CUE is a humanoid robot that learned its shooting techniques from Artificial Intelligence (AI). It can shoot basketballs with incredible accuracy: a range of close to 200,000 shots can be made, at a …

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

Every aging society faces distinct challenges. But Japan, with the world’s oldest population (27.3 percent of its citizens are 65 or older, almost twice the share in the U.S.), has been dealing with …

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

I planned a solo trip to Japan intentionally timed to arrive right in the middle of hanami season, or the cherry blossom festival (hanami literally means “flower viewing”). And despite my aversion to…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

The device, a non-functioning prototype version that was shown off in the expo hall of Austin’s SXSW festival this week, uses a circular series of rotors to provide enough downward thrust to let the …

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

Kansai Electric Power Co. on Wednesday restarted a reactor at its Oi plant on the Sea of Japan coast, located close to two other units already online, amid lingering safety concerns following the 201…

posted by  Yubi | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

The 71.8-Second Life video relies only on simple editing and precisely choreographed performers to stitch the movements of the “woman” together with dozens of actors, who all wear the same costume (t…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

Terrace House, the glacially slow reality show about young Japanese people agonizing over where to get taco rice and whether to hold hands, is back on Netflix today worldwide. It’s been airing week b…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

For more than 300 years, Japanese have traveled to Ibusuki's shoreline in search of a sandy cure for rheumatism, back pain, post-stroke paralysis, hemorrhoids, asthma, diabetes, menstrual disorder, i…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

A western Japanese city has unveiled a new plan to urge more foreigners to move there to halt the decline in its population.

Akitakata City is located in a mountainous area in Hiroshima Prefecture. I…

posted by  Yubi | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

Marie Kondo (or Konmari, if you prefer) and her decluttering empire has taken the West by storm. And it’s given Japan an image of ultra-minimalism where people live a simple lifestyle, free of all th…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 7 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments