from today's Nikkei

通信衛星　民間資金を活用　防衛省検討　周辺監視を強化　負担を軽減　米・韓国軍に回線供与も

According to sources familiar with the matter, the Defense Ministry has entered its final adjustment stage toward launching a communication satelite of its own in fiscal 2014 under the scheme of the so-called private fund initiative(PFI). At present the ministry is renting communication lines the satellite of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation provides, but the service life of the satelite ends in fiscal 2015.Then the ministry is seeking to rebuild its satellite comminication system this time.The total cost of all areas from design to operation will be significantly reduced by having a tie-up with the private sector. The ministry aims to strengthen the capability of guarding Japan's territories "The New Guidelines of Defense" stipulate, as well as to delibearte on supplying communication lines for the country's private companies and military forces of other countries like the U.S. and South Korea.

from today's Nikkei

規制改革　医薬ネット販売緩和へ　酒類卸免許も　行政会議が検討　　８分野２５０項目　ＴＰＰもにらむ

At present the regulation and system reform subcommittee of the Government Revitalization Unit presided by Prime Minister Naoto Kan is going to compile an immediate regulation reform policy within the month. And the draft of it was made public on Tuesday.It describes 250 items in 8 areas as targets of reviewing. Among them is a derugulation toward selling through the Internet of general medicine like some cold remedies or herb medicine.

from yesterday's Nikkei

年金給付５０兆円突破　2009年度　名目GDPの１割　１．８人で１人支える

The amount of Japan's public pension benifits paid exceeded the \50 trillion threshold for the first time in fiscal 2009 and its ratio to nominal gross domestic product was more than 10%, according to a survey carried out by the Ministry of Health,Labor and Welfare.While the number of public pension beneficiaries reached 37.03 million, 3.1% up from the previous fiscal year,the number of contributors,or pension premium-paying persons, was 68.74 million,o.9% down from the previous fiscal year. This means that 1.8 younger persons are shoudering 1 old person. So the foundation of the pension scheme is on the verge of collapse.

from today's Nikkei

武田やアステラス参入　副作用少ない抗体薬生産　抗がん剤など、５年以内メド　欧米勢を追撃

According to sources, Japanese major phramaceutical companies like Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and Astellas Pharma Inc. will likely begin to produce antibody drugs,which are often used for cancer treatment and others.
In the first step both companies are going to introduce the small-sized producing equipment at factories and laboratories at home for clinical tests. High-quality producing technologies are neede to produce antibody medicin, which has less side effects than conventional drugs and then whose market is expected to expand in the world.
At present it is the case that Japanese companies have gotten far behind from U.S. and European counterparts in developing new antibody medicine. However they intend to catch up with their rivals with their produching know-hows established and to start to mass-produce antibody drugs on a full-fledged basis within five years from now.

from today's Nikkei

新興国の為替介入加速　インフレ圧力一段と　外貨準備、昨年下期４８兆円増 通貨安定策に限界も

In the so-called emerging economies and areas such as China, the amount of their foreign currency reserves has been increasing. In the ten major emerging countries and areas, their foreign currency reserves increased in the period of July to December last year by $80 billion (about \48 trilion), which is the largest hike as a half an year figure in the past five years.

This is because authorities' interventions into currency markets has been accelerating in such countries and areas.
They have been doing so in order to avoid their own currency's appreciation for sustaining their competitiveness in exports given the situation that a lot of investment money comes from developed nations where there are a lot of monetary easing.On the other hand, after series of interventions into the currency markets,there has been a pressure of inflation,like higher prices of imported goods.

In these circumstances, there might be a limit of effectiveness in an effort to keep each currency at the level as they want.