Apple's Japanese R&D facility confirmed for Yokohama with 2016 completion date

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2015
An Apple research and development facility promised by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been formally announced by the mayor of Yokohama, and is due to be completed sometime in 2016.




The news was reported Wednesday by Japan's national public broadcaster, NHK. Apple has paid to take over part of a former Panasonic factory in Tsunashima-higashi, specifically a space measuring over 269,000 square feet spread across four stories.

As with a number of other Apple facilities, the company is working to "green" the complex by minimizing energy consumption. It will also make use of recycled water, and trees should be planted on the roof.

Construction is slated to begin by the end of 2015.

Abe first hinted at an Apple R&D center in December, but didn't offer any more details beyond claiming it would be on par with similar Apple offices in the rest of Asia.

The company has been rapidly expanding its global R&D presence in the past few years, for instance establishing offices in China and Israel, and laying plans for a location in Cambridge, England. Apple's most important research is still typically conducted at its Cupertino headquarters.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    Makes sense for a company the size of Apple to diversify R&D. They should be able to work on multiple R&D projects at the same time.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    Makes sense for a company the size of Apple to diversify R&D. They should be able to work on multiple R&D projects at the same time.

     

    And if they keep doing display research, it will help for them to have more engineers closer to the manufacturers as they work on improvements to the related technologies. 

  • Reply 3 of 17
    Hope they don't get a tsunami in Tsunashimahigashi.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Toured central Japan last year. Yokohama was the worst place we visited. The Jersey City of Japan. Dirty, graffiti-ridden, industrial port city. Not where I'd want to live if posted to Japan. So many beautiful and inspiring places to live there. Why this place?
  • Reply 5 of 17
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    
    
    
    Toured central Japan last year. Yokohama was the worst place we visited. The Jersey City of Japan. Dirty, graffiti-ridden, industrial port city. Not where I'd want to live if posted to Japan. So many beautiful and inspiring places to live there. Why this place?

    Depends upon ones long term plans. The facility needs to fit the resources available. Besides Japan is just like every other country in the world, they have cities that need uplifting via new development.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Makes sense for a company the size of Apple to diversify R&D. They should be able to work on multiple R&D projects at the same time.

    I'm all for diversification but im left feeling Apple is forgetting how large the USA is! There are plenty of places in the USA that could use some development.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    wizard69 wrote: »
    I'm all for diversification but im left feeling Apple is forgetting how large the USA is! There are plenty of places in the USA that could use some development.

    They could literally have emough money to buy the entire city of Detroit.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    wizard69 wrote: »
    I'm all for diversification but im left feeling Apple is forgetting how large the USA is! There are plenty of places in the USA that could use some development.
    Apple's concern is research, not real estate development.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post





    I'm all for diversification but im left feeling Apple is forgetting how large the USA is! There are plenty of places in the USA that could use some development.



    Gotta go where the talent is and it ain’t in the U.S.

  • Reply 10 of 17
    drewys808drewys808 Posts: 549member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Robin Huber View Post



    Toured central Japan last year. Yokohama was the worst place we visited. The Jersey City of Japan. Dirty, graffiti-ridden, industrial port city. Not where I'd want to live if posted to Japan. So many beautiful and inspiring places to live there. Why this place?



    Not sure why you feel so strongly...to point out the negative aspects of Yokohama.

     

    First off, Yokohama (like New Jersey) has some very beautiful areas...why judge so harshly Apple's/Japan's decision to have an R&D center there?

     

    Second, do you know for a fact that Tsunashima-higashi is dirty/graffiti-ridden?...because it's not.

     

    ?Third, the only area of Yokohama that is not as nice is the industrial/port area which is only a small portion of the city. There is some graffiti but not graffiti-ridden. And definitely not very dirty.

     

    I just find it peculiar that you take the time to "bad mouth" Yokohama. It's  a very nice city.

     

    Maybe you're thinking of pre-2009?...Sakuragicho station had a legal graffiti wall so it attracted graffiti artists. But since has been painted over whilst certain paintings were left untouched. 

  • Reply 11 of 17
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    lkrupp wrote: »

    Gotta go where the talent is and it ain’t in the U.S.

    Not in LCD display technology, anyway.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    sennensennen Posts: 1,472member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    Hope they don't get a tsunami in Tsunashimahigashi.



    In English the words might seem related, but unfortunately not. Tsunami = tsu+nami ??, whereas Tsunashima = tsuna + shima ??. Nice try.

  • Reply 13 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sennen View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    Hope they don't get a tsunami in Tsunashimahigashi.



    In English the words might seem related, but unfortunately not. Tsunami = tsu+nami ??, whereas Tsunashima = tsuna + shima ??. Nice try.


     

     

    I'd sooner eat a tuna in Tsuna than a satsuma. :)

  • Reply 14 of 17
    sennensennen Posts: 1,472member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Robin Huber View Post



    Toured central Japan last year. Yokohama was the worst place we visited. The Jersey City of Japan. Dirty, graffiti-ridden, industrial port city. Not where I'd want to live if posted to Japan. So many beautiful and inspiring places to live there. Why this place?



    That's a shame, and completely different to my impression of it. I love the place, it's exactly where I'd want to live in Japan. There's much, much more to the place than the industrial areas, I find it a lot more liveable than central Tokyo.

  • Reply 15 of 17
    sennensennen Posts: 1,472member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by drewys808 View Post

     



    Not sure why you feel so strongly...to point out the negative aspects of Yokohama.

     

    First off, Yokohama (like New Jersey) has some very beautiful areas...why judge so harshly Apple's/Japan's decision to have an R&D center there?

     

    Second, do you know for a fact that Tsunashima-higashi is dirty/graffiti-ridden?...because it's not.

     

    ?Third, the only area of Yokohama that is not as nice is the industrial/port area which is only a small portion of the city. There is some graffiti but not graffiti-ridden. And definitely not very dirty.

     

    I just find it peculiar that you take the time to "bad mouth" Yokohama. It's  a very nice city.

     

    Maybe you're thinking of pre-2009?...Sakuragicho station had a legal graffiti wall so it attracted graffiti artists. But since has been painted over whilst certain paintings were left untouched. 


     

    Agree. And I quite like many parts of Tsurumi-ku, altho I'm probably biased.

  • Reply 16 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sennen View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drewys808 View Post

     



    Not sure why you feel so strongly...to point out the negative aspects of Yokohama.

     

    First off, Yokohama (like New Jersey) has some very beautiful areas...why judge so harshly Apple's/Japan's decision to have an R&D center there?

     

    Second, do you know for a fact that Tsunashima-higashi is dirty/graffiti-ridden?...because it's not.

     

    ?Third, the only area of Yokohama that is not as nice is the industrial/port area which is only a small portion of the city. There is some graffiti but not graffiti-ridden. And definitely not very dirty.

     

    I just find it peculiar that you take the time to "bad mouth" Yokohama. It's  a very nice city.

     

    Maybe you're thinking of pre-2009?...Sakuragicho station had a legal graffiti wall so it attracted graffiti artists. But since has been painted over whilst certain paintings were left untouched. 


     

    Agree. And I quite like many parts of Tsurumi-ku, altho I'm probably biased.


     

     

    I won't dispute as to whether you're biased, but I only have one ass myself.

  • Reply 17 of 17
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    wizard69 wrote: »
    I'm all for diversification but im left feeling Apple is forgetting how large the USA is! There are plenty of places in the USA that could use some development.

    lkrupp wrote: »

    Gotta go where the talent is and it ain’t in the U.S.

    One wacky comment offset by another.
    It's funny world.????
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