelly
began to enliven the streets of Edo
(former name of Tokyo) as a regular part
of summer. Agar, similar to gelatin, is also
formed from gelidium and the method
of making this by hardening it overnight
by chilling was also born in this period.
Seaweed is receiving much attention
for its nutritional value.
It is said that the quality of one's hair
improves by regularly consuming konbu
dashi (kelp soup stock base), used in
many Japanese dishes including miso
soup (soybean based Japanese soup) and
sumashijiru (traditional Japanese clear
soup). It may be that the lustrous, supple
black hair of Japanese women were
known for in the past was nurtured by this.
The ingredients of seaweed have also
been researched scientifically and the
benefits of agarose, fucoidan, sodium alginate and laver peptides are drawing
much attention. They have even begun
to be used in health foods and medicines.
There is also research being conducted into not just eating seaweed but also
using it in beauty products like shampoo
and gel type facial packs. There is even
a study being conducted regarding
improving soil with seaweed. It appears
that the relationship between Japanese
and seaweed will only be further
enriched.
shosha Summer 2003
10
Konbu Gallery
Kelp's position in Japanese culture
Among the different types of seaweed found in Japanese cuisine, kelp, or konbu in Japanese, holds a special place in the
hearts of the Japanese people. This article explores how kelp has come to be so widely consumed among the Japanese.
Bundling of dried kelp at
Rishiri Island, one of the most
famous kelp production areas
Kelp is normally grown in shallow waters 5
to 8 meters deep that face an open sea. More
importantly, however, is the degree of transparency of the water. Top quality kelp is grown
in an environment where the water has a rela-
tively high salt concentration and where sunlight is in abundance for the kelp to absorb.
The most suitable regions for growing top
quality kelp mainly lie around the Hokkaido
and Tohoku area.(see bottom-right map of the
propagation of kelp).
Kelp is collected mainly in the months of July
to September. The traditional way involves setting off early in the morning on specialized
boats and gathering kelp by using a unique tool
– a small rod tied to the end of a long one – and
wrap kelp around it. Kelp gatherers normally
return at around 8 o’clock in the morning.
The gathered kelp is cut at the root, and is
immediately sun-dried on the beaches. By
nightfall, the dried kelp is taken indoors,
where it is piled, covered by thin tatami (rushmats), and flattened.
Such a scene has become so familiar that
“kelp gathering” and “kelp drying” have
become common seasonal phrases in Japanese
poetry to depict the season of summer.
Kagamimochi as
New Year's decoration
For the Japanese, kelp represents festivities.
It is not only indispensable in everyday cooking, but also appears in felicitous ceremonies;
in weddings and other celebrations, it is used
as a lucky-charm. Furthermore, during the
New Year it is used both as a traditional decoration and in kagamimochi (a New Year's deco-
ration consisting of two large round rice cakes
- see photo). Also essential to the New Year is
osechi (traditional Japanese New Year cuisine)
that includes “konbu-maki” (herring wrapped
in kelp).
In the old days, it was said to be customary
to dedicate seaweed to the gods, and hence
kelp was considered to be lucky. A more
common explanation involves the similarities
between the word konbu or kobu (kelp) and
yorokobu (rejoice), thereby giving it both a
pleasant ring and an auspicious meaning.
Kelp is more than a lucky object, though; it
is also a good medicine. Kelp is effective in
decreasing blood pressure and preventing
shosha is published every three months by Marubeni Corporation. Address
all inquiries to Corporate Communications Dept., Tokyo Head Office,
C.P.O. Box 595, Tokyo 100-8692, Japan.
Publisher: Hidehisa Saito Editor: Shohei Nagai
http://www.marubeni.com/
Please e-mail any comments regarding
shosha to [email protected]
adult diseases because it consists of a higher
concentration of iodine than most other types
of seaweed. Iodine is important for the production of thyroxin in the thyroid gland, and
is helpful in making hair, nails and skin shine.
Becoming a part of the Japanese palate –
popularization of kelp in the Edo Period
Around the latter half of the 18th century,
when merchants prospered through commerce
and trade, transportation routes that connected production and consumption areas were
created. This resulted in the widespread distribution of goods targeting ordinary citizens.
The “Kitamae Ships,” a coastal freight vessel
that set off from Hokkaido and headed southwards through the Japan Sea until eventually
arriving in Osaka via the Setonaikai (Inland
Sea), formed one of the backbones of this
route. A typical item these “Kitamae Ships” carried for trade was kelp gathered in Hokkaido.
This made the final port of call, Osaka, the
largest kelp-processing center; in fact it still is
today. Along with seafood-based seasoning
katsuobushi (sliced dried bonito), light soy
sauce and kelp are key ingredients in making
soup stock in the Kansai region.
Kelp was even distributed to the Ryukyu
Kingdom (now Okinawa), far away from the
production areas of Hokkaido, through the
trade routes of the time. This explains why,
even today, Okinawa remains one of the largest
consumers of kelp.
Kelp is used in many of Okinawan dishes it is used with pork and tofu, fried dishes and
soup. Kelp and pork in particular are said to go well
together because of their complimentary flavors. It is also
no coincidence that
Okinawa is well
known for the
longevity of
its people.
©2003 Marubeni Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without
permission is prohibited.
Notice:Please send opinions and comments on the online articles to [email protected] by the end of October 2003, and we will send a gift of something
Japanese to five lucky contributors. Starting with this issue, “shosha” will be published exclusively as a quarterly electronic edition (PDF format) and can be viewed at:
http://www.marubeni.com/shosha/index.html
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shosha vol.76 READER QUESTIONNAIRE
Marubeni Corporation
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Cover Story
(The World of Sugar)
Comments:
Overseas
(The Khabarovsk Office)
Comments:
Voices from the World
(WA Plantation Resources Pty Ltd)
Comments:
Want something very Japanese?
(The World of Seaweed-Experiencing the Ocean with Konbu Gallery)
Comments:
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