Latest news with #ToshiyukiTanaka
Japan Times
29-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
With tools and equipment spread out around them, a cluster of trainees watch as their instructor clambers up a ladder to demonstrate the installation of a new air conditioner. Running the gamut from basic safety protocols to proper communication and coordination, the trainees are in the midst of a weeklong training program at Daikin's newest sales company and training center in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. 'There is a lot of potential in Southeast Asia, especially in countries like Cambodia,' said Toshiyuki Tanaka, managing director of Daikin Airconditioning Cambodia. 'Even though Daikin as a company is a century old, Daikin Cambodia is barely a year old. It is still a baby, but will soon grow up.' Founded in Osaka in 1924, Daikin is one of Japan's oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan's population — and thus potential customer base — drops, the firm is keying in on overseas growth. The business' latest expansion into Cambodia highlights this shift. The kingdom's fast-growing population and predicted rise in median household income, paired with increasingly extreme heat due to climate change, makes Cambodia a solid bet for companies like Daikin. But as companies make major investments in Southeast Asia, experts note that more air conditioning access could exacerbate inequality issues rife in the region. Climate scientists, meanwhile, point to a vicious cycle that is likely to continue if unaddressed: as air conditioner use rises in Southeast Asia and around the globe due to extreme heat, so do emissions. Skyscrapers under construction in Phnom Penh. With continued growth expected for Cambodia's economy and population, air conditioning companies are keen to capitalize on the opportunity. | ANTON L. Delgado The global cooling industry is estimated to account for 7% of global electricity demand and 3% of carbon emissions, while the number of air conditioning units worldwide is expected to jump from 2.4 billion this year to 5.6 billion in 2050. 'The demand for air conditioning is so huge, its carbon footprint is equally high. That demand will not go away,' said Sanjay Srivastava, chief of the Disaster Risk Reduction Section within the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (U.N. ESCAP). 'Air conditioning does still have a role in both climate adaptation and mitigation, but only if technological innovations can catch up and make AC more efficient and reduce its emissions,' Srivastava said. 'This is where Japanese companies can play a very important role.' Emissions loop The Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is now impossible according to some leading scientists and a hotter world will mean more reliance on air conditioning. Amid that reality, dozens of countries, including Japan and Cambodia, and a large group of industry giants, including Daikin, signed the 2023 Global Cooling Pledge at COP28 in Dubai. But realizing the pledge's goals to reduce cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050, increase the global average efficiency of new air conditioners by 50% and significantly increase access to sustainable cooling by 2030 is a daunting task — especially as trends in fast-growing economies in regions, like Southeast Asia, point to a rise in the cooling industry's electricity consumption. An International Energy Agency (IEA) report published in 2019 found the energy use for air conditioners increased nearly eightfold over the past 30 years among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). An employee of Daikin Cambodia demonstrates the use of a safety harness during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. | ANTON L. Delgado While the report found that only 15% of homes in Southeast Asia have air-conditioning, the IEA forecasts higher temperatures and better wages could see the number of air-conditioning units in Southeast Asia jump from 40 million in 2017 to over 300 million by 2040. This predicted trend is what Daikin is positioning itself to capitalize on. In the announcement of Daikin's new Cambodia facilities, the company cited the kingdom as a 'promising market' because of its expected population growth. The release said that Cambodia's overall heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) market is expecting 10% annual growth over the next five years. Hem Vanndy, Cambodia's minister of industry, science, technology and innovation in Cambodia, said Daikin's move into the country 'represents more than a business expansion, it is a strong affirmation of the confidence that Japanese and other investors place in Cambodia's economic and industrial potential.' Japan is one of Cambodia's top foreign aid donors. Ties between Tokyo and Phnom Penh go beyond the political realm, including partnerships between universities and businesses spanning climate resilient infrastructure, landmine detection technology and a range of business sectors. Daikin is not the only major Japanese manufacturing company taking advantage of these predicted trends and Japan's existing relationship with countries in Southeast Asia. In May, Mitsubishi Electric Group opened a commercial representative office in Phnom Penh as it seeks to boost air conditioner sales in Cambodia. Earlier this year, Panasonic was reported to be boosting its production at its main factory for air conditioner parts in Vietnam and starting sales for HVAC infrastructure in Cambodia. 'With improving living and lifestyle standards in Cambodia, we are witnessing a rapid rise in demand for electrical appliances, air-conditioners and effective cold chain solutions, especially for the food and agro-industrial sector,' said Hem Vanndy. A vendor sells ice to passing fishermen during the dry season on Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake. Experts are warning that booming sales of air conditioners could exacerbate inequality and leave the country's laborers to struggle in a warming world. | ANTON L. Delgado This 'rapid rise' has been seen across the world and has led to the marked increase in the cooling industry's climate change-causing emissions. 'Our hope and plan is to contribute to Cambodia's goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, while also growing as a business in the country and across the region,' Tanaka said. Daikin, like many companies and countries, has vowed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Tanaka explained that Daikin's advancements in energy-saving mechanisms and a more eco-friendly refrigerant were designed to assist global goals to cut carbon emissions. According to Daikin's most recent sustainability report, the company's greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2023 totaled nearly 330 million tons of carbon dioxide. About 84% was emitted during the use of Daikin products, with air conditioners contributing 67% of these emissions — or nearly 222 million tons of CO2. To slash emissions, Daikin aims to switch to inverter products to improve efficiency and promote the use of low 'global warming potential' refrigerants, like the new R-32 refrigerant — the use of which contributed to a 19% reduction in residential air conditioner emissions in 2023. These efforts are gaining added importance as climate change accelerates. Trainees practice installing an air conditioner at a Daikin facility in Phnom Penh. Daikin has vowed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 as it seeks to rollout more efficient products. | ANTON L. Delgado Extreme heat is beginning to outrank Southeast Asia's many other hazards, said UNESCAP's Srivastava, who challenged industry leaders to follow through on their ambitions for net neutrality through innovation. 'This is where the role of air conditioning companies becomes so important,' Srivastava said. 'The innovation in air conditioning technology needs to have minimum carbon footprints, efficient to reduce energy consumption, if you want air conditioning to be part of combating extreme heat.' Rising inequality Heat scholars, meanwhile, point to inequality issues inherent in the rollout of technology that not everyone can afford. 'Air condition can be very good if you can afford it, but that depends on whether or not you can pay the bills,' said Jason Kai Wei Lee, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. 'Climate change is an inequality issue. We will further exacerbate inequality because those who are most vulnerable, usually will not have access to technology like aircons.' Workers lay pipes at a contruction site in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is expected to see 10% growth over the next five years in its heating, ventilation and air conditioning market. | ANTON L. Delgado As Southeast Asia's rainy season brings a welcome relief to the extreme heat across the region, Lee, who also leads the university's Heat Resilience & Performance Centre, notes that 'air conditioning is one of the best inventions of humankind, but the problem is that this technology should be allocated to those who need it most and that is not happening.' He specifically cited farmers, fishers and construction workers, exceedingly common professions in Southeast Asia with a high exposure to extreme heat. 'Heat is a silent killer,' Lee said. 'You can feel it for sure, but you can't see and it comes and goes, like a ghost, which makes people forget about it during certain seasons. But if left unaddressed, extreme heat will continue to creep in as a crisis in Southeast Asia.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Song Written by Japanese POW in Mongolia Transcribed to Sheet Music for First Time
The Yomiuri Shimbun Toshiyuki Tanaka, left, sings 'Toraware no tabibito' in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, on March 7. A song created by Japanese prisoners of war interned in Mongolia following the end of World War II has been transcribed to sheet music by a singer in Saitama Prefecture. The singer, Toshiyuki Tanaka, made the transcription at the request of the internees' bereaved families. The transcription is a precious document of the internment in Mongolia. The families are hoping that it will become a symbol of friendship between Japan and Mongolia. The Yomiuri Shimbun The completed sheet music of 'Toraware no tabibito' Gin no koya o kyo mo yuku Rakuda no mure wa oraka ni (We go to the silver wilderness again today A herd of camels look easygoing) Thus starts the song, 'Toraware no tabibito' (Travelers in captivity). In February, the song was performed at a recital in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, by Tanaka, 68. He sang in his deep baritone voice while accompanied by pensive piano-playing in front of an audience of about 40 people. 'I began to be overwhelmed by the sentiments of the internees,' said a teary 62-year-old woman who listened intently to the performance. The catalyst for the transcription came in autumn 2017, when Kobe-based former internee Masao Tomohiro, 100, sang the song at a meeting of a group comprised of former Mongolia internees and their families. Fusae Suzuki, 88, from Tokyo, who lost her father in Mongolia, was at the meeting that day. Suzuki thought she must do something to pass the song down for posterity. Her determination grew stronger when the group dissolved due mainly to the members' aging. The Yomiuri Shimbun Fusae Suzuki Last August, she asked for help from Tanaka, whom she met at a private study group. Through listening to a video recording of Tomohiro's singing, Tanaka transcribed the song note by note, completing the melody in February. Sakura ka kiku ka aoba ka to Kaeritsuku hi no yorokobi o Katatta tomo wa sudeni naku Ihatsu mo koru ro no yoru (Cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums or green leaves The joy of returning home A friend who spoke about it is already gone The hair he left freezes at night in jail) The song's lyrics describe the severity of internment and the homesickness of the internees. Suzuki's father, Jun Arai, who lived in Manchuria (in northeastern China) as a trade company employee, was conscripted into the army shortly before the end of the war. As soon as the war ended, he was forcibly sent to Mongolia. He died about six months before internees were allowed to return to Japan. 'I think the only thing that helped him hang on was his longing for home,' she said about her father's suffering. Internment in Mongolia Most of the approximately 575,000 Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union during World War II were sent to Siberia. However, about 14,000 of them were taken to Mongolia, which was fighting in the war against Japan alongside the Soviet Union. The prisoners of war were forced to do construction work for the Mongolian government building, a state university and other structures in Ulaanbaatar. About 1,700 of the internees are believed to have died due to severe cold and hard labor. A supplement of 'Horyo Taikenki 1' — the first volume of a record of the internment in Siberia and Mongolia published in Japan in 1998 — states the names of the lyricist and the composer of the song. Although it cannot be definitely confirmed, their names' characters were likely read as Toshie Yamada and Ryoichi (or Yoshikazu) Takahashi, respectively. Yamada was a medical officer, and Takahashi was a graduate of a music college, according to journalist Hirohiko Ide, 69, a former Yomiuri Shimbun staff writer who has reported on the internment in Mongolia. Other details about the song remain unknown, however, and no sheet music has been discovered. Unlike the cases in Siberia, where there were many internees, there are hardly any records about the songs written during the internment of Japanese in Mongolia. Of the 252 songs recorded in the 1998 book, only five are about internment in Mongolia. 'I suspect 'Toraware no tabibito' is the only song that has been transcribed,' Ide said. While the internees focused on their days of hardship and pain in the songs, they also found some peace of mind. The Yomiuri Shimbun Masao Saito Masao Saito, 99, who now lives in Sapporo, was one of the internees. The severe cold would freeze even their eyelashes. At night, they had to endure icy cold and hunger in the drafty camps. 'We didn't have anything to enjoy, so we eased our souls with the songs,' he recalled. The score for 'Toraware no tabibito' ends optimistically with the piano accompaniment ending in a major key. '[It's] because I want this song to help nurture friendship and peace between the two countries,' Tanaka said. In July, the Emperor and the Empress will make an official visit to Mongolia. A visit to a memorial monument for the Japanese internees during the trip is under consideration. 'I hope many people will learn about the hardships of the internment as well as the fact that Japanese were involved in the modernization of Mongolia,' Suzuki said. 1,522 internees identified Starting in 1991, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry started receiving lists from Mongolia of the names of internees who died in captivity. The ministry is working on identifying the internees through the lists as well as relevant Japanese documents. So far 1,522 internees have been identified. Meanwhile, the recovery of the internees' remains in Mongolia started in 1994 and more or less ended in 1999. The possible resumption of the bone collection work will be discussed if there is new information about a burial place of the deceased internees. The government used to organize memorial trips to Mongolia for members of bereaved families, but a trip has not taken place since 2019 due to the decline in the number of participants, among other reasons.
