Disaster response robot will inspect the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor building
News On Japan via diginfo.tv -- Oct 24
The compact explorer robot, Sakura, being developed by the Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo) at the Chiba Institute of Technology, is the latest in their line of disaster response robots, and has been designed so it can enter and survey the basements of the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor buildings.
Sakura will use its camera to look for cracks, but as the camera can't see everywhere, Sakura also has a directional microphone to detect the sound of water.
An additional obstacle is that the stairway below ground is steeper than that above. So, Sakura also has improved climbing performance to handle steep gradients.
Saitama and Okayama prefectural police last week arrested the manager of an online porn DVD operation that specialized in films featuring children. (Tokyo Reporter)
A 24-year-old woman was in a serious condition Friday after being stabbed by a man whom she reported to police for stalking her in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. (Japan Today )
China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. (Reuters )
Police said Friday they have found four dead bodies in an apartment in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in what is believed to have been a family murder-suicide. (Japan Today )
Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation.
A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter)