Great Gear - 2012/11/21

Nov. 21, Wed.
Special Report: Zero Carbon House Project

We take a look at a house that was built by a group of Japanese researchers with the goal of eliminating CO2 emissions over its entire life cycle. This was made possible using technologies and materials that already existed.

The reduction of CO2 emissions is a long-term global goal, but unfortunately there has been surprisingly little reduction in overall CO2 emissions in the housing industry. That's why researchers started experimenting with a new way of building homes and came up with a pretty impressive house. The name of their project is LCCM, which stands for Life Cycle Carbon Minus. Their goal is to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions during the life span of the house, from when it is built to when it is torn down. They hope to achieve this goal within 30 years. This house is a demonstration model which is regularly open to the public. There are 20 sensor devices located throughout the home so that visitors can easily see the amount of sunlight, room temperature and energy conservation.


On Site: JISMEE 2012 : Japan International Small and Medium Enterprises Exhibition

We visit a tradeshow which features products, technologies and services developed by start-ups and small-to-mid-size companies. Join us as Brian Hughes discovers an amazing variety of the latest products, technologies and systems.

Schedule: Oct 10-12, 2012
Location: Tokyo Big Sight

Many industrial innovations occur not in large companies, but in small or medium sized ones. While many of the companies are quite small, their ideas are big, and they're all hoping for a chance to make them even bigger.
The tradeshow featured a wide variety of products born from such ideas, including a miniature EV developed to be used to train young developers joining the auto industry, colorful titanium bolts born from a personal hobby, a compact clean room that is energy-efficient and portable, a new robotic hand which can be attached to already existing industrial robotic arms, a new kind of folding bicycle cart that is easy to set up, and a new kind of packaging that keep their contents fresh.


+Style: Ekiben - When a Train Ride Becomes a Culinary Experience

"Bentos", a kind of boxed takeout meal, are a unique part of Japanese food culture. In this "+Style" segment, we take a look at one particular category of bento - the "ekiben" or "station bento".

"Ekiben" are bentos sold at train stations which travelers eat on long train rides. Although the ekiben's popularity had been decelerating for a while, recently, it has begun to rise again because a wide variety of new kinds of bento meals have come up on the market. Following the trend of their booming popularity, a new ekiben shop featuring regional meals from around the country has opened in the newly renovated Tokyo station. One of the new stores that opened there is Ekibenya Matsuri which is the largest store specialized in ekiben in Japan. This shop sells on average 10,000 boxed meals a day, and the figure can reach 25,000 ekiben sold daily during peak periods. We also pay a visit to their specialized kitchen to see the process of making ekiben.


Further Info:

Please note that some of the products or services featured in this program may be prototypes and not be sold at stores. NHK is not responsible for any damages, losses or injuries caused by the usage of these products or services.
On Site : JISMEE 2012 : Japan International Small and Medium Enterprises Exhibition
- Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN
http://www.smrj.go.jp/jismee2012/en/index.html
Head Office +81-3-3524-4668

- MODI CORPORATION
http://www.modi.co.jp/ (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-191-23-4373

- OKITSURASEN Co., LTD.
http://www.okitsurasen.co.jp/titanium2/index.html (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-54-369-0111

- Sanpo Electrical And Mechanical Engineering Corporation
http://www.seamec.co.jp/English/index_e.htm
Head Office +81-6-6364-1471

- DOUBLE Research and Development Co., LTD
http://www.j-d.co.jp/dhand/dhand_top.html (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-46-206-5611

- Nakamura Ringyo
http://nakamuraringyo.com/ (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-957-82-2714

- AITECHNOS CO., LTD.
http://www.aitechnos.com/ (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-594-74-4011

- YUSHIN CO., LTD.
http://dangan-v.com/en/index.html
Head Office +81-256-39-7007

- Sanki Co., Ltd.
http://www.sanki-web.net/tsumekae/ (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-3-3742-2345
+Style : Ekiben - When a Train Ride Becomes a Culinary Experience
- Ekibenya Matsuri
http://www.nre.co.jp/shop/db/detail_00609/ (Japanese only)
Shop +81-3-3213-4352

- Nippon Restaurant Enterprise Co., Ltd.
http://www.nre.co.jp/nre-daimasu/index.html (Japanese only)
Head Office +81-3-3810-7551
Special Report : Zero Carbon House Project
- BUILDING RESEARCH INSTITUTE, JAPAN
http://www.kenken.go.jp/english/contents/lccm/index.html
Head Office +81-29-864-2151

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