MOSCOW (AP) – More than 87,500 people with COVID-19 died in Russia in November, the highest montly tally since the start of the pandemic, the state statistics agency reported on Thursday.
A report by Rosstat brought the overall number of virus-linked deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 to nearly 626,000 – more than twice the widely-cited toll reported by Russia’s state coronavirus task force to date. Rosstat uses broader criteria in its tallying system compared to the task force.
According to the Rosstat report, 71,187 deaths were caused directly by confirmed COVID-19, 8,939 deaths were likely caused by the virus but it wasn’t confirmed by a test, in 1,477 cases the virus significantly exacerbated fatal complications of other diseases and 5,924 people tested positive for the virus but died of other causes.
The surge came amid low vaccination rates and poor compliance with coronavirus restrictions.
Just 51 per cent of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though the country approved a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine – Sputnik V – months before most of the world.
Russia in recent months has faced a tide of contagion with record numbers of infections and deaths. The situation has improved over the past few weeks, but the authorities are now bracing up for a new wave of infection caused by the Omicron variant.
A Russian medical worker administers a dose of Russia’s Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine to a homeless man. PHOTO: AP
I would like to respond to the letter by Peanut Man on ‘Time to reflect on the past year’, published in the Opinion page on December 29.
The world has been battling COVID-19 for almost two years. The Sultanate has been more fortunate than most – we enjoyed over a year of relative freedom. Some countries are facing the sixth or seventh wave; we have thus far gone through two. While measures in the second wave were comparatively more restrictive than the first, with mask mandate and movement control to curb the spread, these were all necessary to fight off highly transmissible and deadly Delta variant.
With the number of new cases falling on a daily basis, we get to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. All the sacrifices we have made to comply with the health guidelines, such as not leaving home unnecessarily and wearing face masks at all times, have paid off. We are now in the Early Endemic Phase, with more de-escalation in the pipeline.
I understand the writer’s optimism. Thanks to the concerted efforts from the authorities, frontliners and the populace, we have been able to push back against the threats of the pandemic and regain some sort of normalcy. Of course, we can never get back the life we had before the COVID-19 outbreak; and it may seem frightening at times that we are moving into unchartered territory.
But I believe in the spirit of the populace, that with enough determination, we can live through this health crisis and come out stronger on the other side.
LILLE, FRANCE (AFP) – France international midfielder Jonathan Ikone has moved to Serie A side Fiorentina from French champions Lille, the selling club confirmed yesterday.
The 23-year-old will “sign definitively on January 3, the opening date of the Italian transfer window,” Lille said in a statement.
However, Lille added the four-time capped Ikone has been permitted to join his new club ahead of their resuming training following a winter break.
Ikone scored 16 goals in 150 appearances for Lille since joining them in 2018 from Paris St Germain.
Lille thanked him for his pivotal role in them finishing second in the league in 2018/19 and then going one better in the 2019/20 campaign.
Ikone leaves despite Lille having reached the knockout stages of the Champions League – they play holders Chelsea in the Last 16 – and sit eighth in the Ligue 1 standings, but only five points off second-placed Nice.
France international midfielder Jonathan Ikone. PHOTO: AFP
THE WASHINGTON POST – I have never paid attention to the specifics of the standard 13-gallon kitchen trash bags I pick up at Safeway or Costco. I just choose a box of plain white bags with drawstring closures. But over the past few years, I’ve noticed an explosion of options: stretchier panels to make overstuffed bags more flexible and tear resistant; bags in black or pastel colours, plus grey to match stainless appliances; bags made with recycled plastic; and, of course, the ubiquitous scented bags.
A search on Target’s website offers dozens of results for 13-gallon trash bags, whether from major manufacturers Glad and Hefty, the store’s own label or others. Numerous kitchen bag offerings these days have some sort of scent or odour controller, and I have to say, the thought of masking the aroma of crab shells with fake vanilla does not spark joy for me.
“The market has changed for sure,” said Director CC Ciafone of Marketing for Glad, a division of Clorox. Everyone’s been home and cooking more these past 19 months, she said, and the amount of residential trash produced has increased, bumping up sales of garbage bags. In 2020, the total market for trash bags in the United States rose 11.9 per cent over the previous year, according to Vice President Joan Driggs at IRI, a market research firm.
Ciafone said the contents of consumers’ trash have also changed. A positive note is that people have been recycling more and placing fewer cardboard boxes and plastic bottles in kitchen trash bags, she said. “But with so much more food waste, our trash tends to be stinkier, smellier wet trash.” That has increased the appeal of scented or odour-neutralising products. The latest release? Deep pink Glad ForceFlexPlus bags with a cherry blossom scent. They smell sort of like the Tidal Basin in April, mixed with a whiff of Febreze.
Clearly, my basic white bags make me as boring as anyone who still wears white underwear. But with so many options and features, how do you choose? Here are some things to consider when shopping for – and using – kitchen garbage bags.
A photo illustration of garbage bags. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
The spectrum of greener choices is growing. If you have thought more about the effects of household waste on the environment and have considered switching to a greener kitchen trash bag, know that there are a growing number of choices. But sorting through the terminology on the packaging can be daunting. Major manufacturers and smaller companies are creating bags labelled with a wide range of terms, such as “eco-friendly”, a catchall moniker that has endless interpretations and no official standards. There are also trash bags that are made with recycled materials or reclaimed plastic, or that are packaged in recycled paperboard. Some bags are made from plants, others from post-consumer plastic.
“There are multiple attributes that can make a bag more sustainable,” said Executive Director of the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) Rhodes Yepsen. “You have to choose the one that makes sense for your situation.” Yepsen said that, although there are many bags marked as being “biodegradable”, the term can be misleading on its own without additional information saying where they are disposed of and how long they take to break down.
Several states, including Maryland, even prohibit the term from being used on plastic products, Yepsen said.
Bags marked “compostable” are made to be used if you separate food scraps for composting, which keeps them out of landfills and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. If you compost through your municipality, you could use these as a liner.
A BPI seal on the packaging verifies that the bag was tested and that it meets the criteria for compostability. If you compost in your backyard, look for bags that say “suitable for home composting.” Keep in mind, though, that compostable bags are not appropriate for household trash that is headed to a landfill,” Yepsen said. Also, they also tend to be thinner than regular garbage bags, and may tear more easily.
“At the end of the day, we all have trash, and we need a way to collect it that is tidy and clean for us and the trash haulers,” Yepsen said. Beyond the type of bag you choose however, he said it’s important to make behaviour changes that are more environmentally friendly, including taking the time to recycle and compost whenever possible, and buying only what you need to avoid waste.
That row of numbers on the box has nuggets of useful information. At a quick glance, the numbers on the bottom of most trash bag box labels can be confusing. Most measure the size and capacity of the bag. Focus on the mil measurement (1/1000th of an inch), which tells you the thickness of the bag and the amount of plastic in it. This can be an indication of strength and how heavy a load the bag can hold.
However, other factors in the bag’s construction, such as it having flexible side panels, reinforced seams or multiple layers, can also play into its sturdiness. A 13-gallon kitchen bag is usually between 0.7 and 0.9 mil. If you have a big clean-out project with heavy, sharp objects, look for a contractor-grade bag of around three mil.
There’s more than one way to eliminate bad smells from trash. Odours are the number one consumer complaint when it comes to trash bags, Ciafone said. Bags with some sort of scent or odour-neutralising feature have taken off in the past 10 years. They now make up more than half of the assortment of the 13-gallon bags at Home Depot, according to Ryan Moy, Home Depot’s merchant of cleaning. Bags described as smelling like “fresh laundry” are the best sellers in this category, he said. Scented bags are particularly popular in households with diapers or litter boxes, or where trash sits for days before being taken out.
Glad has odour-neutralising technology in many of its bags. The additional scent, Ciafone said, is there for “consumer delight”. At Hefty, a division of Reynolds Consumer Products, Ultra Strong kitchen trash bags come with an Arm & Hammer odour neutraliser; eight have scents, and one is unscented.
Scented bags are not for everyone. They might give you a headache if you’re sensitive to fragrances. Another option is to go with bags with just an odour controller or neutraliser, which have no scent in and of themselves. “They just try to eliminate whatever smells you get in the trash,” Moy said.
The best odour controller of all, of course, is to take out your trash before it smells icky.
Does installation matter? Most of us don’t think about having a “method” of installing bags, and lifestyle hacks sometimes seem ridiculous. (However, I do subscribe to lifestyle hints columnist Heloise’s tip to keep a handful of bags at the bottom of the can, within easy reach.)
But TikTok has turned garbage bag replacement into an art, including various versions of the inside-out “hat method”. This approach involves popping the bag around the rim of the trash can like a hat and shoving it down into the can. Ciafone does not recommend this method with Glad bags. “Our odour neutralisation technology is on the inside of the bag,” she wrote.
“So it isn’t recommended to flip it inside out.”
How does a trash bag pro do it? Moy unrolls the bag, and then, he said, “I typically take it by the drawstring and give it a little snap and let the air pop it open. Then I put my arm into it and push through inside to the bottom of the can. I use the drawstring to hug the top of the trash can, wrapping it over the edge to make sure it fits snugly.”
LONDON (AFP) – The price of bitcoin hit record highs in 2021 thanks to support from traditional finance, but cryptocurrency specialists are struggling to predict next year’s outcome for the volatile sector.
Having more than trebled in value to USD60,000 between December 2020 and April, bitcoin has lost some shine to trade at under USD50,000 heading into the new year.
“The current choppy and directionless price action with a possibility of further pressure to the downside has introduced a lot of uncertainty to the digital asset market,” noted executive director at cryptocurrency investment fund ARK36Loukas Lagoudis.
He added, however, that “sustained adoption of digital assets by institutional investors and their further integration into the legacy financial systems will be the main drivers of growth of the crypto space” during 2022.
Bitcoin’s rise in 2021 coincided with Wall Street’s growing appetite for cryptocurrency.
The record high in April occurred with the stock market debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
October’s peak above USD66,000 followed the launch of a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), or type of financial instrument, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tesla boss Elon Musk helped the market rise – and fall – with controversial tweets about cryptocurrencies.
The move by El Salvador in September to make bitcoin a legal tender also made an impression.
But pressure has come from China’s crackdown on the trading and mining of cryptocurrencies, while the risk of wider regulatory action, from the likes of Europe and the United States (US), weighs on bitcoin.
“There is no certainty in crypto, never mind regulation,” said general counsel at digital assets exchange Bequant Huong Hauduc.
“However one thing is certain, the voices calling for crypto regulation, whether it be for tighter consumer protection or just clarity of the rules for institutions, are getting much louder.”
Created following the 2008 global financial crisis, bitcoin initially promoted a libertarian ideal and aspired to overthrow traditional monetary and financial institutions such as central banks.
In more recent times, climate change watchers have shone a spotlight on the huge amount of electricity used to power computers required to unearth new bitcoin tokens.
Guardian’s Centrepoint, Gadong branch re-opened yesterday with a brand new look, with staff handing out Kinohimitsu Royal Sweet Potato Sachet and popcorn to customers.
The Centrepoint store has undergone a complete makeover – a revamp to its new store concept.
The store is offering exclusive in-store promotions, including three packs of Guardian Handwash and three packs of Guardian Bodywash at attractive prices to celebrate the re-opening.
There is also a buy-one-free-one for Boditalks Lotions, price specials for Kose’s Face Wash and Garden of Eden’s serums.
Customers can also enjoy a 30-per-cent discount on Japanese and Korean brands such as Kundal, SNP and Mediheal.
Guardian staff greeting customers with gifts at the entrance of the outlet at Centrepoint. PHOTO: BAHYIAH BAKIR
Lucky draw prizes await customers who spend a minimum of BND20. Winners will receive a multi-function all-in-one hotpot, steel BBQ grill and roasting pan, Korean style electric grill pan and yankee candles.
Promotions and the lucky draw campaign at Guardian Centrepoint ends on January 16.
The brand revamping with a fresh orange look began with their 22nd store at Annajat branch in 2018 and the Hua Ho One City store the following year.
Guardian also revamped their Rimba point branch into a new concept store called Tornado Plus.
In February 2020, Guardian opened its 24th outlet at Abdul Razak Plaza and the 25th outlet at Midvalley Shopping Complex in June. The opening of its store in Jalan Sultan Omar Ali Seria marks the 26th store.
Guardian hopes to open four more stores to make it to 30 by the end of 2022.
PAOUA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (AFP) – “We are afraid. We cannot know where the mines are hidden.” It is a common refrain in conflict-wracked northwestern Central African Republic (CAR), where fear of being killed or maimed by explosive devices laid by rebels stalks the land.
The mines, which armed groups fighting government forces have concealed along countless thoroughfares, have also brought humanitarian action in the region grinding to a halt.
On the main drag in Paoua, a town some 500 kilometres northwest of the capital Bangui, a dozen taxi drivers wait for passengers outside the local market.
Their faces betray their anxiety as they wait under a blazing sun.
One of their number was recently killed after driving over a mine.
“He was the sixth to suffer that fate since the start of the year,” fretted local driver representative Lagos Yandja.
“Our job has become a dangerous one,” he told AFP.
A UN peacekeeper gives instructions to the Camerounese regiment before a patrol to avoid mine-infested roads in Paoua. PHOTOS: AFPABOVE & BELOW: Cameroonian UN peacekeepers get in to an armoured personnel carrier before a patrol in Paoua; and a UN armoured personnel carrier patrols on a supposedly safe road, avoiding roads with possible explosive devices on them
Three months after a car he was in ran over a mine, Augustin Ndusha can still hear the sound of the explosion in his head.
Ndusha, a humanitarian aid worker for the Danish Refugee Council, was travelling between towns in the Ouham-Pende province bordering Chad and Cameroon.
As his vehicle bounced along a road rendered more damaged than ever at the height of the rainy season, it was impossible to see the mine in time.
“I was sleeping in the vehicle. I heard a loud noise then a woman’s cry,” he recalled with a grimace.
Ndusha survived unscathed.
Mines have killed eight people, including two women and a five-year-old child, in the northwest since August, according to the United Nations (UN) mission in the country Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
‘TAKEN EVERYONE BY SURPRISE’
The country has long been plagued by militia violence, but in recent months armed groups forced out of the main cities have resorted to guerrilla tactics, laying mines to slow the advance of pro-government forces.
At the end of last year a coalition of the main armed groups – which had already controlled some two-thirds of the country – launched an offensive designed to force out President Faustin-Archange Touadera as he ran for a second term in power.
After several years of lower-intensity conflict rumbling along as a continuation of a civil war which erupted in 2013, recent months have seen a spike in violence.
The unrest in the country of almost five million people, which the UN ranks as the world’s second least developed, has left hundreds of thousands displaced and engendered a major humanitarian crisis.
President Touadera, who was re-elected in a vote late last year, declared a unilateral ceasefire in October after gains against the rebels.
However, widespread insecurity persists in the northwest of the country, which is suffering a serious food crisis.
In January the rebels arrived virtually at the gates of the capital before being pushed back by government troops with support from Russian paramilitaries.
The government claims to have since recaptured 90 per cent of the nation’s territory, but still faces stiff resistance in the northwest from the 3R rebel group, one of the country’s most powerful, which has resorted to laying mines at strategic intersections.
“They have taken everyone by surprise,” said one expert in the area who asked not to be named.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned in April of the “new threats” that explosive devices posed in CAR.
MINES BLOCK HUMANITARIAN AID
On a main road on Paoua’s outskirts, a MINUSCA convoy rolls cautiously along.
Inside their armoured vehicle a battalion of Cameroonian UN peacekeepers are silent.
As far as they know there are no mines on the road – but they are on their guard.
“The presence of explosive devices limits the number of patrols and handicaps the mission to protect civilians,” explained Noam Assouline, MINUSCA spokesman in the town.
On the road, a woman walks by with a bundle of grass perched on her head, looking carefully where she places her feet.
“When there was just fighting going on we would use the periods of calm in between to come in – but the mines block access,” said Mahoua Coulibaly, working for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Paoua.
The WFP has organised food airdrops in the region, where 61 per cent of the population are going hungry.
“But that remains exceptional,” Coulibaly said.
UN forces have carried out two de-mining operations to date in the area but have had to stop for now “due to a lack of specialists”, said MINUSCA engineer Major Javaid Khurram.
He added that those operations would resume “soon”.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 3.1 million people – two-thirds of the population – will require assistance in 2022.
THE STAR – AirAsia Group Bhd’s financial health seems less life-threatening now that it has an injection of about MYR975mil cash into the company.
The airline group completed its rights issue yesterday, raising MYR974.5 million, to support its overall fundraising strategy.
This includes the full subscription for their entitlements by its two largest shareholders Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun, which would cost them MYR257.3mil.
With the additional cash of MYR975 million on top of the earlier MYR500 million loan from Danajamin, MYR300 million from Sabah Development Bank and MYR336.5 million raised via private placement, the cash crunch resulting from the lockdown and the pandemic is no longer as alarming, TA Research said.
It believes this new capital can help the group weather through the darkness until it sees lights at the end of the tunnel.
For the third quarter of financial year 2021 (FY21), the group incurred MYR676.9 million in core losses compared to a MYR867.4 million loss in the third quarter of FY20.
For the first nine months of 2021, its core loss was at MYR2 billion versus MYR2.6 billion reported a year earlier.
“Will AirAsia be classified as a PN17 company after the 18-month relief period granted by Bursa Malaysia due in January 2022? We view that chances for AirAsia to reverse its MYR5.9 billion deficit in shareholders’ funds by then are slim.
“Having said that, we do not think this would be disastrous as AirAsia has been sorting its way out of the woods,” TA Research said in a report.
“The pandemic has challenged us, but the show must go on and we, as a film industry, are obligated to progress and grow,” said by Festival Director Siti Kamaluddin in her welcoming remarks at the virtual screening of the Brunei Film Blitz 2021 Awards screened on the OOPs! YouTube Channel.
The event was a ‘one-run-and-done’ premiere of 10 shortlisted films under three Blitz competitive categories – open category, Islamic short film and the 96 hour blitz.
This year, the award gala saw many firsts – this virtual screening, international film submissions and the introduction of the Imagine Choice Award.
The festival director also expressed her gratitude to the juries who lent their expertise to judge this year’s submissions.
Judge Balaka Ghosh said, “There were many interesting topics explored in the film entries, and I enjoyed watching the varieties of new content. The films were modern, yet highlighted the embedded culture and traditions reflective of the Southeast Asian region.”
Open category winner Gita Kinanthi Purnama Asri Adinda, an Indonesian filmmaker, received a trophy and BND1,000 for her dance film Sea Threshold. The film’s conceptual theme is rich in culture and values, showing deep respect towards nature and the environment.
Meanwhile, Islamic category winner Amal Nazihah, a local filmmaker, also received a trophy and BND1,000 with her film Censorship.
“This is a cinematically important topic to explore, and it is interesting to have a glimpse of the censorship process,” said Judge Daniel Rudi.
Amal Nazihah said the documentary was part of her Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) assessment, and she was grateful to the Brunei Film Blitz and the jury for the recognition.
The most challenging category, the 96 hour Blitz, was won by local filmmaker Alfath bin Sellahuddin with his film Teranah, earning him a BND1,500 cash prize.
In this category, the filmmakers were required to shoot and edit a quality film in four days. To ensure the participants will adhere to the specified production dates, a secret ingredient was announced by Blitz organisers which must be prominently presented in the story or visuals.
Alfath’s film utilised and executed the ‘Day-for-Night’ secret ingredient using soundscapes, lighting and colour grading to make daytime shooting seemed like it was filmed at night.
“The secret ingredient was indeed a challenge, but not impossible once you break down the technical elements of a night scene,” said Alfath. “I’d like to thank my family and my team for supporting me throughout my journey. I feel humbled in receiving the award.”
This edition of the Brunei Film Blitz also introduced an Imagine Choice Award. This accolade was given to a local filmmaker who demonstrated creativity and imagination in the production. After careful consideration, the Imagine jury selected Donny Jerome for his film The Haunted; a film that explored mental illnesses and the perspective of a young man suffering from schizophrenia.
The virtual event concluded with master film editor, Marya Ignacio, congratulating all filmmakers for their submissions.
“As a professional editor, I was impressed with many of the cuts and transitions.
Nonetheless, as a jury, I must caution filmmakers to avoid over-scoring in their films as visuals and sound must go hand in hand,” said Marya.
The Brunei Film Blitz will return in December next year.
ENIWA, JAPAN (AP) – The dozens of Type 90, or Kyumaru, tanks rumbling through recent shooting drills on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido exemplify the challenge its arms makers face both at home and overseas as the country fortifies its defences against strategic threats.
The Self Defense Force needs the more advanced aircraft and weaponry sold by United States (US) arms manufacturers as Japan’s strategic focus shifts from Russia in the north to the south, where it faces incursions by Chinese fighter jets and naval vessels and North Korean missile launches.
Big Japanese defence manufacturers like Mitsubishi, IHI Corp and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are struggling to sell 20th Century tanks, aircraft and warships. They need to develop better technology to serve a military in the market for unmanned aircraft like Tritons made by Northrop Grumman and Boeing’s undersea Echo Voyager.
Likewise, Japan’s international arms sales never really have taken off. Uncompetitive, with high prices, ageing technology and scant government support, arms makers in Japan increasingly are just withdrawing from the business.
The hefty Kyumaru tanks built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries debuted 30 years ago and are being replaced with lighter and more mobile armoured vehicles that can travel on public roads and or have amphibious capabilities, including American amphibious assault vehicles.
Japanese Ground-Self Defense Force Type 90 tanks at the annual drill with live ammunitions exercise at Minami Eniwa Camp in Eniwa, northern Japan of Hokkaido. PHOTOS: APABOVE & BELOW: Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s F-35A stealth fighter at Misawa Air Base in Misawa; and a Chinese coast guard vessel sailing near the East China Sea islands
“People may think Japan has advanced technology and it can quickly catch up with others and start selling equipment if it only gets serious, but I think that’s wrong,” said expert on defence issues and professor at Hokkaido’s Takushoku University Heigo Sato.
“The problem is, Japan’s defence products are not first grade. Nobody is interested in buying second- or third-grade products at higher prices,” he said.
Japan created its own Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency in 2015 to try to energise the sluggish domestic defence industry and promote joint technology research, development and sales with friendly nations. But profits have dwindled at home, as the government, instead of promoting sales, increased big-ticket purchases from the US.
Japan is the world’s 12th largest arms importer, with a 2.2-per-cent global share. Most purchases are from its ally the US, according to the latest survey by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a global research organisation.
A large and growing share of the JPY2 trillion (USD17.7 billion) annually in equipment purchases by the Defence Ministry are made through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. They more than tripled from JPY190.6 billion (USD1.7 billion) in 2014 to JPY701.3 billion (USD6.2 billion ) in 2019, when Japan placed orders for F-35 stealth fighters, missile interceptors and other expensive equipment to reinforce its defences against China and North Korea.
Haggling over expensive American jets and other equipment has slowed progress on revamping the nation’s defences, Defence Ministry officials said.
Japan has negotiated the cost of upgrading dozens of F-15 fighter jets, which had doubled from the initial US estimate, down to JPY397 billion (USD3.5 billion) from JPY552 billion (USD4.8 billion). To cut costs, Japan switched to domestic-made shorter-range air-to-surface standoff missiles from the initial plan to use US long-range anti-ship cruise missiles, among other revisions, they said.
Army officials at the Hokkaido drills said they’d take whatever equipment they can get. One official joked that his camouflage uniforms were surely still Japanese made.
Japan’s total defeat in World War II, when it tried to conquer much of Asia, has left many Japanese wary of military buildups. The postwar constitution limits use of force to self-defence, and a ban on arms exports was only lifted in 2014.
Moreover, Japanese scientists tend to be reluctant to engage in research and development of technologies that can be used for military purposes.
Since the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency was launched, Japan has sold just one finished product – a surveillance radar – to the Philippines. It first gave away five used TC-90 training aircraft along with pilot training and 40,000 items of parts for UH-1H multipurpose helicopters.
In 2016, a possible breakthrough sale of Soryu-class submarine technology fell through when Australia chose France to develop 12 diesel submarines. That USD65 billion contract recently was scuttled when Australia switched to nuclear submarines under the AUKUS pact with Britain and the US.
Negotiations to sell about a dozen US-2 ShinMaywa Industries sea planes to India have been held up by pricing disagreements. Japan’s attempts to export a radar to Thailand and frigates to Indonesia also ended unsuccessfully.
As a latecomer, Japan lacks the marketing and technology transfer expertise of the US, with its FMS programme, and other major exporters.
“Japan needs to be more competitive, more assertive and also be more willing to engage with customers in the marketing and promotion of defense platforms,” principal of Indo-Pacific research and analysis at the Janes Jon Grevatt told a recent online event.
The government and the industry haven’t entirely given up. Japan is developing its own long-range surface-to-air cruise missile, and as China’s military buildup now extends to cyberspace and outer space, the Defence Ministry has begun pushing for research and development of artificial intelligence-operated autonomous vehicles, supersonic flight and other “game-changing” technologies.
Experts said Japan should accelerate work on drones, satellite constellations and technology against electronic attacks. To fund such research, the ministry requested a record JPY291 billion (USD2.55 billion) budget for the year beginning in April 2022, up 38 per cent from this year.
Japan is also pursuing joint development of its next-generation F-X fighter jet with the US and Britain to replace its ageing fleet of F-2s by around 2035. Japan and Britain recently announced plans to jointly develop a future fighter aircraft engine demonstrator and to explore work on other air combat technologies and subsystems. The project includes Japan’s Mitsubishi and IHI and Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems in the United Kingdom (UK).
It’s a race against time as defence contractors drop out.
Japan Business Federation Senior Manager for the Defence Industry Yu Yamada said it has 60-plus member companies with defence-related operations, down by about 10 in recent years.
Komatsu Ltd, a leading construction equipment manufacturer, stopped developing and making armoured vehicles after upgrades failed to meet Defence Ministry requirements. Komatsu, once the seventh largest supplier, now only maintains existing fleets it supplied. It still makes ammunition.
In March, Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co sold its warship unit to Japan’s top contractor Mitsubishi. Daicel Corp, a major electronic and chemical material maker and supplier of warplane ejection seats, is dropping its unprofitable defense business to put resources elsewhere.
Sumitomo Heavy Industries stopped making 5.56-millimetre machine guns, citing a bleak long-term outlook.
If the trend continues, both the military and the defence industry could face supply problems, higher costs or quality concerns, Yamada said. “Supply chains cannot be reconstructed in just one to two years. The industry is facing a rather difficult situation,” he said.
In an emailed statement, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency acknowledged that keeping a domestic defence industry base was “a challenge” as companies withdraw.
“We must ensure businesses are succeeded smoothly so that the technology of key suppliers won’t be lost in case of withdrawals.”
