ASANO DOCKYARD
First in Repair for 40 years
Asano is Nippon Kokan's ship repair facility built in Yokohama in April. 1933. The yard supplements NKK's Tsurumi and Shimizu shipyards which engaged primarily in the construction of new ships.
are
Forty Years in Operation There are many shipyards, including NKK's, which can point to a variety of notable achievements through the years.
But for a repair facility with a rich history must look to Asano. Just five months after one Asano was completed, Yokohama was struck by the devastating earthquake of 1923. Despite the wholesale destruction, the yard continued in operation completing a boiler reconversion (from coal to diesel) for Toyo Kisen Company's S.S. Taiyo Maru. The work was completed in early 1924 in only one third the time originally expected. This was NKK's introduction inte the ship repair industry.
Pioneer in Ship Expansion
The Asano Dockyard won world-wide acclaim in 1936 by succeeding in the then unprecedented task of ship expansion. Asano cut the U.S. Tanker Bahrein into three sections fore, middle and aft and installed new central oil tanks. The job took ten months.
A Hopeless Derelict Repaired
A British diesel cargo ship sailing off Manila in 1937 caught fire in the engine room and was hopelessly damaged. Every other ship repair facility refused the job.
Asano, true to her traditions, undertook the work and finally put the ship back to sea.
Ship:
Turbines
Shipbuilding and Repairs, Free Piston Gas
Steel: Tubular Products, Bars and Shapes, Plates and Sheets, Fabricated Steel Stuructures
Page 289
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REV
Ship Repair for U.S. Forces
In 1945 Asano was designated a ship repair facility for U.S. Armed Forces in Japan. The dockyard was responsible for the construction of a radar plant. Also, at this time a 120-ton floating crane was added to improve service. Three letters of appreciation were received from the U.S. Government.
Remodeling a Ship for Anarctica
In 1952 Asano began the remodeling of the weather observation ship "Soya" into an ice breaker for anarctic exploration. Both bow and stern were remade. a bulge was created, the hull was doubled at the water line and a new deck was added for helicopters.
No. 1 Dock Now Being Enlarged
Today the Asano Dockyard is expanding its No. 1 dock for 100,000 ton capacity. This project is
scheduled for completion in July, 1964.
Asano covers an area of 8,530 square meters and employs some 1,700 skilled technicians. The facilities include two dry docks, one slipway, repairing piers totaling 400 meters in length, five tugboats plus ship- building, machine, can-making and fitting plants. The yard's annual repairing capacity amounts to 4.5 10 5.5
million deadweight tons.
versatile Nippon Kokan's
shipbuilding division comprised of three major yards is capable of building large vessels, medium size and special ships and repairing practically anything that floats. You'll find, too, at NKK the job is completed in the shortest time possible and at a competitive price.
(NKK)
NIPPON KOKAN
Head Office: Tokyo, Japan Cable Address: KOKANSHIP TOKYO Overseas Offices: New York, Los Angeles, Dusseldorf, Singapore, Hong Kong
October 31, 1963
The drop in machinery was accounted for by Hongkong's reduced import of textile machinery. Generally, food items also suffered setbacks-fresh eggs in shells; fruits and vegetables, sugar and sugar preparations; and gourmet powder, The drop in soya bean oil was most spectacular and this year there may be no transaction on this item at all if the half-yearly figures are indications.
In recent years Japan's consumer goods have become acceptable to the Hongkong public. The Hongkong Daimaru re- ported that whereas it previously sold Japanese goods and local products in equal amounts, 75% of its sales now are
binoculars also have the advantage of getting Imperial Preference. In fact, since Hongkong proved itself industrially capable with the textile boom, Imperial Preference allowed to local products and the Hongkong merchants' relations with overseas Chinese have brought many Japanese investments into Hongkong, mostly in the form of joint ventures. These include three cotton textile mills, two iron works factories, plastics, and some smaller industries.
Last April, Nitto Shosen Shipping of Japan announced that it intended to set
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up a joint shipping JAPAN INTO enterprise with head-
AFFLUENCE. quarters in Hong- kong. A little earlier, Nippon Yusen Kai- sha, one of Japan's largest shipping lines, opened an office in Hongkong. Japanese shipping is preferred by Hongkong customers be- cause of the more frequent calls.
If Taiwan's relation with Japan worsens, and with the present Indonesian boycott of Singapore, Hongkong's trade with Japan will further increase.
of Japanese origin. Advertising has Agreements with Malaya
probably helped. Japanese manufac-
be spending From Sylvester Ng, Kuala Lumpur
turers are estimated to around HK$30 to 40 million annually on advertising in Hongkong. Construction cost alone of some of these neon signs cost as much as HK$300,000.
Japanese perfumes, paper, drinks, clothes, miscellaneous manufactures, travelling bags, wallets and cases have been increasingly imported by Hongkong. Japanese transistor radios and cameras (not including accessories) were to the order of $29 million and $9.9 million respectively in 1962.
The Japanese made a special effort to establish their wrist watches in the
Hongkong market. In 1962, their sales to Hongkong were HK$1.6 million. The amount was $900,000 in the first half of 1963, showing a slight improvement. The Japanese recognise the importance of Hongkong as a sales counter catering to tourists.
Important Supplier
TRADE RELATIONS between Japan and Malaya have been most satisfactory in recent years, and there is no reason why this should not continue to be so with the establishment of Malaysia.
Since 1960, the year Malaya signed a trade agreement with Japan, there has been a steady growth in trade between the two countries.
Japan has also shown a keen interest in joint ventures with local firms or businessmen. A number of these fac- tories are now in production supplying the Malaysian market with such products
as
tooth paste, canned fish, asbestos cement sheets and hair shampoo.
Of significance to both countries was the signing of a convention for the avoidance of double taxation on June 4 this
year.
It was another achievement for Japan in that she was the first country to conclude a double taxation and trade agreement with Malaya. Both countries are confident that the conclusion of the
convention, after protracted negotiations, will lead to an appreciable increase in trade and to the establishment of more enterprises financed jointly by Japanese and Malaysian capital.
year
Japan as a supplier of industrial raw materials is of considerable importance to Hongkong's export industries. In the first half of 1963, Japan supplied Hong kong with HK$220 million worth of textiles, $11.2 million worth of poly thene moulding compound, and $15.3 million worth of radio parts. Hongkong's total imports of these items in the same
A second outstanding event of the HK$423.2 million, 35.4 period were million and 19 million respectively.
was the gigantic trade fair held in Kuala Hongkong-made binoculars have Lumpur by the Japanese External Trade proved to be competitive against Japanese Organisation with the co-operation of the binoculars. About the middle of last Japanese Government. This M$1 million month, a Japanese delegation led by the
industrial fair was the third and biggest Chairman of the Japan Binoculars Ex-
held here by Japan, with over 100 port Promotion Association visited Hong Japanese manufacturers participating. kong for talks with the Hongkong They displayed a wide range of products manufacturer, W. Haking Industries including office equipment, construction (Mechanics and Optics) Ltd. The talks machinery, sewing machines, vacuum ended successfully, presumably, with cleaners, air conditioners, radios, TV sets, gentlemen's agreements not to start a diesel engines, agricultural machinery, price-cutting war.
woodworking machines, porcelain, re- Hongkong's slightly lower priced frigerators, artificial fabrics, cameras and
projectors, iron and steel products, and a model pulp making plant.
Another contribution made by Japan in recent years to development schemes came through the services of several technical and agricultural experts. Two bamboo experts followed the trail of the rice experts who came here more than two years ago. Their services were made available by the Japanese Government un- der the Colombo Plan. These experts, who have since returned home, were assigned to find out whether factories could be started in Malaya for the manu- facture of bamboo articles. Their report, if accepted, might mean the birth of yet another pioneer industry.
Moreover, Japanese firms are assisting in the training of Malaysians for top technical posts. One of them, Ajinomoto and Co., whose factory in Petaling Jaya will go into production next year, has offered six scholarships to Malay gradua- tes for scientific and technical training in Japan.
Perhaps the principal problem con- fronting the two countries is the settle- ment of the "blood debt" for atrocities committed by Japanese troops during the war, as demanded by the Chinese Cham- bers in Singapore and Malaya. The Malaysian Prime Minister, the Tengku Abdul Rahman, who was approached by the Chambers to act as mediator, is working for an amicable settlement. He recently emphasised that settlement of the "debt"-the Chambers are demanding $110 million-must be made "when feel- ings among the parties concerned are still good."
Any disruption of trade between Asia's two most prosperous nations will have an effect both wgbuggys fage44 most unlikely to be reached. The trade be-
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