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Japan's Kairos rocket explodes seconds after launch.

Watch this Japanese rocket explode just seconds after launch

Watch this footage of a Japanese rocket exploding in dramatic fashion on Wednesday just seconds after getting airborne.
Japan's SLIM lander in an upside-down position on the moon.

Japan’s lunar lander surprises team by waking up from cold lunar night

Japan's SLIM lander in an upside-down position on the moon.

There’s now a spacecraft on the moon that’s upside down

Apple's logo on an iPhone.

An iPhone that isn’t the iPhone 15 is selling fast in Japan

terrifying monster wolf robot aims to scare off bears japan

Bear-repelling ‘Monster Wolf’ robot gets wider deployment

best telepresence robots

Telepresence classroom robots trialed for absent students

ChatGPT and OpenAI logos.

ChatGPT misidentified Japan’s PM, digital minister says

iSpace's Hakuto-R Series 1 lander.

How to watch the first privately funded moon landing on Tuesday

Japan's H3 rocket at the start of a failed mission in March 2023.

Japan’s space agency destroys own rocket just after launch

A map showing Japan.

Digital mapping technology doubles Japan’s island count

The moon and Earth seen from the space station.

Japan admits defeat with its moonbound CubeSat

floppy disks

Floppy disks are finally on the way out in Japan … maybe

Man using smartphone while standing on balcony overlooking nighttime city skyline.

Japan suffers horrendous phone network outage for most of the weekend

Tens of millions of cell phone users in Japan were unable to connect for most of the weekend in what’s believed to be the country’s worst-ever service outage.
The exterior of the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, Japan.

Tokyo’s once-futuristic Nakagin Capsule Tower to be demolished

Peer inside the unique Nakagin Capsule Tower, an iconic Tokyo building which, despite efforts to save it, will be demolished next week.
An 'alien.'

‘Aliens’ deployed by vacation resort in bid to boost tourism

There may well be aliens lurking in deep space, but they're also here on Earth helping to promote tourism, according to a city in Japan.
A giant 3D cat on a billboard display in Tokyo.

Watch the enormous 3D cat that’s been turning heads in Tokyo

An amazing billboard video of an enormous 3D cat has been causing a stir in one of Tokyo's busiest entertainment districts.
A brown bear in Hokkaido, Japan.

Facial recognition tech for bears aims to keep humans safe

A town in Japan is planning to use facial recognition on local brown bears as part of efforts to reduce the number of bear attacks.
hayabusa2 scientists open up returned space capsule with asteroid sample

Hayabusa2 capsule returns with first-ever gas sample from deep space

Scientists in Japan have opened a capsule recently returned by Hayabusa2 after an incredibly challenging sample-collection mission in deep space.
terrifying monster wolf robot aims to scare off bears japan

Terrifying Monster Wolf robot aims to scare off bears

A terrifying Monster Wolf robot has been installed by a town in Japan as part of efforts to scare off bears.
tokyos newest public bathroom features transparent walls tokyo toilet project 1

Tokyo’s transparent public bathroom has a neat trick up its sleeve

A newly opened public bathroom in Tokyo, Japan, has transparent walls so that you can gauge how clean it is before deciding whether to use it.
Telexistence

Japanese convenience stores will use VR-controlled robots to stack shelves

A chain of convenience stores in Japan is testing out VR-controlled robots controlled by employees to stack shelves. It's social distancing, Skynet-style.
PlayStation 4 Pro review

Sony factory in Japan makes a PlayStation 4 every 30 seconds, mostly with robots

An assembly line in a Sony factory in Kisarazu, Japan, which features a total of 32 robots, takes only 30 seconds to assemble a complete PlayStation 4 console.
mysterious tech floating in the sky leaves onlookers baffled mystery object japan

Mysterious tech floating in the sky leaves Japanese public baffled

Onlookers in Japan were left baffled on Wednesday when an odd-looking contraption appeared in the skies over Sendai in the northeast of the country.
Garden eels

Zoom with fish: Tokyo aquarium wants people to video chat with its eels

The aquarium is asking folks at home to video chat with its eels to give the fish some company and help them maintain familiarity with humans during lockdown.
Olympic torch

A car could be the star of Japan’s Olympic torch relay

The Olympic torch relay usually involves lots of people carrying the flame through the host nation's communities. But Japan will do it a little differently.
Tokyo Metro's inspection drone.

Drones are flying beneath the ground in Japan, and here’s why

In the latest example of how drones are transforming the way we work, Tokyo Metro is using a custom-built flying machine to inspect its subway tunnels.
mars moons japans space agency preps pioneering mission jaxa

Mars’ moons: Japan’s space agency preps pioneering mission

Japan will send a spacecraft to Mars in 20204. The mission will seek to learn more about Mars' two moons, and to bring back rock samples from one of them.
Switch Animal Crossing

Coronavirus delays Switch hardware in Japan, including Animal Crossing edition

The coronavirus will impact the production of the Nintendo Switch in China affecting pre-orders of the new Animal Crossing-themed model and other hardware.
mario kart tour launch day record nintendo

Copycat Mario Kart company must pay Nintendo more than $450,000

Nintendo has been awarded more than $450,000 in damages against a company operating a copycat Mario Kart course. The company has since ceased offering Mario costumes for its customers. The payout increased dramatically from the original ruling back in 2018. Nintendo is set to have its own Mario Kart ride this year.
Toyota Woven City CES 2020

Toyota’s smart city will be full of autonomous cars, smart homes, robots

Toyota plans to build an entire city to test out different technologies. Called Woven City, it will house 2,000 people in sustainable buildings, with streets crisscrossed by self-driving cars. Toyota also plans to integrate robots and smart home tech in Woven City, which will be located in Japan.
line fukuoka smart city interview olympus digital camera

Who needs 5G? In Japan, this smart city does what its citizens need, right now

Smart cities are often seen as hives of future tech, only made possible with high speed connections and autonomous cars. In the Japanese city of Fukuoka, messaging app Line is already operating a smart city -- just in a different way than you may expect. Instead of focusing on the future, it concentrates on helping its citizens right now.
hayabusa 2 sample asteroid ryugu jaxa landing artists conception

Hayabusa2 spacecraft begins long journey home laden with asteroid samples

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft is on its way home following a successful 17-month rendezvous with the Ryugu asteroid some 200 million miles from Earth. And there’s a good reason for it coming back as it’s carrying with it the first-ever rock samples collected from the subsurface of an asteroid.
2019 Toyota Corolla hatchback

Toyota partners with weather firm to use wiper blade data to predict weather

Japanese weather forecaster Weathernews has teamed up with Toyota to utilize its data communication module technology to pinpoint windshield wiper usage and therefore low-level rain that does not appear on weather radar. This technology will help drivers prepare for wet roads.
toyota uses hydrogen fuel cells to power a factory cell generator

Toyota uses hydrogen fuel cells to power one of its Japanese factories

Toyota took components from its Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car and used them to make a generator to power one of its factories. If testing goes well, Toyota plans to add hydrogen power at more factories. Toyota is one of the main proponents of hydrogen fuel cells vehicles, which still face many obstacles.