Major electronics maker Toshiba is getting serious about the rooftop solar game, with plans to resell highly-efficient photovoltaic panels made by Bay Area-based SunPower. The two companies just struck a supply deal for 32 megawatts worth of panels in 2010 — enough to power as many as 32,000 homes.
The contract is significant for two reasons. Not only is it expanding SunPower’s global footprint and broadening its portfolio of projects, it also signals increased interest in solar energy in Japan, where Toshiba hopes to launch its residential solar business on April …

The new affordable, sporty hybrid Honda CR-Z is all set to go on sale in Japan.
CR-Z is short for “Compact Renaissance Zero”…and your guess is as good as mine on the name, but Honda is aiming the car at the younger generation, who want to go for a “green” car with a bit of flair and oomph. So what’s in a name? The car will go on sale in Japan today and in the United States and Europe by midyear.
Honda Motor Co. announced on Thursday that “the Japanese price would …

According to the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japanese Scientists from Tokyo University have invented a substance dubbed, “Elastic Water”. The substance is obtained by adding two grams of clay and a small quantity of organic matter into water. This new substance is jelly-like and is considered proper for usage in medicine for sticking tissues together as it is 95% water.

Anyone who’s had their laptop or cellphone run out of juice at a crucial moment can attest to the limitations that present power storage methods have on technology, but a product from Aqua Power Systems Japan may indicate an amazing new advancement: the water-powered battery.

At their present capability, NoPoPo (No Pollution Power) Eco batteries have enough power to save lives during a disaster since they can run on the smallest amount of fluid (drinkable or bodily), which means that someone lost in the woods or trapped under rubble could recharge …

Seeking to turn an environmental problem into an economic opportunity, high-tech companies in resource-poor Japan are mining mountains of toxic e-waste for precious materials.
One model project, the sprawling Panasonic Eco Technology Center, sits in lush rice fields an hour’s drive outside of Osaka city.
Inside, workers and humming machines disassemble flat-panel televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners, sorting their metal and plastic components into boxes for recycling.

About 90 percent of dismantled parts are reused in one way or another, says Yutaka Maehara, a manager at the plant.
Among the most precious parts …

A technical tie-up between Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. in the field of hybrid vehicles is likely to be of greater benefit to Mazda, which lags behind in developing eco-friendly automobiles.

Mazda could eventually try to further strengthen its ties with Toyota by using Toyota auto parts and taking other measures in the aftermath of Ford Motor Co., Mazda’s largest shareholder, reducing its ratio of Mazda’s shares.

Toyota plans to lease out 600 of the plug-in hybrids to governments and corporations in Japan, the United States and Europe and gain feedback.

It says it will start selling the plug-in hybrid at home and abroad in two years.

The five-seater has a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Increased capacity of the lithium-ion batteries gives it a longer electric-motor-only cruising range. Its plug also allows users to charge the batteries using household electricity.

Japanese researchers said on Thursday they had found a way to make plant leaves absorb more carbon dioxide in an innovation that may one day help ease global warming and boost food production.
The Kyoto University team found that soaking germinated seeds in a protein solution raised the number of pores, or stomas, on the leaves that inhale CO2 and release oxygen, said chief researcher Ikuko Hara-Nishimura.
“A larger number means there are more intake windows for carbon dioxide, contributing to lowering the density of the gas,” she told AFP …

Beware Batman, Masked Marvels, and Spider Woman.
This year I am going to be
an Umbrella.
With the haunting and bewitching full moon shining down upon us this Halloween night, what are you going to be?
JGY
Found in Japan

Applications for the ”eco-point” system, which Japan has introduced to stimulate purchases of more energy-efficient electric appliances, totaled around 510,000 in the first month, according to a government tally compiled through Saturday.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the eco-point program has helped to boost sales of flat-panel televisions and refrigerators.
After launching the program on May 15, the government began accepting consumer registrations for eco-points and applications to exchange the points for merchandise, gift coupons and electronic money on …