Tower of the Sun reopens
The iconic tower of the 1970 Osaka World Expo has reopened to the public for the first time in almost 50 years, following reinforcement work. The 70-meter-tall "Tower of the Sun…
The archive
Recent articles — page 423
Browse recent articles in the Akihabara archive.
Google Japan Now Has Street View From a Dog’s Perspective
According to the Google Japan Blog (as translated by Google), by attaching a small camera to a harness on the back of three Akita dogs, Asuka, Ako and Puko, Google employees mapped out Odate City wit…
Japan reveals a ‘Supreme’ version of its bullet train
Japan has unveiled a ‘Supreme’ prototype version of its 186 mph Shinkansen bullet train which features a sharper nose profile, power sockets for every seat, and light-up luggage racks. According…
Send a ‘surrogate’ to meetings wearing an iPad with YOUR face on it
If the thought of sitting through yet another meeting fills you with dread, you’ll be happy to hear that you could pay a ‘surrogate’ to sit through it for you. Researchers from the University of…
Toyota Designs a Robot that Can Make 200,000 Shots on the Basketball Court
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 …
Japan’s Prisons Are a Haven for Elderly Women
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 …
Visit Japan during cherry blossom season once in your life
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…
This Japanese startup is making a hover backpack to augment jumping ability
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…
Fukui Nuclear Plant Online
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…
Glico commercial uses 72 actresses to chart lifespan of a woman
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 costu…