New Year's Greetings / 1
Column / 2
Activities of the Micromachine Center / 3
Activities of the BEANS Laboratory / 6
Members' Profiles / 8

New Year’s Greetings
As we welcome in 2011, it gives me great pleasure to wish you all a happy New Yearand to offer some thoughts on this new beginning. First, I would like to express mygratitude to all who have given their cooperation and support to the Micromachine
Center and the BEANS Laboratory.
Approximately one year and three months have passed since September 2009, whenI assumed the post of chairman for both entities. During this period, Japan’s economy
has begun to show some signs of recovering from the failure of Lehman Bros. and theDubai debt crisis, but the state of Japan’s industry has not yet stabilized due in part tofinancial crises in Greece, Ireland, and other EU countries, the effects of a strong yen,
and increased competition in manufacturing industries from emerging nations such as
Hisao Sakuta,
China. In order to break out of this situation, it is essential that we intensify our efforts
Chairmanin technological development, which is the key to keeping Japan’s industries
Micromachine Centerinternationally competitive. For this reason, it remains vital for us to continue
BEANS Laboratory
intensifying our efforts in technological development related to MEMS and othermicro/nano fields, now considered important industrial technologies. As chairman I will
strive to continue our efforts in developing micromachines, MEMS, and other micro/nano fields, and I shall be gratefulfor your support.
To accomplish this, the BEANS Project (the Hetero-functional Integrated Device Technology Development
Project) was launched in 2008 to develop core process technologies required for creating innovative next-generation
devices and to build a platform for this development, with the aim of developing applications in a wide range of fields
that include energy and the environment, safety and security, and health and medical care, as well as in traditional
fields of application. We hope to increase and expand the market for micro/nano devices by creating new devices tosupport Japan’s industry across diverse fields. It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have received highmarks through the first half of the project. For the remaining two years, we will concentrate all of our efforts toward
implementing the BEANS Project, focusing on research activities aimed at producing results that will lead tocommercialization.
The previous year also marked the beginning of the G-device Project aimed at developing an advanced sensor
network and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. Through this project, we installed advanced
manufacturing equipment at AIST Tsukuba for fabricating 8-inch MEMS devices and began preparing the groundworkfor the Tsukuba Innovation Arena NMEMS in close cooperation with the MEMS Industry Forum of the Micromachine
Center and AIST.
In addition to constructing TIA-NMEMS, the Micromachine Center has continued working to create a better
environment for MEMS industrialization in Japan by promoting international standardization in MEMS fields andperforming activities aimed at industrial exchange and vitalization, for example.
Further, in response to the three laws on reforming the public interest corporations system, the Micromachine
Center submitted an application to the Cabinet Office for changing its current public interest status to that of ageneral incorporated foundation.
In the event that our application is approved, we will reevaluate our roles and responsibilities as a generalincorporated foundation and will continue our activities in the hope of contributing to Japan’s international
competitiveness in industry and to the creation of a future affluent society.
Finally, on behalf of the Micromachine Center and the BEANS Laboratory, I would like to offer you all mysincerest wishes for a fruitful year. Thank you and Happy New Year!
January 20111