Japan

Archive news

23 May 2008: Carbon market could be worth 2 trillion euros in 2020: study. Read more

15 May 2008: Tooth loss strongly linked to risk of esophageal, head and neck, and lung cancer. Read more

12 May 2008: Japan aims to cut emissions by 60-80 pct by 2050: reports. Read more

18 April 2008: Hitachi, EON and Electrabel join forces to test carbon capture. Read more

20 March 2008: Japanese households and businesses could end up paying more than $500 billion to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11 percent over the next decade, the trade and industry ministry said Wednesday. Read more

20 March 2008: Long ago, antimatter all but vanished from existence, allowing matter to predominate and form the stars and planets of the universe. Read more

14 March 2008: Radiation exposure before birth or during early childhood increased the risk of adult solid cancers, according to a study of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Read more

14 March 2008: The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Toda Kogyo Corp. (Toda) of Japan have reached a world-wide licensing agreement for the commercial production and sales of Argonne’s patented composite cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, which result in longer-lasting, safer batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, cell phones, laptop computers and other applications. Read more

4 March 2008: Hydrogen fuel cells make power for homes in Japan. Read more

4 March 2008: Coming soon to Japan: remote control with a wink. Read more

4 March 2008: Japan seeks new allies on whaling. Read more

3 March 2008: At a university lab in Tokyo, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust. Read more

29 February 2008: Japanese cell phones to turn into 'robot' buddies. Read more

26 February 2008: Japanese firm creates fake soil for a greener city. Read more

25 February 2008: Japan's space agency has launched an experimental communications satellite designed to enable super high-speed data transmission in remote areas. Read more

25 February 2008: Japan is set to launch a satellite aimed at providing high-speed Internet access across Asia, the country's space agency said. Read more

22 February 2008: Japanese firm harnesses the power of human touch. Read more

22 February 2008: The European Science Foundation (ESF) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) are organising a frontier science conference for young researchers in the areas of cognitive science and robotics from 9 to 15 March in Kanagawa, Japan. Read more

22 February 2008: The European Commission is set to inject a further EUR 12 million into an initiative which provides scientists in the Asia-Pacific region with high speed internet access to enable their participation in international research projects. Read more

19 February 2008: Toshiba to announce HD DVD pullout. Read more

19 February 2008: Sharp, Tokyo Electron to tie up on solar cells. Read more

7 February 2008: A spacecraft made of folded paper zooming through the skies may sound far-fetched, but Japanese scientists plan to launch paper planes from the International Space Station to see if they make it back to Earth. Read more

7 February 2008: Japanese officials admit to further radioactive leaks at nuclear plant following an earthquake. Read more

24 January 2008: A Japanese astronaut plans to throw a boomerang inside a space station to test how it can fly in zero gravity, an official said Wednesday. Read more

6 December 2007: In an opening gambit, Japan has proposed that the Bali climate conference pursue a broad "least common denominator" approach to negotiating new controls on global-warming gases. Environmentalists couldn't think less of it. Read more

6 December 2007: Japanese public broadcaster NHK on Wednesday unveiled a new system to put hidden identifiers into films to trace counterfeit works distributed over the Internet. Read more

3 December 2007: A Japanese team that last week broke new ground in stem cell research announced a further advance on Friday, saying they had made good progress towards clearing a key safety hurdle in their work. Read more 3 December 2007: European researchers in Japan have given a warm welcome to Commission plans to set up a network of European researchers in Japan called ERA-Link/Japan. Read more

30 November 2007: Japan's Sharp Corp. announced Thursday a 200-million-dollar investment in solar cells as manufacturers compete for a slice of the burgeoning market for alternative energy products. Read more

30 November 2007: Signing a first procurement arrangement with Japan, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) organisation has just taken an important step in the construction process. Read more

28 November 2007: A laser-driven motor has been demonstrated by Japanese researchers. Future versions could provide pinpoint mechanical control in places that electric motors cannot normally go, they say. Read more

28 November 2007: A new, high-tech identification system developed in Japan will improve accuracy and significantly reduce the time it takes to identify victims of mass disasters. Read more

19 November 2007: A draft statement obtained by AFP on Saturday said the leaders will also throw their support behind a UN plan as the "core mechanism" for tackling global warming. Read more

9 November 2007: The e-safety deployment workshop and awards ceremony will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 14 November 2007. Read more

25 October 2007: Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. showcased Wednesday a new hybrid concept model that is packaged in carbon fiber to reduce weight, fuel consumption and emissions. Read more

17 October 2007: Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) (TOKYO:6501) [profile] and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) announced that they have developed the world's smallest read-head technology for hard disk drives, which is expected to quadruple current storage capacity limits to four terabytes (TB) on a desktop hard drive and one TB on a notebook hard drive. Read more

16 October 2007: Two case studies from Japan presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology point to a potential health problem in the United States, as more Americans consume raw fish in the form of sushi and sashimi. Anisakiasis (round worm) is a human parasitic infection caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood containing Anisakis larvae. Read more 15 October 2007: Japan's Kaguya spacecraft has released its second mini-probe into orbit around the Moon. Read more

19 September 2007: Japan launched its first lunar probe on Friday, nicknamed Kaguya after a fairy-tale princess, in the latest move in a new race with China, India and the United States to explore the moon. Read more

30 August 2007: Japan plans to start research on new networking technology that could one day replace the Internet amid its growing quality and security problems, according to the nation's communications ministry. Read more

27 August 2007: Japan claims its project is the biggest since Apollo. China says it is readying its probes to study the one in the losses in a lunar surface to plan a landing. Read more

10 August 2007: New research into SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) suggests that the virus is more resilient than first thought, and can be spread through contact with contaminated objects. Read more

26 July 2007: Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it had taken a step closer to launching its plug-in hybrid vehicle, which has become the first of its kind to get a roadworthiness certificate in Japan. Read more

26 July 2007: Molecular evidence indicates that father-to-child transmission is an "important route" of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Japan, Japanese researchers warn in the Journal of Medical Virology. Read more

23 July 2007: Japan's space agency said the mid-August launch of its lunar orbiter will be postponed due to a technical glitch, delivering another setback to the much-delayed probe. Read more

16 July 2007: A new worldwide scientific portal has gone online, offering researchers and interested members of the public free access to more than 200 million pages of international research information. Read more.

27 June 2007: After five years of design and development work by nearly 500 students from most ESA member countries, along with the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia, the experiment has passed its final review. Read more

27 June 2007: NASA and its 15 partner nations, including Russia, Canada, Japan and European countries, plan to finish construction of the space station in 2010, when the U.S. space shuttles are grounded and NASA focuses its manned spaceflight program on returning to the moon in an Orion spacecraft. Read more

22 June 2007: Scientists at Yokohama National University in Japan have built a highly efficient room-temperature nanometer-scale laser that produces stable, continuous streams of near-infrared laser light. read more

13 June 2007: The European Union and Japan have highlighted their common objectives for climate change research, and have pledged to further strengthen their scientific cooperation. The commitment was made following a meeting of Japanese and European researchers and science policy makers at the fourth EU-Japan workshop on climate change research in Brussels, Belgium. During the event, participants exchanged information on ongoing climate research activities under the EU Sixth Framework Programme's 'Global change and ecosystems' priority, as well as Japan's climate change research programmes. read more

13 June 2007: Japanese researchers say they have used a staple of their nation's diet--rice--to develop what could become an effective, safe, and inexpensive vaccine against cholera. The new vaccine, which would be taken as a pill and does not require refrigeration, could pave the way for similar vaccines for diseases that also affect the body's mucous tissues, such as influenza, botulism, and even anthrax. read more

12 June 2007: G8 leaders agree "substantial" greenhouse gas cuts. The European Union, Canada and Japan want to cut emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050. read more

7 June 2007: The EU and Japan adopted a paper on 'Promoting research and innovation towards prosperity' at a joint summit on 5 June. The paper outlines four areas where ties can be strengthened: research cooperation; protecting intellectual property rights (IPR); supporting collaboration between the public and private sectors; and developing an innovation-friendly environment. read more

21 May 2007: Zinc transmits info in immune cells. The Japanese research could lead to the creation of new medicines. read more

16 May 2007: The ocean around Japan has warmed up faster than elsewhere in the world over the last hundred years partly because of global warming, Japan's Meteorological Agency said on Tuesday. read more

30 April 2007: Annoyed by the tangle of power cords under your desk? A sheet of plastic invented by researchers in Japan could one day make for tables and walls that power devices placed on them — without any need for wires or plugs. Computers could be powered through the desks on which they sit, for example, or flat-screen televisions through the walls where they hang. read more

20 April 2007: "Liver holiday" may do drinkers some good. A Japanese study has found that men who drank relatively heavily on most days of the week had a heightened risk of dying from any cause, but men who drank roughly the same amount of alcohol but had a couple of alcohol-free days during the week showed no increase in their mortality risk. read more

20 April 2007: Japan is set to launch its first lunar orbiter this summer, but exploring the moon is just part of the mission. read more

20 April 2007: Three European scientists were awarded the 23rd Japan Prize here Thursday for outstanding achievements in science and technology. read more

19 April 2007: Japan still hopes that a damaged spacecraft designed to collect and bring asteroid samples to Earth will succeed in its mission, a top Japanese space official says. read more

12 April 2007: NEC Corporation has developed a completely new kind of bioplastic composed of plant-based material and carbon fiber, which realizes heat conductivity higher than that of stainless steel. The innovative bioplastic is expected to make electronic products more environmentally sound, while solving conventional heat release issues. read more

10 April 2007: Study finds drug-resistant flu virus in Japan. Type B flu viruses show resistance to Tamiflu, Relenza. read more

10 April 2007: Researchers find resistance in less-common forms of flu in Japan. The findings suggest new medications will be needed if type B viruses become more prevalent. read more

29 March 2007: The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and German Research Foundation (DFG) have launched a new scheme for joint funding of Japanese-German cooperative research projects. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the collaboration between the two countries in their chosen field of 'Nanoelectronics' to achieve world-class scientific results, leading to new innovative technologies. read more

28 March 2007: Japan experts link osteoarthritis to gene variant. Reduces the amount of GDF5, a protein necessary for the maintenance of cartilage in joints. read more

28 March 2007: Researchers in Japan have developed a pair of molecular-scale scissors that open and close in response to light. The tiny scissors are the first example of a molecular machine capable of mechanically manipulating molecules by using light, the scientists say. read more

27 March 2007: Japan to review alleged abnormal behavior linked to Tamiflu use. Government tells doctors not to prescribe the flu drug to teenagers. read more

27 March 2007: Anti-hay fever GMO rice may win over Japanese doubts. Japanese researchers have successfully cultivated a genetically modified rice that contains some of the allergy-related proteins found in Japanese cedar pollen, the most common cause of hay fever in Japan. read more

28 February 2007: Japanese whalers end Antarctic season and head home. Greenpeace says it will stay with the fleet until it leaves Antarctic waters. read more

27 February 2007: A message for millennia - in bacteria. Japanese scientists have developed technology for storing digital data in the DNA of hay bacillus bacteria, technology the researchers say could benefit companies wanting to detect piracy and protect patents. read more

21 February 2007: Bioengineering helps toothless mice smile again. Japanese researchers have succesfully implanted teeth created in the lab using mesenchymal and epithelial cells. read more

20 February 2007: Japanese researchers said on Sunday they had grown normal-looking teeth from single cells in lab dishes, and transplanted them into mice. read more

19 February 2007: Japan has rejected a plea by New Zealand to allow a Greenpeace vessel to tow its stricken whaling ship out of Antarctic waters. read more

16 February 2007: Pro-whaling nations to discuss reform at boycotted meeting. Only 34 of 72 IWC member nations are represented at the meeting. read more

13 February 2007: An agreement creating a privileged partnership between Japan and Euratom in fusion energy research was signed on 5 February in Tokyo. The agreement is part of the 'Broader Approach' to fusion research, approved during the negotiations on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. ITER involves the EU, the US, Japan, Russia, South Korea, China and India. read more

13 February 2007: Japanese tech may save India's river dolphins – WWF. A safe underwater acoustic device that measures individual clicking sounds emitted by the dolphins has been developed by researchers from the University of Tokyo. read more

12 February 2007: Nanocarbon Material Team at Research Center for Advanced Carbon Materials of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Zeon Corp. have jointly develop a technology to synthesize a great number of single-wall carbon nanotubes directly on a large metal plate for the first time. The new technology is characterized by the "super-growth technique" which is a method to synthesize single-wall carbon nanotubes. read more

7 February 2007: The death of another critically endangered western grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in Japanese fishing nets has scientists and conservationists concerned for the safety of the species — and confused as to why the deaths are happening. read more

29 January 2007: Bile acid-binding resin treats diabetes, in mice. A Japanese study on the effects of colestimide on blood glucose levels in mice with a disease similar to type-2 diabetes. read more

26 January 2007: Japan summit aims to save world's threatened tuna stocks. Unprecedented global summit brings together the world's five regional tuna regulating bodies. read more

23 January 2007: A five-day meeting aiming to reverse the decline in tuna stocks worldwide is under way in Kobe, Japan. read more

18 January 2007: A Japanese space mission once expected to reveal the secrets of the moon's origin and evolution has crashed even before launch, the victim of a too-ambitious technological hurdle. read more

17 January 2007: Tests have confirmed that bird flu detected in chickens in southern Japan was the virulent H5N1 strain that has been blamed for more than 160 human deaths worldwide, the Japanese Agricultural Ministry said Tuesday. read more

17 January 2007: Japan's space agency JAXA has recommended scrapping its planned impact mission to the Moon, after more than a decade of delay. read more

17 January 2007: China, Japan and South Korea have held their first ever trilateral science ministers' meeting, resulting in an agreement to strengthen ties in areas including the environment and energy. read more

16 January 2007: Local authorities in southwestern Japan began incinerating 12,000 dead chickens on a farm Monday as part of efforts to stop the spread of a recent bird flu outbreak. read more

15 January 2007: Two European scientists have won the prestigious Japan Prize for their groundbreaking work that led to a leap in computer hard disk capacity. read more

20 December 2006: A heatproof battery for laptops, which could help solve recent problems with overheating, is to be mass produced by Japanese firm Matsushita. read more

8 December 2006: China looks set to overtake Japan to become the world's second largest spender on research and development (R&D) in 2006, according to the latest forecasts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). But reports have called into question the OECD figures, saying that they are much higher than official Chinese figures. read more

8 December 2006: Japan scientists find gene linked to heavy smoking. Found 70 percent of heavy smokers had a highly active type of the CYP2A6 gene. read more

29 November 2006: Scientists in Japan say they have identified a compound that appears to stop the tuberculosis bacteria from multiplying, offering new hope in the fight against the increasingly drug-resistant disease. read more

27 November 2006: The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday formally approved a strain of genetically engineered rice whose discovery in commercial stocks earlier this year triggered a food market dispute with the European Union and Japan. read more

24 November 2006: The EU and Japan formalised their 'Broader Approach' to fusion technology on 22 November when representatives from both initialled an agreement on three large research projects to be carried out in Japan. read more

17 November 2006: Five Departments in the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, are offering advanced study and research opportunities to foreign students in the framework of the Special Graduate Program on Engineering for Systems Innovation ("the Special Program"). Ten selected applicants will be awarded scholarships from Monbukagakusho (Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). The program offers Masters (2 years) and Doctoral (3 years) courses leading to Master of Engineering and Doctor of Engineering degrees in the five Departments, respectively. Those accepted to the program will be enrolled in the winter semester which begins on 1 October 2007. Research and instruction are conducted both in English and in Japanese. Japanese language courses are offered by the Department of Quantum Engineering and Systems Science. For further information go to http://www.q.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/inter/

16 November 2006: Six Japanese whaling ships have set sail for their annual hunt in the south Atlantic. read more

16 November 2006: Professor creates hands-free data entry system. The device allows data to be entered just by looking at characters on the computer screen. read more

3 November 2006: Japan’s Sony said yesterday it plans to start selling the world’s lightest notebook computer in December, in a bid to boost its presence among business users. Weighing 898 grams, Sony’s “type G” Vaio computer will be the lightest laptop PC, and comes with a 12.1-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said. read more

17 October 2006: WHO western Pacific chief vows to make bird flu priority. Japan's Shigeru Omi is among 13 candidates seeking the top job at the UN health agency. read more

17 October 2006: As part of measures to reduce the number of smokers, Japan is expected to set a numerical target for smokers by fiscal 2010, government sources said Monday. read more

17 October 2006: Industrial world losing sight of Kyoto targets. Europe is veering off course, Japan is still far from its target and Canada has given up. read more

4 October 2006: Scientists identify agent that regulates appetite. Japanese researchers have identified a molecule responsible for making mammals feel full, a discovery that could lead to new ways to treat obesity in humans. read more

29 September 2006: Japan has expanded testing of US rice for an unapproved genetically modified strain due to a lack of proof from Washington that short- and medium-grain rice are free from contamination. read more

21 September 2006: A new Japanese-led solar mission with ESA participation is preparing for launch on 23 September 2006. Solar-B will study the mechanisms which power the solar atmosphere and look for the causes of violent solar eruptions. Read more

14 September 2006: Drinking several cups of green tea every day could cut peoples’ risk of death from a range of diseases, but does not appear to lower the chances of getting cancer, says a Japanese study. read more

13 September 2006: A study of more than 40,000 men and women in Japan has found that those who drink a lot of green tea live longer, researchers said on Tuesday. read more

12 September 2006: Chemists in Japan have found that brown seaweed, a flavor component used in many Asian soups and salads, contains a compound that appears in animal studies to promote weight loss by reducing the accumulation of fat. Called fucoxanthin, the compound achieved a 5 percent to 10 percent weight reduction in test animals and could be developed into a natural extract or drug to help fight obesity, the researchers say. read more

11 September 2006: A Japanese scientist who invented environmentally friendly sources of light has been awarded this year's Millennium Technology Prize. read more

6 September 2006: International Conference on Epigenetic Robotics, 20-22 September 2006 in Paris, France. Organised by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan, this event brings together researchers from a range of fields, including developmental sciences, neuroscience, biology, and cognitive robotics and artificial intelligence. read more

6 September 2006: The 22nd International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition, 23-28 October 2006 in Yokohama, Japan. EVS 22 is the largest expo in this area and will cover all the latest research and activities in the field of battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles - transport for tomorrow. Papers are requested for the symposium (deadline for abstracts is 10 January 2006). Plenary sessions will focus on sustainable mobility, especially the technological prospects, policies and programmes around the world. Workshops are also being organised, alongside an exhibition space. In addition, the World Electric Vehicle Association will launch its newsletter 'WEVA Journal' at the event. read more

5 September 2006: Japanese engineers unveil mechanical sommelier. NEC researchers have designed a robot that can taste different wines, cheeses and hors d'oeuvres. read more

1 September 2006: Fujitsu announced on Wednesday that it will ship its first hard drive to use perpendicular recording in October--a 160GB, 2.5-inch drive for laptops. Read more

30 August 2006: The Japan Science Technology Agency (JST) has launched an English version of the Failure Knowledge Database. Its Japanese version has been available since March last year. The basic premise is that lessons from the analysis of previous failures (mistakes and accidents) in the fields of S&T probably as much as from success stories, and the insight gained from this analysis can only increase the reliability and safety of new/existing technologies. NZ researchers may be interested. Read More

30 August 2006: SONY HAS finally gotten around to releasing a Blu-ray player in Japan, more than six months after its rivals Toshiba released an HD-DVD player. Read more

28 August 2006: The spare processing power of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) will be harnessed by scientists trying to understand the cause of diseases like Alzheimer's. Read more

28 August 2006: Microsoft has confirmed that Japanese firm Toshiba will make its portable media player - "Zune" - to be released before the end of the year. Read more

25 August 2006: The Wii console from Japanese gaming giant Nintendo will cost under 250 euros (£170) in Europe, according to a senior executive at the company. Read more

25 August 2006: Canon Inc. unveiled a new digital single-lens reflex camera on Thursday that undercut the price of a similar model sold by Sony Corp. in the market for photo enthusiasts. Read more

24 August 2006: Japanese ship to join Philippine oil spill cleanup. Read more

15 August 2006: Ariane 5 rocket launches Japanese and French satellites into orbit. On 11 August, Ariane 5 ECA completed another ascent into space, successfully launching two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbits. read more

9 August 2006: As Europe's first spacecraft to orbit the Moon completes its mission, debate over the construction of a lunar base has been reignited by an announcement from Japan that it intends to start building a base by 2030. read more

4 August 2006: Japan's space agency has provoked surprise among other space experts by re-affirming its ambition to build a habitable base on the Moon within decades. read more

1 August 2006: High pregnancy rates show minke whale is safe. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research claims 93.8 percent of Antarctic minke females were pregnant this summer. read more

20 July 2006: Business leaders from the EU and Japan met in Tokyo on 13 and 14 July, as part of the ongoing EU-Japan Business Dialogue Round Table (EJBDRT). They identified five priority areas for increased cooperation between Japan and the EU. Four of the five priority areas relate specifically to research. read more

30 June 2006: Japan plans to fight global warming and surging oil prices by requiring all vehicles to run on an environment-friendly mix of ethanol or other biofuels by 2030, an official said Thursday. read more

27 June 2006: Japan hopes to slash greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming with a revolutionary plan to pump carbon dioxide into underground storage reservoirs instead of releasing it into the atmosphere, an official said Monday. read more

22 June 2006: The Health Research Council is planning a visit to Japan in July.

22 June 2006: A new method of freezing human eggs could enable many more women, particularly young cancer patients, to have children, Japanese fertility experts said on Monday. read more

16 June 2006: A device capable of counting the individual electrons in an electric current, by feeding them through a pair of quantum dots, has been developed by scientists in Japan. read more

16 June 2006: Japanese inventor Shuji Nakamura was on Thursday named winner of the one million euro ($1.26 million) Millennium Technology Prize, the world's biggest technology award. read more

13 June 2006: The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) plans to provide coal liquefaction technologies to China as part of a broader effort to promote the energy resource in Asia outside Japan in order to alleviate the global shortage of crude oil, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. read more