(or, Home is Where the Mat Is)
This summer I came to the multi-culti realization that, for me, home is where the mat is.
After living in Oita City the same number of years (past the decade mark) as New York City (where I resided before Japan), I realize that home is no longer a country or a town.
I found that a 60 cm X 180 cm space that I can roll up and carry with me does the trick to let me find my center, and to be at home wherever …

Fujifilm Corp announced a digital camera that can shoot 3D still pictures and 3D movies Aug 17, 2010.
The digital camera, "FinePix Real 3D W3," is a successor to the FinePix Real 3D W1, Fujifilm’s 3D camera released in August 2009 (See related article). The FinePix Real 3D W3 will be released Sept 4, 2010, in Japan. There is no manufacturer’s suggested retail price, but the expected retail price is ¥48,000 (approx US$562), which is lower than the price of the FinePix Real 3D W1 (about ¥60,000).
The W3 has the same …

Sharp Corp will release a 60-inch touch-sensitive display for business use Aug 31, 2010, in Japan.
By using an accompanying pen, it is possible to write characters directly on the display and to operate the display. Therefore, it can be used as an electronic whiteboard in an office or a school. Characters and figures handwritten on the display can be stored as data and printed out, making it easy to create and distribute conference minutes.
There is no manufacturer’s suggested retail price, but the expected retail price of the display is ¥1 …

After prodding from the Japanese government, Apple Inc. will post prominent notices on its website warning some iPod Nano music players in Japan may overheat.
Sixty-one cases of batteries overheating have been reported in first-generation iPod Nano machines sold in 2005 and 2006, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Some units were warped by the heat that caused minor burns when people touched them, but no serious injuries or damage have been reported, it said.
via Apple to set up Japan Web warning on problem iPods.

Panasonic Corp announced consumer camcorders capable of shooting 3D movies July 28, 2010.

The camcorders, "HDC-TM750" and "HDC-TM650," can shoot 3D movies when they are equipped with the VW-CLT1, a separately sold conversion lens unit. Though there are no manufacturer’s suggested retail prices, the expected retail prices of the HDC-TM750, HDC-TM650 and VW-CLT1 are ¥160,000 (approx US$1,847), ¥130,000 and ¥38,000, respectively. They will be released late in August 2010.

Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems, the automaker said Thursday.
The 373,000 Avalons being recalled in the U.S. range from the 2000 model year through to 2004 and have improper casting of the steering lock bar — a component for the steering system — causing cracks to develop on the surface.
Read the rest of the story: Toyota recalls 412,000 cars in US, 16,000 in Japan.

Nintendo’s glasses-free three-dimensional portable, the 3DS, walked away with the Best of Show accolade following the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo. In fact, anticipation for the handheld is so pronounced that industry analyst Michael Pachter thinks Nintendo can charge more than it ever has before for a piece of hardware and remain financially viable.
According to the Wedbush analyst, the 3DS and its games are "revolutionary" enough to warrant elevated price tags at retail.
So is Nintendo raising the stakes with its new system?
Read the rest of the story: 3DS could cost more …

JFE Engineering Corp disclosed the concept of the “super-rapid charging system,” which is being developed by the company, June 16, 2010, at Smart Grid Exhibition 2010 in Tokyo.
The system can charge the battery of a normal electric passenger vehicle to 50% capacity in three minutes and to 70% capacity in five minutes, which are much faster than the charging speeds of the existing charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs). Therefore, the new system is expected to enhance the convenience of EVs.
Rapid charging systems that have already been commercialized by some …

Farmers resumed shipping livestock in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Friday as a three-week ban on moving animals was lifted at midnight Thursday, after confirmation that the foot-and-mouth epidemic had ended.
A suspected case of the disease broke out June 9 in the city, which serves as one of Japan’s major livestock centers. But no other cases have since emerged, thanks to a quick countermeasure of culling and burying all the animals at the farm.
The Miyakonojo city office decided to reopen most of its public facilities on Saturday, including libraries and gymnasiums, which …

An average baby — sort of — since Yotaro is a robot. His inventors hope he will help Japan’s sagging birth rate, among the lowest in the world.

“A robot can’t be human but it’s great if this robot triggers human emotions, so humans want to have their own baby,” said Hiroki Kunimura, the project leader for the Yotaro robot.