BMW builds a 600-hp M6, but only for Japan
The BMW M6 Celebration Edition is a Japan-only special edition of the M6 built to celebrate BMW's 100th anniversary.
Want an impressive opening ceremony? 2020 Olympics may include man-made meteor shower
A startup called Star-ALE is bidding for the right to create a meteor shower over the Japanese capital city of Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics.
Japan has its own answer to Airbnb
The latest player to enter the hospitality game is Japanese startup Hyakusenrenma, which recently secured $13 million to fund its vacation rental services.
Watch this dazzling ‘drone ballet’ in front of Japan’s Mount Fuji
Twenty-one drones and 16,500 LED lights recently combined for a dazzling "drone ballet" in front of Japan's iconic Mount Fuji, and the results, we're sure you'll agree, are truly stunning.
Mitsubishi overstated fuel economy on 620,000 cars in Japan
Mitsubishi admitted to overstating fuel economy on 620,000 cars sold in Japan over the past three years, including 468,000 supplied to Nissan.
Google and Verizon connecting Japan and Ecuador earthquake victims with loved ones
Google and Verizon have made it easier to contact victims of the Japan and Ecuador earthquakes. They're also contributing to the relief efforts.
Tourists in Japan could soon use their fingerprints as currency
Soon, you may be able to touch to buy, literally, with your fingerprint. Such a system is rolling out in Japan.
NASA and Japan just released over 2.95 million thermal satellite photos of Earth, for free
Japan's ASTER sensing instrument has been orbiting the Earth for the past 16 years collecting data about the Earth's surface. Now, following an announcement by NASA and Japan, all of ASTER's maps and data products are available to the public free of charge.
Japanese scientists have created artificial skin that can grow hair and sweat
Developed at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan, a batch of lab-grown skin implanted in mice showed the ability to sweat and grow hair.
No salt, no problem: Electric fork simulates salty flavors with electric currents
Who needs salt when you have electricity? That’s the proposition of the “electric flavoring fork” created by a researcher in Japan.
Japan's Fukushima ice wall ready to go into service
Japan is preparing to activate its ice wall in order to contain the ongoing contamination from the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Nintendo denies Nikkei report, claims Wii U hardware production will continue
Nintendo has denied reports from earlier this week indicating that it would end Wii U production in order to focus on its next home console.
A Japanese A.I. program just wrote a short novel, and it almost won a literary prize
A novel written largely by an artificial intelligence passed the first round of screening for a national literary prize in Japan.
A Russian billionaire wants to build a cobra-like skyscraper in Japan
Architect Vasiliy Klyukin took to his blog this week to reveal the ambitious details of constructing a cobra-like skyscraper in China or Japan.
Japan starts building the world’s largest floating solar farm
Japanese tech firm Kyocera has been building floating solar farms since 2014, and it's now embarking on its biggest project to date. Scheduled for completion in 2018, this latest facility will use 50,000 solar panels to power around 5,000 homes.
The wearable chair is now a thing
For all those times you've wished you could just take a seat, now you can with the Archelis, the wearable chair.
Toshiba’s robot arms called in to help with hazardous Fukushima clean-up
A variety of robots have so far helped out inside the debris-strewn and radiation-filled reactor buildings of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The latest, from Toshiba, is a giant, remotely operated three-armed crane designed to handle spent fuel rods.
Japanese researchers have created holograms you can touch, poke, and push
A team of researchers in Japan has created HaptoClone, which allows people to touch holograms of objects and other people.
Japan shows off proposed Olympic stadium designs after scrapping pricey first effort
Following increasing criticism of its outlandish design and spiraling construction costs, the Japanese government in July scrapped the original plan for its 2020 Olympic stadium. This week it unveiled two new proposals by acclaimed Japanese architects.
Rise of smartwatches prompts top Japanese university to ban ALL watches from exams
Smartwatches are following in the footsteps of handsets, picking up exam room bans at schools and colleges around the world over cheating concerns. Prestigious Kyoto University has just become the first in Japan to ban the wrist-based computer from exams.
Japanese security drone detects intruders, then follows them around with a camera
This newest drone from Japanese company Secom is a criminal's worst nightmare. It designed to autonomously detect, follow and photograph intruders.
Watch Japanese cops use a net-equipped drone to catch a ‘rogue’ quadcopter
After a remotely controlled copter carrying a radioactive substance landed on the Japanese prime minister's office in Tokyo earlier this year, cops have been looking for an effective way to take down rogue UAVs. The solution? Bigger drones. With nets.
Japanese police plan to battle drones with even bigger drones, equipped with nets
New laws on drone use came into force in Japan on Thursday, severely restricting where hobbyists can fly their machines. To police the new rules, Tokyo cops are thought to be prepping "a large drone" with a net to take down law-breakers' UAVs.
Robots might take over almost half of Japan within the next 20 years
They're already driving taxis, running hotels, and serving as disaster relief personnel in Japan, so of course it's only a matter of time before robots take over the country altogether.
These new Japanese noodles are low-cal, gluten-free, and … made from trees
Omikenshi Co. is Japan's number two rayon manufacturer, and they're using the textile process to create gluten-free noodles from trees and the konjac plant.
Nintendo launches cross-platform user accounts in Japan
Nintendo launched a cross-platform user account system in Japan this week, giving players the ability to track their digital eShop purchases.
This app lets you design your own accessories with your phone
With Japan's Monomy, described as an online DIY custom jewelry marketplace, anyone can create their own fashion accessories.
Out of desperation, Sharp begs its own workers to buy Sharp products
Struggling Sharp has told its workers to buy a load of Sharp stuff this holiday season to help dig it out of its financial mess. The Japanese electronics maker has even offered guidelines suggesting how much money different types of workers should spend.
Robots can now get into college, surpassing human scores on standardized tests
An Artificial Intelligence (AI) system developed by Japan’s National Institute of Informatics is smart enough to pass the country's college entrance exam.
The Muji Hut is a micro-home made for Japan
Micro-homes are catching on in Tokyo, thanks to high property values. Muji Huts are prefab homes designed to be minimalist.
Japan guns for the moon with proposed 2019 lunar landing
Japanese officials revealed plans to land an unmanned vehicle on the moon in 2019, making it the fourth country in the world to soft land on the moon.
SNK Playmore to renew focus on console and mobile game development
SNK Playmore announced that it will shift its development focus to the console and mobile gaming sectors, following major changes in its pachinko business.
Fujitsu develops tech that turns biometric data into a cryptographic key
Fujitsu is working on a new method of encrypting biometric information to protect your data while traveling over a network.
The Dfree wearable predicts your next bowel movement
Ideal for anyone that needs time to locate a bathroom, the Dfree is a new wearable that attaches directly to skin in order to monitor intestinal activity and create a bowel movement countdown clock
This walking, rolling robot was inspired by the Droidekas from ‘Star Wars’
Japanese researchers at the Chiba Institute of Technology have designed a Droideka-inspired robot that rolls like a ball and walks like a spider.
Japanese man accidentally sets fire to his home during live stream
With a lit cigarette in his mouth, spilt lighter fluid on his hands, and a pile of discarded paper to his right, it's hardly surprising that this particular live-stream demo – for a "permanent match" lighter – went horribly wrong.
Get excited for 2016 — there will be robot taxis on the road in Japan by then
Japan will be testing robot taxis in Kanagawa, a small town just south of Tokyo, with the dawn of 2016.
Man arrested for assaulting Pepper, the robot that can read your emotions
SoftBank's Pepper robot may be able to read human emotions and respond accordingly, but it apparently offered little in the way of a reaction when a drunken man assaulted it at a store in Japan recently.