Researchers have created a baby bot in the hope that it’ll lead to an intelligent robot that can live with humans. The tiny androids are also being tested to help scientists understand more about the early stages of child development.

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Honda Motor Co. plans to consolidate its lineup in Japan by ceasing development of new models of name-brand cars and will only offer a hybrid version of its Civic, according to a report Friday. The Nikkei business daily reported that while Honda plans to roll out a new Civic worldwide in fall 2011, in Japan only the hybrid version will be released. Honda also plans to discontinue the Legend sedan, and has already halted development of the Elysion, according to the report.

Source: Market Watch

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Traveling to Japan or just need to escape the city?

Ishigaki is one of those resort islands in Okinawa that my brother-in-law loves and on his last trip there he said it was a blast! He also came back with a very nice bottle of shochu, which I admit I didn’t let last long.

How to get away from it all:

Step 1: Leave Tokyo!
Step 2: Fly 2,000 km south toward the Equator to Ishigaki, the main island of the southerly Yaeyama group in Okinawa Prefecture.
Step 3: Who Cares you are in paradise.

Enjoy the palm trees and smells of tropical flowers on your way to Kabira, a peninsula which is known for its bay that’s classed as one of the 100 most beautiful scenic spots in Japan. Kabira makes up the north-west part of the Island of Ishigaki. And the Club Med resort stands opposite a white sandy beach where the sea is extremely clear. The high quality of the underwater world and the wealth of fauna and flora make the bay exotic.

Book a hotel in Ishigaki right now!

Read more about Ishigaki: Wikipedia

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Japan’s number one mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo has said it will add a new application platform to its “i-mode” handsets this year as it tries to catch up with Apple’s runaway iPhone success.

NTT DoCoMo will allow third-party individuals to develop applications for the company’s 50 million “i-mode” users, spokeswoman Makiko Furuta said.

DoCoMo revolutionised Japan’s mobile phone market with the 1999 launch of its i-mode service, which brought internet services to mobile phones. However, DoCoMo restricted the number of app developers, citing quality control issues.

But the recent emergence of open platform systems such as Google’s Android and Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPad has prompted DoCoMo to loosen its controls and allow individuals to easily create and offer apps and services.

Read the rest of the story: Japan’s DoCoMo plans new app platform for phones

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Photograph by Koichi Takaki

Recent research from Iwate University suggests there may be some truth to old Japanese farming legends that claim lightning causes mushrooms to multiply.

In studies conducted over the past four years, Iwate University researchers — led by Associate Professor of Engineering, Koichi Takaki — have found that mushroom crop yields can be improved by applying high-voltage electricity to logs seeded with spores. So far, the team has studied ten mushroom species and found that bolts of lightning-strength electricity improve the crop yields for eight of those species.

Nameko and shiitake mushroom crops have demonstrated the most significant improvements after electrical stimulation. Under the best conditions, the nameko crop yield improved 80%, while the shiitake crop yield doubled.

Read the rest of the story:

Lightning boosts mushroom crop yield

Lightning Makes Mushrooms Multiply

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Japan’s solar-powered spacecraft IKAROS has been successfully photographed with its open silver space sail, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Wednesday. The 14-meter-square sail has ultrathin solar cells on film measuring 0.0075 millimeter thick. The cells trap sunlight to generate electricity to power its space flight while at the same time the craft uses photon propulsion. On one side of the film is vapor-deposited aluminum that reflects sunlight, which thus propels the craft.

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One sunny Saturday last month, Hitachi Ltd., Japan’s largest electronics maker, made headlines when it hosted a rare tour of its spanking new elevator-testing tower — the world’s tallest — at its sprawling facility in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture.

The 213.5-meter “G1 Tower,” which took two years and ¥6 billion to build, houses nine elevator shafts designed for various tests. And, as Hitachi staffers explained that day, it symbolizes the firm’s ambition to achieve “global No. 1″ status in its elevator products and technologies.

How exactly does Hitachi intend to take that top spot?

Read the rest of the story: Towering ambition

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It has been officially announced, the Giant RX-78 Gundam Statue/Model will make a comeback this year, but this time it will be located in Shizuoka City, 125 miles west of Tokyo. A Bandai spokesperson said Gundam will come to life once more in June, at the East Higashi-Shizuoka Station near the local Bandai factory in which there is a guided tour(with previous reservation) that could complete a touristic itinerary.

Originally this incredible real scale statue was erected in Tokyo’s artificial island Odaiba, to commemorate the 30th aniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam. The statue was dismantled last September, but it was so successful (4 million visitors approximately) that the people from Bandai decided to bring it back to life again.

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The customized Mira EV travelled at speeds of around 40kph as it drove non-stop around a car racing course in Shimotsuma in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The red and white vehicle, fitted with a special lithium ion battery created by the Japanese company Sanyo, ran for 27.5 hours covering a distance of 1,003km without being recharged.

A total of 17 different people took turns at the wheel of the electric car as it circled repeatedly around the racecourse during the experiment.

Read the rest of the story: Electric car travels record 1,000km on single charge

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Four leading Japanese electronics makers said Monday they will team up with top network operator NTT DoCoMo to develop the operating system for its next-generation cellphones, due for launch next year.

Sharp, Panasonic, NEC and Fujitsu will work together with NTT DoCoMo and Japanese chip maker Renesas Technology to develop a platform compatible with systems such as Linux and Symbian.

The new platform will offer improved processing speeds for high quality video as well as enhanced 3D graphics processing for more advanced mobile multimedia functions, DoCoMo said in a statement.

Read the rest of the story: Japan phone makers team up to develop new platform

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