Thoughts on the New Year .....1
MMC Activities...................2
Study, Research and Dissemination Activities ..3
Project Update ...................4
Column............................5
Overseas Trends.................6
Member’s Profiles ..............8

Thoughts on the New YearAs we greet the year 2009, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and to share somethoughts at the beginning of this new year.
The past year was a turbulent one for the Japanese economy. Increases in the price of crude oil andrare materials, which had been a concern for the past few years, continued apace. This put pressure oncompany operations and people’s daily lives, and highlighted the all too well known fragility of theindustrial infrastructure and lifeline of Japan, a country with a dearth of energy resources and rawmaterials. Then financial instability on a worldwide scale occurred, caused by the long-feared collapseof subprime loans in the United States. The resulting turbulence seems unlikely to be resolved easily.
Viewing these trends, what I feel anew is the peril posed by an economy that is not tethered to reality.
As an industry, Japan must have creative products with an appeal unrivaled by those of othercountries, constituting an economic foundation that is based on actual circumstances.
Tamotsu Nomakuchi
The Micromachine Center (MMC) conducts a variety of activities aimed at establishing key
technologies relating to micromachines, MEMS and other micro/nano fields and providing support forDirector,
the continued growth of the MEMS industry, as well as strengthening the international competitivenessMicromachine Centerof Japan’s domestic industry and contributing to the creation of the abundant society of the future.
The activities of the Micromachine Center during the past year as noted in the“Topics” section begin with the Project to Develop Next-generation Device
Manufacturing Technologies that Fuse Different Fields, otherwise known as the Bio
Electro-mechanical Autonomous Nano Systems (BEANS) Project. This major
project is being conducted for the next five years through collaboration amongindustry, academia and government, with the goal of developing the technicalinfrastructure needed to create third generation MEMS devices. 18 companies, 12
universities, two research institutes and three other organizations are participatingin the promotion of this project. An unprecedented research management
organization has been established with “integration” and “openness” as its
watchwords, in order to achieve what the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
calls an “Innovation Superhighway.” In addition to future application fields, third
generation MEMS devices are expected to find applications in a wide range of fields including the environment and energy, safety andsecurity, and health and medical care. Third generation MEMS are expected to raise the level of the market and achieve market
expansion through the creation of new devices that will support a multitude of industrial fields in Japan.
This year’s annual combined exhibition, MicroNano 2008, was held July 29 to August 1 at Tokyo Big Sight. As in the case of last year’sexhibition, the event attracted record attendance (14,000 attendees, a 13% increase over the previous year). This provides additional
evidence of the tremendous interest in this field from various sectors.
With regard to activities to promote standardization in the MEMS field, Working Group 4 (WG4) of Technical Committee 47 (TC47,semiconductor devices) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the organization charged with reviewing the issue ofMEMS standardization, was upgraded to a subcommittee (SC47F) last June, and Japan became the organizing country. This increased
the latitude for MEMS standardization activities at the IEC and established a climate that is expected to stimulate activity in this area.
Japan’s becoming the organizing country establishes the foundation that will enable the promotion of Japanese-led international
standardization activities.
In terms of public relations, a new MEMS Mall has been opened on the Micromachine Center’s website. The MEMS Mall introduces
activities by various companies in the micromachine and MEMS fields as well as new products and technologies, and is designed to help
stimulate business in these fields.
In addition to the examples noted above, the Micromachine Center has promoted a variety of successful projects. I would like toexpress my appreciation for your constant effort, cooperation and support, without which these achievements would not have beenpossible.
The Micromachine Center will continue to promote projects aimed at the establishment of key technologies and industries in themicromachine and MEMS field. I hope we can count on your continued understanding and support, and I hope that this year will be a
rewarding one for you all.

Internet Home Page : http://www.mmc.or.jp/