Things have been a little dark for Nintendo lately, with an unprofitable year along with a goofy, poorly-introduced peripheral, but now that the first of its big holiday releases is hitting stores things are starting to look better for them… in Japan at least. Last week the 3DS and Super Mario 3D Land both took the top spot in the Japanese sales charts in a big way.
After slashing the price on the 3DS system, hardware sales had been up in a big way, but software sales had remained, well, soft. …

Toyota wants to help Japan’s aging population with machines than can help people move around with a leg brace and a personal transporter.
The Walk Assist Robot is made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic and attaches to the legs of patients who have suffered paralysis to help them walk.
Weighing 7.7 pounds, the device has a position sensor on the thigh area, a pressure sensor on the sole, and a knee actuator that moves the brace based on data from the sensors.
Read the rest of the story: Toyota plans nursing robots for aging …

Japan’s parliament has come under cyber attack again, apparently from the same emails linked to a China-based server that have already hit several lawmakers’ computers, an official said Wednesday.
Malicious emails were found on computers used in the upper chamber of the Japanese parliament, a government spokesman said.
"The upper house office has confirmed that seven suspicious emails, the same ones that were sent to the lower house, were found" in computers in the upper house, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Isao Saito said.
Read the rest of the story: New cyber attack on …

They don’t just sneak around, they sleep around. And if they’re already in a relationship, they’re called cheaters. In Japan, tech has helped them get away scott free for years. That’s changed.
With new smartphones and GPS tracking, it’s now possible to find phones—and presumably their owners. But what about privacy? And the law? Ha!
On Aug. 30 in Japan, an Android smartphone app called Kare Log ("Boyfriend Log") launched, allowing girlfriends to track smartphone GPS data via PC as well as the phone’s remaining battery life and call history.
Read the rest …

Los Angeles-based Hulu, the online television and film streaming site, has expanded its distribution in Japan, via a deal with Sony. According to Hulu, it has launched on Sony BRAVIA HDTV and Sonys PlayStation 3 gaming consoles, as the first non-gaming app to be distributed on the PS3 in Japan. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Hulu announced its entry into the Japanese market on September 1st. Access to Hulu on those devices requires a monthly subscription to Hulus Japanese service.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense has created one of the most versatile flying robots I have ever seen, and what is thought to be the world’s first spherical flying robot to boot.
The robot manages to combine the best of both a helicopter and a winged plane and can hover as well as travel very fast with forward motion. In fact, this little 350 gram, 42cm diameter ball can reach speeds of up to 60km/h.
As you can see in the video below, due to the use of three on-board gyro sensors it …

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has set in motion its full-scale testing of smart grid and related commercial systems at its production sites in Japan. The company said it is supporting low-carbon societies by deploying economical and highly-reliable power grids that will allow customers to manage their electricity consumption.The project focuses on the development of robust energy infrastructure that offers continuity in emergency situations, in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Read the rest of the story: Smart grid testing in Japan underway.

Research firm McKinsey published an interesting report recently summarizing a survey that showed the digital habits of 5000 people across eight countries.
The findings suggest that the perception of Japanese consumers as ones who are in love with the latests gadgets may not be an accurate one.
When asked about tablet computers, MicKinsey says that only four per cent of consumers surveyed had one already, far lower than the nine per cent of respondents from neighboring Korea.
Read the rest of the story: Japan ‘downright slow’ at adopting new technologies.

With the fear of losing power during a trip holding back many consumers from purchasing an electric vehicle, Nissan has discovered a new charging method that could get drivers back on the road in minutes.
Announced earlier this week, Nissan has designed new battery technology for electric vehicles that cuts charging time from eight hours down to just ten minutes to fully recharge the battery. Assuming electric vehicle charging stations become more widespread across the United States, a driver could potentially take a long-distance trip from New York City to Los …

Japan’s Tokai University won the 3000km World Solar Challenge car race through Australia’s desert today in a tight contest marred by wildfires and an explosion.
Team Tokai crossed the finish line in Adelaide this afternoon to claim back-to-back victories in the event, last held in 2009.
The Japanese team narrowly beat the Netherlands’ Nuon Solar in the race from Darwin, which started on Sunday.
Read the rest of the story: Japanese university crew wins 3000km Australian solar car race.