Tokyo Electric Power Co. has asked a third-party panel tasked with assessing its financial standing to approve an increase in electric charges of at least 10 percent, but the panel plans to reject the request, it was learned Saturday.
The panel, which the government appointed in June, will instead ask TEPCO to work harder to cut costs.
TEPCO wants to raise electricity fees as it has had difficulty coping with the surge in fuel costs for its thermal power plants, according to sources.
The utility is operating its thermal power plants at full capacity to offset shortfalls in electricity following the outbreak of the nuclear crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Taking the month of August as an example, TEPCO calculates the rate hike would increase the financial burden of a standard household by 660 yen.
TEPCO expressed its wish to the panel to raise the electricity charges by a fixed amount of 10 percent or more, rather than an amount proportionate to the change in fuel costs every three months, the sources said.
The power company told the panel it planned to raise the electricity charges temporarily until the nuclear reactors that have been suspended for routine checkups at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture are restarted. Only two of the seven reactors at the power plant are now operating.
Expecting its fuel costs to rise about 700 billion yen over a one-year period, TEPCO is believed to have decided the rate hike is inevitable as the rise in fuel costs will squeeze the company's profit, making it difficult to compensate the victims of the nuclear crisis.
According to a government estimate, TEPCO needs to raise electricity charges by 16 percent to cover the losses caused by the rise in fuel costs. The company refrained from requesting that big a hike, as it plans to fill the gap by trimming labor costs, according to the sources.
According to TEPCO, a standard household normally would be expected to pay about 6,683 yen in electricity charges for the month of August. If TEPCO's plan to raise electricity charges were approved, the figure would rise to 7,350 yen, or more.
However, the third-party panel, which is assessing TEPCO's ability to cut costs and examining the power company's assets to be sold, is believed to have judged that TEPCO can do more to trim its costs.
The panel is also concerned that the electricity charge hike will be prolonged, as it is unclear when the nuclear reactors of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant will restart.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110827003536.htm
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Japanese Watching TV less - Down to 3.5 hours per day
The Japanese, once one of the most TV-addicted people on the planet, are drifting away from the tube -- forcing networks to scramble for other sources of revenue, from pic production, satellite services, Internet streaming sites and other new technologies.
Daily TV viewing time, which averaged more than five hours in the 1970s, shrank to 3 hours and 28 minutes by 2010, according to figures compiled by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute.
Males aged 10 to 20 are watching less than two hours a day.
Meanwhile, program ratings have been trending downward for terrestrial networks, pubcaster NHK and commercial rivals TV Asahi, NTV, TBS, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo, despite spikes for major sport events and other special programming.
In June not one show on commercial TV in the 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. "Golden Time" slot won a rating of 10 or above -- once considered the minimum for survival.
Various causes have been advanced for the ratings slide. Like other countries, Japanese families no longer sit around the TV watching the same show, as viewers did in the industry's 1960-to-1990s heyday. The Japanese now consume entertainment on a range of platforms, including PCs, smartphones and game consoles.
Also, an estimated 100,000 households, failed to make the switch from analog to digital in July, and have effectively given up TV entirely.
But the biggest cause, says Hiro Otaka, a media analyst for the Bunka Tsushin entertainment news services, is that "the programs have become boring."
Otaka blames network execs who have responded to falling ratings by cutting costs and hedging their bets.
"They don't put as much money or creativity into the shows as they used to, so program content has declined," he says. "You have so many of these cheaply made variety shows with comedians, it's hard to tell them apart. Viewers have just become tired of the same thing again and again."
At the same time, well-paid network execs are becoming "salarymen," Otaka says, using a Japanese-English term that has a negative connotation of conformist timeclock-puncher.
Innovation could come from the burgeoning satellite sector. Using frequencies freed up by the end of the analog broadcasts in July, the number of broadcast satellite channels is skedded to grow from 12 to 31 by March.
Otaka, however, is skeptical that Japanese versions of high-quality shows like "The Wire" will emerge from such strands.
"They don't have the money for one thing -- Japan is a small market compared to the U.S. Also, only the terrestrial networks have true nationwide reach. The satellite channels and local stations can't compete."
Imported shows are a potential source of stimulus, but there are few on skeds. Fuji TV broadcasts "Mad Men" at 2:30 a.m., while TV Tokyo airs "24 Hours."
Fuji TV has drawn flack for programming too many Korean dramas -- part of the so-called "Korean Wave" (in Japanese, hanryu) of pop culture that has been sweeping the country in the past few years.
An estimated 6,000-10,000 demonstrators protested against Korean content outside Fuji's headquarters Aug. 21.
"Fuji is overdoing it," says Otaka. "It needs to be more selective about the quality of the Korean shows it programs. Right now, it's airing so many because they're cheap -- but that only contributes to the downward spiral."
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118041846?refCatId=19
Daily TV viewing time, which averaged more than five hours in the 1970s, shrank to 3 hours and 28 minutes by 2010, according to figures compiled by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute.
Males aged 10 to 20 are watching less than two hours a day.
Meanwhile, program ratings have been trending downward for terrestrial networks, pubcaster NHK and commercial rivals TV Asahi, NTV, TBS, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo, despite spikes for major sport events and other special programming.
In June not one show on commercial TV in the 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. "Golden Time" slot won a rating of 10 or above -- once considered the minimum for survival.
Various causes have been advanced for the ratings slide. Like other countries, Japanese families no longer sit around the TV watching the same show, as viewers did in the industry's 1960-to-1990s heyday. The Japanese now consume entertainment on a range of platforms, including PCs, smartphones and game consoles.
Also, an estimated 100,000 households, failed to make the switch from analog to digital in July, and have effectively given up TV entirely.
But the biggest cause, says Hiro Otaka, a media analyst for the Bunka Tsushin entertainment news services, is that "the programs have become boring."
Otaka blames network execs who have responded to falling ratings by cutting costs and hedging their bets.
"They don't put as much money or creativity into the shows as they used to, so program content has declined," he says. "You have so many of these cheaply made variety shows with comedians, it's hard to tell them apart. Viewers have just become tired of the same thing again and again."
At the same time, well-paid network execs are becoming "salarymen," Otaka says, using a Japanese-English term that has a negative connotation of conformist timeclock-puncher.
Innovation could come from the burgeoning satellite sector. Using frequencies freed up by the end of the analog broadcasts in July, the number of broadcast satellite channels is skedded to grow from 12 to 31 by March.
Otaka, however, is skeptical that Japanese versions of high-quality shows like "The Wire" will emerge from such strands.
"They don't have the money for one thing -- Japan is a small market compared to the U.S. Also, only the terrestrial networks have true nationwide reach. The satellite channels and local stations can't compete."
Imported shows are a potential source of stimulus, but there are few on skeds. Fuji TV broadcasts "Mad Men" at 2:30 a.m., while TV Tokyo airs "24 Hours."
Fuji TV has drawn flack for programming too many Korean dramas -- part of the so-called "Korean Wave" (in Japanese, hanryu) of pop culture that has been sweeping the country in the past few years.
An estimated 6,000-10,000 demonstrators protested against Korean content outside Fuji's headquarters Aug. 21.
"Fuji is overdoing it," says Otaka. "It needs to be more selective about the quality of the Korean shows it programs. Right now, it's airing so many because they're cheap -- but that only contributes to the downward spiral."
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118041846?refCatId=19
Monday, August 22, 2011
45% of Kids tested around Fukushima Show traces of radiation in Thyroid
In a terrible piece of news - but of course, the Government is not alarmed - levels "not problematic" and that they wouldnt be telling the parents.....
======================================================
Forty-five percent of children tested in the region around Japan's stricken nuclear plant were found to have traces of radioactive elements in their thyroid glands, an official said Thursday.
The official said that the iodine concentrations -- found in tests that the government carried out about five months ago in Fukushima prefecture -- were not considered alarming in terms of their health impact.
"The government's official position is that none of the children showed radiation levels that would be problematic," he told AFP.
The government's nuclear accident taskforce tested 1,149 children aged up to 15 about two weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns, blasts and fires at the Fukushima plant.
Radioactive iodine tends to gather in the thyroid glands of minors in particular, increasing the risk of developing cancer later in life.
Of the valid test results collected for 1,080 children, 482 or 44.6 percent were confirmed to have some level of radioactive contamination in their thyroid glands, the government official told AFP.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said none of the children suffered contamination beyond the equivalent of 0.2 microsieverts (mSv) per hour, the standard set by Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission.
"Only one child showed a contamination level of 0.1 mSv per hour, the highest of the group," the official said without giving the child's sex or age.
The commission recommends that children, especially young ones, whose thyroid gland is contaminated beyond the 0.2 mSv limit undergo an in-depth physical checkup, citing international standards.
The commission is considering tightening its safety standard to 0.1 mSv.
The children tested came from three municipalities -- Iwaki city, Kawamata town and Iitate village -- where especially high levels of radiation had been estimated after the accident, the official said.
The Fukushima government plans to conduct life-time medical checks for the estimated 360,000 people aged 18 or younger who were in the prefecture at the time of the nuclear accident.
The taskforce medical team began sending test results to the families of the children last week and gave a briefing on Wednesday to a group of parents and guardians in Iwaki city.
Some participants complained that the team took months to inform them of the detailed results despite the gravity of the nuclear accident, the world's worst since Chernobyl 25 years ago, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.
The government official said the taskforce did not consider informing the families of the details results as a priority since no child had shown contamination levels beyond the safety limit
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jn5dpQ-4-LeFD6NZ_yzv2njTZ5aA?docId=CNG.de226b3f8ca77186559071adc6e480e0.4c1
======================================================
Forty-five percent of children tested in the region around Japan's stricken nuclear plant were found to have traces of radioactive elements in their thyroid glands, an official said Thursday.
The official said that the iodine concentrations -- found in tests that the government carried out about five months ago in Fukushima prefecture -- were not considered alarming in terms of their health impact.
"The government's official position is that none of the children showed radiation levels that would be problematic," he told AFP.
The government's nuclear accident taskforce tested 1,149 children aged up to 15 about two weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns, blasts and fires at the Fukushima plant.
Radioactive iodine tends to gather in the thyroid glands of minors in particular, increasing the risk of developing cancer later in life.
Of the valid test results collected for 1,080 children, 482 or 44.6 percent were confirmed to have some level of radioactive contamination in their thyroid glands, the government official told AFP.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said none of the children suffered contamination beyond the equivalent of 0.2 microsieverts (mSv) per hour, the standard set by Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission.
"Only one child showed a contamination level of 0.1 mSv per hour, the highest of the group," the official said without giving the child's sex or age.
The commission recommends that children, especially young ones, whose thyroid gland is contaminated beyond the 0.2 mSv limit undergo an in-depth physical checkup, citing international standards.
The commission is considering tightening its safety standard to 0.1 mSv.
The children tested came from three municipalities -- Iwaki city, Kawamata town and Iitate village -- where especially high levels of radiation had been estimated after the accident, the official said.
The Fukushima government plans to conduct life-time medical checks for the estimated 360,000 people aged 18 or younger who were in the prefecture at the time of the nuclear accident.
The taskforce medical team began sending test results to the families of the children last week and gave a briefing on Wednesday to a group of parents and guardians in Iwaki city.
Some participants complained that the team took months to inform them of the detailed results despite the gravity of the nuclear accident, the world's worst since Chernobyl 25 years ago, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.
The government official said the taskforce did not consider informing the families of the details results as a priority since no child had shown contamination levels beyond the safety limit
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jn5dpQ-4-LeFD6NZ_yzv2njTZ5aA?docId=CNG.de226b3f8ca77186559071adc6e480e0.4c1
Fukushima Evacuation Area to be off limits for years
Radioactive contamination may keep some areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex off limits for years, Japan's government said Monday.
In its first detailed survey of the evacuation zone around the plant, the education ministry said it found spots—mostly within three kilometers (nearly two miles) of the plant—where annual radiation exposure could reach 200 to 500 millisieverts. The government requires people to evacuate if the cumulative dosage is likely to exceed 20 millisieverts per year. The annual limit for nuclear-plant workers in normal circumstances is 50 millisieverts (250 millisieverts in emergency conditions).
"Some places may have to be kept off-limits to residents for a long period of time even after clean-up operations are undertaken," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference. His comments followed Friday's announcement that levels of radioactive contamination were higher in some areas in the 20-kilometer evacuation zone than were found in the plant compound itself.
Mr. Edano said various options are under consideration to help people who may be displaced for a long time, including government purchase or rental of their land. Policy details will be determined in consultation with local authorities based on the results of a further radiation survey and decontamination programs, he said.
On Sunday, reconstruction minister Tatsuo Hirano said the government also is considering providing long-term housing for evacuees rather than the prefabricated temporary homes the government currently is building.
Other government officials noted that decontamination is possible but will take time. Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the Fukushima crisis, stressed that "nothing has been decided on the evacuation policy, and the desires of local residents will come first in any decision."
The government had hoped to narrow the evacuation zone gradually after January, the target date for Tokyo Electric Power Co. to bring the damaged reactors fully under control and stop deadly radiation emissions. But the education ministry's measurements of radiation levels at 50 locations within the 20-kilometer radius showed annual exposure could exceed 100 millisieverts in 15 locations, including one where it could reach 508 millisieverts, compared with the government 20 millisieverts per year standard for evacuation.
The discovery of elevated radiation came as Tepco reported a sharp drop in levels inside the plant. Tepco has said the level stands at just 0.4 millisievert per year along the boundary of the plant compound, well below the normal limit of one millisievert for ordinary citizens.
"Radiation spreads like a typhoon," said an official with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the main nuclear regulator. "The amount of radioactive substance can be small at the eye of the typhoon, but very large outside."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903327904576524122257910948.html
In its first detailed survey of the evacuation zone around the plant, the education ministry said it found spots—mostly within three kilometers (nearly two miles) of the plant—where annual radiation exposure could reach 200 to 500 millisieverts. The government requires people to evacuate if the cumulative dosage is likely to exceed 20 millisieverts per year. The annual limit for nuclear-plant workers in normal circumstances is 50 millisieverts (250 millisieverts in emergency conditions).
"Some places may have to be kept off-limits to residents for a long period of time even after clean-up operations are undertaken," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference. His comments followed Friday's announcement that levels of radioactive contamination were higher in some areas in the 20-kilometer evacuation zone than were found in the plant compound itself.
Mr. Edano said various options are under consideration to help people who may be displaced for a long time, including government purchase or rental of their land. Policy details will be determined in consultation with local authorities based on the results of a further radiation survey and decontamination programs, he said.
On Sunday, reconstruction minister Tatsuo Hirano said the government also is considering providing long-term housing for evacuees rather than the prefabricated temporary homes the government currently is building.
Other government officials noted that decontamination is possible but will take time. Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the Fukushima crisis, stressed that "nothing has been decided on the evacuation policy, and the desires of local residents will come first in any decision."
The government had hoped to narrow the evacuation zone gradually after January, the target date for Tokyo Electric Power Co. to bring the damaged reactors fully under control and stop deadly radiation emissions. But the education ministry's measurements of radiation levels at 50 locations within the 20-kilometer radius showed annual exposure could exceed 100 millisieverts in 15 locations, including one where it could reach 508 millisieverts, compared with the government 20 millisieverts per year standard for evacuation.
The discovery of elevated radiation came as Tepco reported a sharp drop in levels inside the plant. Tepco has said the level stands at just 0.4 millisievert per year along the boundary of the plant compound, well below the normal limit of one millisievert for ordinary citizens.
"Radiation spreads like a typhoon," said an official with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the main nuclear regulator. "The amount of radioactive substance can be small at the eye of the typhoon, but very large outside."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903327904576524122257910948.html
Thursday, August 18, 2011
July - Exports fall for 6th Straight Month
Japan's exports fell for the fifth straight month in July as the country contends with a strong yen and the ongoing impact of the March earthquake and tsunami.
Exports fell 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 5.78 trillion yen ($75.6 billion), the government said Thursday.
Exports are a key driver of the world's No. 3 economy, and the country is hoping that overseas demand will help it bounce back from the March 11 disaster. Data earlier this week showed that Japan's economy is still mired in recession, shrinking for the third straight quarter in the April-June period.
The earthquake and tsunami damaged or destroyed factories in northeast Japan, which led to serious parts shortages for manufacturers in the auto and electronics industries. While the country has made progress in restoring production, it now faces new threats.
A surging yen, which has recently tested record highs against the dollar, is painful for Japan's exporters. It reduces the value of their foreign earnings and makes Japanese goods more expensive in overseas markets.
The yen is hurting the bottom lines of companies like Nintendo Co., which makes 80 percent of its sales outside of Japan. It is also forcing manufacturers like Panasonic Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. to consider shifting more production overseas.
Japan intervened in currency markets earlier this month to try to reverse the yen's climb. The decision to sell the yen and buy the dollar worked initially, sending the greenback toward 80 yen. But the dollar has been weighed by the dimming outlook for U.S. economy and is back down to mid 76-yen levels.
Monetary authorities could turn to intervention again if the yen continues to strengthen.
The country's top financial diplomat, Takehiko Nakao, on Thursday blamed speculators for the yen's sharp gains and described recent moves as "violent."
"We remain alert," said Nakao, the vice finance minister for international affairs, according to Kyodo News agency.
Along with foreign exchange pressures, Japanese exports are feeling the strain of a lethargic global economy, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.
Shipments to the U.S. fell 8.2 percent in July, while those to China were down 1 percent. Exports to the European Union rose 6 percent.
Motor vehicle exports to the world fell 3.8 percent in value terms, and electrical machinery shipments declined 8.3 percent.
The finance ministry said imports in July rose 9.9 percent to 5.71 trillion yen, resulting in a trade surplus of 72.5 billion yen.
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110818/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_economy
Exports fell 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 5.78 trillion yen ($75.6 billion), the government said Thursday.
Exports are a key driver of the world's No. 3 economy, and the country is hoping that overseas demand will help it bounce back from the March 11 disaster. Data earlier this week showed that Japan's economy is still mired in recession, shrinking for the third straight quarter in the April-June period.
The earthquake and tsunami damaged or destroyed factories in northeast Japan, which led to serious parts shortages for manufacturers in the auto and electronics industries. While the country has made progress in restoring production, it now faces new threats.
A surging yen, which has recently tested record highs against the dollar, is painful for Japan's exporters. It reduces the value of their foreign earnings and makes Japanese goods more expensive in overseas markets.
The yen is hurting the bottom lines of companies like Nintendo Co., which makes 80 percent of its sales outside of Japan. It is also forcing manufacturers like Panasonic Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. to consider shifting more production overseas.
Japan intervened in currency markets earlier this month to try to reverse the yen's climb. The decision to sell the yen and buy the dollar worked initially, sending the greenback toward 80 yen. But the dollar has been weighed by the dimming outlook for U.S. economy and is back down to mid 76-yen levels.
Monetary authorities could turn to intervention again if the yen continues to strengthen.
The country's top financial diplomat, Takehiko Nakao, on Thursday blamed speculators for the yen's sharp gains and described recent moves as "violent."
"We remain alert," said Nakao, the vice finance minister for international affairs, according to Kyodo News agency.
Along with foreign exchange pressures, Japanese exports are feeling the strain of a lethargic global economy, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.
Shipments to the U.S. fell 8.2 percent in July, while those to China were down 1 percent. Exports to the European Union rose 6 percent.
Motor vehicle exports to the world fell 3.8 percent in value terms, and electrical machinery shipments declined 8.3 percent.
The finance ministry said imports in July rose 9.9 percent to 5.71 trillion yen, resulting in a trade surplus of 72.5 billion yen.
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110818/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_economy
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Japanese Hotels offering Y1000/night rates to attract customers
Earthquake devastation. Continuing tsunami threats from aftershocks. Fears of a nuclear meltdown. Contaminated fruit and vegetables. We understand why you wouldn't want to visit Japan right now. But in reality, it might be the best time to visit.
Tourism has dropped by 32% this year, but hotel rates have dropped even more. With Japan registering plunging tourist numbers compared to last year, hoteliers are slashing prices in a huge way. For the owners, a heavily discounted hotel room is better than an empty hotel room. And for tourists, a minimum of 50% off the nightly rate can be equivalent to saving a small fortune.
The stunning Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, an urban resort in the country's capital city, usually offers rooms for a whopping 30,000 yen ($386). But a new special slashes the rate by 50% or more, indeed an affordable rate for a luxury hotel. One traveller tells Global Post she was able to secure a 1,000 yen ($13) room with the modern “b hotel” chain during her visit, a savings of more than 80%. That's a steep enough discount to lure any potential tourist.
January saw a boon of tourism for Japan, with 11% more visitors traveling to the nation than in January 2010. But when the earthquake and tsunami hit in March, tourism dropped by 50% over the same time last year. And the numbers have failed to improve, as Japan has seen at least 35% fewer tourists each month since the catastrophe. Overall, as of June, tourism has dropped by 32.6% when compared to 2010.
With Japanese tourism officials proclaiming that their country is indeed safe to tourists, and the bulk of the damage away from the main cities, what's keeping people away? It's worth noting that Tokyo and Osaka routinely top lists of the most expensive cities in the world. The strong yen and high standard of living in Japan keep costs prohibitive, particularly for travelers who are converting their local currency into yen. And the hoteliers have realized that they are the primary gatekeepers. Let the discounts flow.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/08/can-japan-lure-back-tourists-with-slashed-hotel-rates/
Tourism has dropped by 32% this year, but hotel rates have dropped even more. With Japan registering plunging tourist numbers compared to last year, hoteliers are slashing prices in a huge way. For the owners, a heavily discounted hotel room is better than an empty hotel room. And for tourists, a minimum of 50% off the nightly rate can be equivalent to saving a small fortune.
The stunning Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, an urban resort in the country's capital city, usually offers rooms for a whopping 30,000 yen ($386). But a new special slashes the rate by 50% or more, indeed an affordable rate for a luxury hotel. One traveller tells Global Post she was able to secure a 1,000 yen ($13) room with the modern “b hotel” chain during her visit, a savings of more than 80%. That's a steep enough discount to lure any potential tourist.
January saw a boon of tourism for Japan, with 11% more visitors traveling to the nation than in January 2010. But when the earthquake and tsunami hit in March, tourism dropped by 50% over the same time last year. And the numbers have failed to improve, as Japan has seen at least 35% fewer tourists each month since the catastrophe. Overall, as of June, tourism has dropped by 32.6% when compared to 2010.
With Japanese tourism officials proclaiming that their country is indeed safe to tourists, and the bulk of the damage away from the main cities, what's keeping people away? It's worth noting that Tokyo and Osaka routinely top lists of the most expensive cities in the world. The strong yen and high standard of living in Japan keep costs prohibitive, particularly for travelers who are converting their local currency into yen. And the hoteliers have realized that they are the primary gatekeepers. Let the discounts flow.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/08/can-japan-lure-back-tourists-with-slashed-hotel-rates/
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Q2 2011 - Tokyo Disneyland Sales Plunge 43% post earthquake
Tokyo Disneyland operator Oriental Land Co. said Thursday it posted a consolidated net loss of 3.80 billion yen for the April to June quarter, remaining in the red for the second quarter in a row, as it closed the amusement park and other facilities for more than a month due to damage caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Oriental Land said its sales plunged 43.0 percent from a year earlier to 48.55 billion yen, due to a more than 40 percent drop in its amusement park and hotel business segments.
Visitors to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea in Chiba Prefecture during the first quarter of fiscal 2011 declined from the previous year, but Oriental Land said the number of customers has now recovered to its usual level.
Due to the suspension of the parks and facilities at Tokyo Disney Resort, the company posted an extraordinary loss of 3.82 billion yen including fixed labor costs during the three-month period.
The company expects an extraordinary loss of 2.14 billion yen for the July-September second quarter due to costs associated with ceasing staging of the Canadian performing art troupe Cirque du Soleil's entertainment show at the entertainment complex at the end of this year.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9OTA5180&show_article=1
Oriental Land said its sales plunged 43.0 percent from a year earlier to 48.55 billion yen, due to a more than 40 percent drop in its amusement park and hotel business segments.
Visitors to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea in Chiba Prefecture during the first quarter of fiscal 2011 declined from the previous year, but Oriental Land said the number of customers has now recovered to its usual level.
Due to the suspension of the parks and facilities at Tokyo Disney Resort, the company posted an extraordinary loss of 3.82 billion yen including fixed labor costs during the three-month period.
The company expects an extraordinary loss of 2.14 billion yen for the July-September second quarter due to costs associated with ceasing staging of the Canadian performing art troupe Cirque du Soleil's entertainment show at the entertainment complex at the end of this year.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9OTA5180&show_article=1
Friday, August 5, 2011
Alchemy's Japan Leisure Hotel's Strong Performance even after Earthquake and Recession
Despite the earthquake and nuclear crisis and recession - Japanese leisure hotels are still showing excellent cash growth showing counter cyclical tendencies -
Alchemy Japan KK Japanese Leisure Hotels’ Post Strong earnings Growth for First Half 2011
Tokyo, Japan August 1st 2011 – Alchemy Japan’s Japanese Leisure Hotels reported H1 2011 EBITDA of ¥302 million, a 7% improvement on H1 2010, from a Net Operating Income of ¥432 million, a 4% growth on previous year. H1 revenues grew to ¥1,005 billion, a 4% increase on H1 2010 as customer numbers grew by 9% to reach a 265% occupancy rate.
Despite Japan returning to recession in the January-March Quarter, on the back of supply chain disruptions caused by the nation's biggest recorded earthquake and tsunami, with a GDP fall of 0.9 percent in Q1 (3.7% annualized), Alchemy’s Leisure Hotels posted 13% EBIDTA growth in Q1 driven by 6% revenue growth.
Many analysts saw the downturn worsening in April-June, as nationwide supply chain problems continued to disrupt production and consumer confidence was impacted by the aftereffects of the quake. Notwithstanding the difficult post 3/11 conditions, Alchemy’s Leisure Hotels Q2 revenue exceeded Q1 by 2.3% and was 3% above previous year, while Q2 EBITDA was 6.8% ahead of Q1 and +3% on PY.
Two strong quarters of growth combined to post H1 4% revenue Growth - led by a 9% increase in customer numbers as H1 2011 Occupancy rate (OCR) reached 265%.
“Our hotels have shown strong counter cyclical performance achieving sales and earnings growth despite recessionary and deflationary pressures. In the face of challenging consumer demand conditions resulting from defensive consumer spending we have been able to grow market share and strengthen our market leading revenue growth performance. We have outperformed both the greater hotel sector, which has seen revenue declines reaching as high as -32.4% on PY -according to STR Global- and also the general leisure hotel industry which has shown year on year contractions of around -4.6% post earthquake -according to Leisure Hotel Magazine-” said Alchemy Japan CEO Miro Mijatovic.
“While our rate of revenue and earnings growth has slowed in Q2 post 3/11, our revenue and earnings outlook for the rest of 2011 is positive. In June, industrial production had returned to pre-quake levels and there are signs that various other economic indicators (consumption and employment) had also recovered and so we anticipate the second half of 2011 to outperform H1 and also previous year” continued Mijatovic.
“The outstanding performance of the LH sector, during unprecedented conditions following the 3/11 earthquake and its after effects, confirms the attractiveness of this high yielding sector of the Japanese real estate market as a defensive investment.
Furthermore, while the broader Japan real estate sector has seen improved liquidity and contracting caprates, this trend has not yet trickled down to operational assets like Leisure Hotels where debt and equity are still scarce.
However we foresee a contraction of caprates in the future as we believe that the Japan Leisure Hotels Ltd transaction which closed in June 2011 at historically high caprates, has set a low point for valuations in this caprate cycle. This deal has also set a benchmark for buyer bids which has stimulated interest from new potential investors looking for defensive investment, due to the high cash yields and the counter-cyclical nature of the demand, both specific to the LH asset class” said Mijatovic.
http://www.propertyfundsworld.com/2011/08/09/127320/alchemys-japanese-leisure-hotels-post-strong-earnings-growth-1h-2011
Alchemy Japan KK Japanese Leisure Hotels’ Post Strong earnings Growth for First Half 2011
Tokyo, Japan August 1st 2011 – Alchemy Japan’s Japanese Leisure Hotels reported H1 2011 EBITDA of ¥302 million, a 7% improvement on H1 2010, from a Net Operating Income of ¥432 million, a 4% growth on previous year. H1 revenues grew to ¥1,005 billion, a 4% increase on H1 2010 as customer numbers grew by 9% to reach a 265% occupancy rate.
Despite Japan returning to recession in the January-March Quarter, on the back of supply chain disruptions caused by the nation's biggest recorded earthquake and tsunami, with a GDP fall of 0.9 percent in Q1 (3.7% annualized), Alchemy’s Leisure Hotels posted 13% EBIDTA growth in Q1 driven by 6% revenue growth.
Many analysts saw the downturn worsening in April-June, as nationwide supply chain problems continued to disrupt production and consumer confidence was impacted by the aftereffects of the quake. Notwithstanding the difficult post 3/11 conditions, Alchemy’s Leisure Hotels Q2 revenue exceeded Q1 by 2.3% and was 3% above previous year, while Q2 EBITDA was 6.8% ahead of Q1 and +3% on PY.
Two strong quarters of growth combined to post H1 4% revenue Growth - led by a 9% increase in customer numbers as H1 2011 Occupancy rate (OCR) reached 265%.
“Our hotels have shown strong counter cyclical performance achieving sales and earnings growth despite recessionary and deflationary pressures. In the face of challenging consumer demand conditions resulting from defensive consumer spending we have been able to grow market share and strengthen our market leading revenue growth performance. We have outperformed both the greater hotel sector, which has seen revenue declines reaching as high as -32.4% on PY -according to STR Global- and also the general leisure hotel industry which has shown year on year contractions of around -4.6% post earthquake -according to Leisure Hotel Magazine-” said Alchemy Japan CEO Miro Mijatovic.
“While our rate of revenue and earnings growth has slowed in Q2 post 3/11, our revenue and earnings outlook for the rest of 2011 is positive. In June, industrial production had returned to pre-quake levels and there are signs that various other economic indicators (consumption and employment) had also recovered and so we anticipate the second half of 2011 to outperform H1 and also previous year” continued Mijatovic.
“The outstanding performance of the LH sector, during unprecedented conditions following the 3/11 earthquake and its after effects, confirms the attractiveness of this high yielding sector of the Japanese real estate market as a defensive investment.
Furthermore, while the broader Japan real estate sector has seen improved liquidity and contracting caprates, this trend has not yet trickled down to operational assets like Leisure Hotels where debt and equity are still scarce.
However we foresee a contraction of caprates in the future as we believe that the Japan Leisure Hotels Ltd transaction which closed in June 2011 at historically high caprates, has set a low point for valuations in this caprate cycle. This deal has also set a benchmark for buyer bids which has stimulated interest from new potential investors looking for defensive investment, due to the high cash yields and the counter-cyclical nature of the demand, both specific to the LH asset class” said Mijatovic.
http://www.propertyfundsworld.com/2011/08/09/127320/alchemys-japanese-leisure-hotels-post-strong-earnings-growth-1h-2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Fukushima Disaster AfterEffects Worse than Atomic Bomb
More gravely serious truths about the severity of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 have emerged.
Two things are now clear and they justify the following charges: the nuclear experts that the Australian media relied upon should never be trusted again; and social media real-time raw and unfiltered audio and video reports are providing a more truthful and relevant coverage of the aftermath of the continuing nuclear crisis than the selective and filtered copy being carried by print and wire agencies.
While the Bloomberg news report overnight of two extremely high radiation readings being recorded at the Fukushima complex of nuclear plants on August 1 and August 2 are alarming, other significant disclosures are also made in this story.
In what would be consistent with a deliberate policy of gradually revealing the truth some months after the event, the Japanese nuclear authorities and government are also now routinely referring to the fact that contamination levels outside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi complex include hot spots that are as highly affected as they were around the Chernobyl reactor that exploded in the former Soviet Union 25 years ago.
Which is where social media in Japan is making itself felt.
In a series of widely viewed and replicated YouTube videos a Japan nuclear expert, Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama, has told Japan’s lower house Diet that the nation has failed miserably to make a timely evacuation of the at risk population worst affected by Fukushima radioactive fallout compared to the massive relocation that occurred in the Ukraine in the two weeks after the Chernobyl disaster.
In the English language transcripts of these videos, notably on the Penn-Olsen Asia tech blog, Kodama says he is shaking with anger at the incompetence and dishonesty of the government and nuclear authorities and the TEPCO power company in the aftermath of the accident. He attacks the use of simplistic readings that ignore for example the accumulation of deadly isotopes at the foot of slippery slides in children’s playgrounds in favour of readings at the top from which rain has washed away the contamination.
The readings, like the children, are being cooked, either by ignorance or intent.
Kodama says the uranium equivalent of the contamination released by the three affected reactor cores and four cooling ponds at Fukushima was that of 20 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs:
The bigger context to these reports from Japan is that the guidance given by nuclear scientists and apologists alike to the media in Australia was disgracefully inaccurate and patronising. The reality of the caesium contamination was ignored, and the quoting of initial radiation readings in the wrong metric was ignored (and later found to be fictitious as well as mischievous, when TEPCO confirmed that it didn’t actually have any capability of measuring contamination within key parts of the complex).
The constant refrain that Fukushima would never be a level-seven disaster such as Chernobyl contained longer in the Australian media than anywhere else, even after the nuclear authorities in France and US broke with the usual protocol of not commenting on other national agencies, and said that it could reach level six or level seven and expressed a lack of confidence in their Japan counterparts.
One thing that is becoming apparent after this disaster is that the truth, like the fallout, is going to force itself on the authorities no matter how much the business, political and scientific establishments try to play it down.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/08/03/fukushima-disaster-exposed-far-worse-than-a-nuclear-bomb/
Two things are now clear and they justify the following charges: the nuclear experts that the Australian media relied upon should never be trusted again; and social media real-time raw and unfiltered audio and video reports are providing a more truthful and relevant coverage of the aftermath of the continuing nuclear crisis than the selective and filtered copy being carried by print and wire agencies.
While the Bloomberg news report overnight of two extremely high radiation readings being recorded at the Fukushima complex of nuclear plants on August 1 and August 2 are alarming, other significant disclosures are also made in this story.
- The reading of 10 sieverts of radiation per hour outside the damaged reactor buildings was the highest level the equipment used could have detected, meaning the lethality of the contamination was off the scale; and
- For the first time a tenured nuclear expert Tetsuo Ito, the head of the Atomic Energy Research Institute at Kinki University concedes that the melted cores of one or more reactors may have melted through the supposedly failure proof containment vessel floor, sinking deeper into the subsoil and given the nature of the radioactive material concerned, into a position where it can spread a very long distance directly through the subsoil water table.
In what would be consistent with a deliberate policy of gradually revealing the truth some months after the event, the Japanese nuclear authorities and government are also now routinely referring to the fact that contamination levels outside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi complex include hot spots that are as highly affected as they were around the Chernobyl reactor that exploded in the former Soviet Union 25 years ago.
Which is where social media in Japan is making itself felt.
In a series of widely viewed and replicated YouTube videos a Japan nuclear expert, Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama, has told Japan’s lower house Diet that the nation has failed miserably to make a timely evacuation of the at risk population worst affected by Fukushima radioactive fallout compared to the massive relocation that occurred in the Ukraine in the two weeks after the Chernobyl disaster.
The readings, like the children, are being cooked, either by ignorance or intent.
Kodama says the uranium equivalent of the contamination released by the three affected reactor cores and four cooling ponds at Fukushima was that of 20 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs:
“What is more frightening is that whereas the radiation from a nuclear bomb will decrease to one-thousandth in one year, the radiation from a nuclear power plant will only decrease to one-tenth.Kodama’s testimony, poorly reported in the established Japan media, is circulating in social media in tandem with raw videos of government officials telling a meeting of Fukushima residents demanding urgent help in evacuating to other parts of the country that they should stay put and trust them to reduce radiation. The meeting becomes increasingly angry after one official tells the residents they could evacuate at “their own risk”, while they shout at them for telling them to stay put and die.
“In other words, we should recognise from the start that just like Chernobyl, Fukushima I Nuclear Plant has released radioactive materials equivalent in the amount to tens of nuclear bombs, and the resulting contamination is far worse than the contamination by a nuclear bomb.”
The bigger context to these reports from Japan is that the guidance given by nuclear scientists and apologists alike to the media in Australia was disgracefully inaccurate and patronising. The reality of the caesium contamination was ignored, and the quoting of initial radiation readings in the wrong metric was ignored (and later found to be fictitious as well as mischievous, when TEPCO confirmed that it didn’t actually have any capability of measuring contamination within key parts of the complex).
The constant refrain that Fukushima would never be a level-seven disaster such as Chernobyl contained longer in the Australian media than anywhere else, even after the nuclear authorities in France and US broke with the usual protocol of not commenting on other national agencies, and said that it could reach level six or level seven and expressed a lack of confidence in their Japan counterparts.
One thing that is becoming apparent after this disaster is that the truth, like the fallout, is going to force itself on the authorities no matter how much the business, political and scientific establishments try to play it down.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/08/03/fukushima-disaster-exposed-far-worse-than-a-nuclear-bomb/
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