New Year's Greetings......1
MMC Activities..............2
MEMS-ONE Pj...............5
Column.......................6
Overseas Trends............7
Member’s Profiles .........8

New Year’s Greetings
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to all for a happy
and prosperous 2007. I have no idea what kind of a year this will turn out to be, but I
hope to try and make it a good one.

Tamotsu Nomakuchi

Last year’s increases in the price of oil, materials, and parts have cast shadows
over the recovery of the Japanese economy, particularly in the manufacturingindustry, which had been gradually progressing supported by firm domesticdemand. At the same time, major defects damaging the product reliability of wellknown companies that are the face of Japan have occurred. These incidents areshaking Japan’s manufacturing industry to its core and possibly weakening andendangering the basic technology in design, production, and product evaluation thathas thus far supported the manufacturing industry.

Chairman
Newly elected Prime Minister Abe last year hammered out the Innovation 25
policy, saying that he intended to make Japan the world leader in innovation. This isa long-term strategy initiative aimed at 2025 that should lead to the creation of basic
technology innovations to support existing industries as well as innovation seeds in nano, bio, and other frontiertechnologies.

Micromachine Center

The Micromachine Center promotes research and development in MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems).
MEMS are small, high-precision, low-cost, low-energy frontier technologies that are now being applied in a diversity ofindustrial fields such as information and telecommunications, automotives, biotechnology, and medicine, and theirmarket is gradually continuing to expand. MEMS technologies are attracting attention as basic technologies vital forstrengthening the international competitiveness of major areas within Japan’s manufacturing industry by increasing
differentiation and the added value of key parts. Against this background, the MEMS Industry Forum (MIF) wasestablished in April last year as a special committee within the MMC with the purpose of providing support for thefurther development of MEMS industries and contributing to the strengthening of the international competitivenessof Japanese industry. The Forum’s activities are broad-ranging - including the promotion of MEMS technology R&D, afoundry service network, industry-academia-government collaboration, researcher and engineer training, regulationand standardization, and overseas expansion – and the Forum’s member businesses take a central role in thepromotion of policy recommendations and industrial exchange/revitalization that concern fundamental issues for
MEMS industrial expansion.

In November 2006, the Micromachine Center hosted Micro/Nano 2006 at the Tokyo International Forum.
Comprising the MEMS Forum – the first public presentation of information by the MIF – Micromachine Exhibition,
MEMS International Standardization Workshop, International Micromachine/Nanotechnology Symposium, and theReport of MemsONE Project Achievements, this event provided an excellent opportunity for people to see all at one
time the latest technologies and industrial trends in the micromachine field and was extremely well received. In 2007
the event will move to Tokyo Big Sight and plans are for it to be held on an even grander scale than before. I hopethat you will kindly participate and cooperate in this event.
Through the generation of innovation, the Micromachine Center will continue with our activities aimed atestablishing basic technology for and the industrialization of micromachines and MEMS in order to contribute to themaintenance and further strengthening of the international competitiveness of Japan’s manufacturing industry.
In conclusion, I would like to ask for your continuing support and understanding of our efforts and again warmly
wish everyone a fruitful and prosperous 2007.

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