- Kanebo Fiber recently launched a new brand of shirts and blouses called "Unroue". Targeted at working women in their late twenties to thirties, they are made of a material containing raspberry and a provitamin precursor to vitamin C which have the effect of reducing subcutaneous fat, enabling the wearer to lose weight and become more attractive simply by wearing them. Kanebo advertises the new brand as "Shirts and blouses made of a material designed to enhance health and beauty". Kanebo plans in the future to put the material to a broader range of uses, including stockings and bedding.
- Shinwa Chemical has perfected a printing technology enabling deeply engraved complex molded casts to be easily decorated. Pictures created using a personal computer are printed in color onto a film that is then affixed to the desired cast. Shinwa was prompted by the development, through industry, university and government collaboration, of a film that stretches up to 1.5 times in size, and plans to enter the field of providing merchandise and experimental models using this technology.
- A new kind of "mirror curtain" has appeared on the market that, despite being made of lace, cannot be seen through from outside, thus protecting privacy. The curtain's special weave, mirror effect created by the use of a shiny thread, and triple-layer construction let through light but keep out prying eyes. Seen from the inside, the curtain also keeps out outside glare, curbing strong sunlight and cutting out ultraviolet light, thus preventing the discoloration and fading of carpets and tatami mats indoors due to sunlight. The curtain in addition screens out infrared light, and improves the efficiency of air conditioning in the summer.
- A compact indoor electric wheelchair, capable of rotating through 360 degrees has hit the market. The "M-Smart", as it is called, is just 590mm in width and has a small turning circle suiting it to conditions in homes in urban areas. With a world-best turning radius of 388mm, the chair can also negotiate floor height differences of up to 35mm. It can be recharged from ordinary domestic outlets and will run continuously for around 2.5 hours on a single charge. The price is \398,000.
- Itochu Fashion System and Pure Green have established a new venture called the Pure Green Project to make use of the catechin in green tea, and have brought to market three kinds of raw materials. These are a fine tea leaf powder containing 15~18% catechin, a catechin oil containing 0.4~0.5% catechin, and a fine tea leaf powder containing oil and 8~12% catechin. The two companies aim to enter the market for clothes (such as underwear, towels and curtains), skincare products (such as baby oil and face cleansers) and foods (such as cakes and dairy products).
- Yamato Protec, a leading manufacturer of fire extinguishers, has launched a recycling system for recycling the fire extinguishing agents in disused fire extinguishers. Under the system, now in full swing, around 50,000 disused fire extinguishers are collected each month, from which around 150 tons of fire extinguishing agent is removed for use in making new fire extinguishing agent. This scheme will enable companies to comply with the mandatory collection of fire extinguishers under amendments to the Waste Disposal Law currently being considered by the Ministry of the Environment.
- A steam-based system for carbonizing used disposable diapers generated by hospitals and similar institutions has hit the market, priced at \15 million. The unit bakes 150?of disposable diapers (equivalent to around 150 diapers) in 600 steam, compacting and carbonizing it to 7.5? in 4.5 hours. As the waste is not incinerated, the system helps cut dioxin emissions.
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