| Jun 19 | Regulators officially decide new safety requirements for reactors |
 The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday officially decided on Japan's new safety requirements for reactors aimed at preventing recurrences of disasters like the one at the Fukushima Daiichi complex in 2011. (Kyodo  ) |
| Jun 19 | Animals may be used to grow organs |
 The government's Council for Science and Technology Policy is likely to permit a study on growing human organs in animals by modifying their embryos, sources have said. (Yomiuri ) |
| Jun 19 | China expert visiting Japan for expected birth of giant panda cub |
 An expert from China is visiting Japan to help Tokyo's Ueno Zoo prepare for the expected birth of a giant panda cub. (Jiji Press ) |
| Jun 19 | Japan rubella sufferers top 10,000 in 6 months |
 Reported cases of rubella in Japan totaled 10,102 in six months through June 9, some 30 times the total for the year-before period, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Tuesday. (Jiji Press ) |
| Jun 18 | Tricky ways to pull down a skyscraper |
 There are many ways to demolish a building, and some of them are spectacular: blowing it up from the inside so it collapses on itself, or smashing it to bits with a two-ton wrecking ball. (New York Times ) |
| Jun 17 | TEPCO puts radioactive water decontamination process on hold, yet another leak detected |
 Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the disaster stricken Fukushima nuclear power facility, put on hold the ongoing test run of its water decontamination system on Sunday, June 16 because of a suspected leak in the holding tanks of the highly radioactive waste water. (Asahi ) |
| Jun 15 | NRA sees no critical problem at Oi nuclear plant |
 The Nuclear Regulation Authority found no particularly critical problem during its on-site inspection Saturday at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear plant to assess whether its two reactors can meet new safety requirements coming into force in July, its inspector said. (Kyodo ) |
| Jun 15 | Govt. report backs methane hydrate development |
 A Japanese government white paper is recommending commercial development of methane hydrate as a new energy source. (NHK ) |
| Jun 13 | Agency says fish contamination limited to near Fukushima plant |
 A greenling caught off Fukushima Prefecture last August with a high concentration of radioactive cesium was contaminated in waters near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, a report released by the Fisheries Agency said Thursday. (Kyodo ) |
| Jun 12 | JR Tokai to kick off trials for ultrafast maglev train system in September |
 Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) will in September begin test runs paving the way for the launch of a magnetically levitated train line between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027, marking a milestone in its half-century of efforts to develop an ultrahigh-speed superconducting train system. (Japan Times ) |
| Jun 12 | Rubella still raging in Japan |
 The number of rubella cases in Japan this year is about to top 10,000. An expert calls the situation critical.
(NHK ) |
| Jun 12 | Ueno Zoo's giant panda may give birth soon |
 A giant panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo is showing signs that she may give birth soon, the zoo said Tuesday. (Jiji Press ) |
| Jun 11 | Raindrops aren't falling on Tokyo heads in 'rainy season' |
 The rainy season started about two weeks ago in Tokyo, so isn't it about time for some rain? (Yomiuri ) |
| Jun 11 | Japan eyes earlier start of melted fuel removal at Fukushima plant |
 The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday they may be able to start removing the melted fuel inside the crippled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi complex within the first half of fiscal 2020 by improving work efficiency, around 18 months earlier than initially planned. (Kyodo ) |
| Jun 11 | Observation satellite's launch set for August |
 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has unveiled its new planetary observation satellite, which is scheduled to be launched in August, to the press at its Kanagawa Prefecture campus. (Yomiuri ) |
| Jun 09 | Methane hydrate test-drilling in Sea of Japan |
 Japan's government will start test drilling for methane hydrate in the Sea of Japan on Saturday. The purpose is to extract natural gas from the frozen substance. (NHK ) |
| Jun 06 | Japan Spring whaling haul at record low |
 Japanese whalers hunting the mammals in the northwestern Pacific caught a record-low 34 minke whales this Spring, the fisheries agency said Thursday, blaming bad weather. (phys.org ) |
| Jun 06 | 9 more Fukushima people found with thyroid cancer |
 Nine more Fukushima Prefecture people who were aged 18 or under when Japan's worst nuclear crisis began in the northeastern prefecture in March 2011 have been found to have thyroid cancer, it was learned Wednesday. (Jiji Press ) |
| Jun 05 | Japan's radiation disaster toll: none dead, none sick |
 Heard much about Fukushima lately? You know, the disaster that spread deadly contamination across Japan and spelt the end for the nuclear industry. (The Age ) |
| Jun 04 | TEPCO finds groundwater contaminated with radioactive cesium |
 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday that it has detected radioactive cesium in groundwater samples taken from the premises of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, reversing an earlier announcement that any contamination was negligible. (Kyodo ) |
| Jun 03 | New maglev train model put on test track in Japan |
 Japan's first commercial model of a magnetically levitated train has been placed on an outdoor test track. (NHK ) |
| Jun 03 | Monju N-reactor hit by system glitch |
 The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Monday that it briefly failed to send information about its Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor to the state's disaster prevention network due to a system glitch. (Jiji Press ) |
| Jun 03 | Problem reportedly found in Japan Airlines Boeing 787 jet |
 A Japanese broadcaster is reporting that a sensor problem was found in one of the exchanged batteries for a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 jet. The Boeing Co. jets had been grounded for four months until their safety could be reconfirmed. (foxnews.com ) |
| Jun 01 | No rise in cancer seen from Japan's nuclear disaster: U.N. |
 The evacuation of tens of thousands of people helped prevent rising cancer rates and other health problems after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, the world's worst in 25 years, U.N. scientists said on Friday. (Reuters ) |
| Jun 01 | Japan on hunt for medicinal treasures |
 A non-profit group has launched a project to comb the catalogues of some of Japan's biggest drug companies in the hunt for treatments for diseases that kill thousands of people every year. (The Australian ) |
| May 31 | Soil-freezing method adopted to shield Fukushima N-plant from groundwater |
 A Japanese government panel decided on Thursday to freeze soil surrounding the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to block groundwater from flowing into the disaster-crippled plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. in northeastern Japan. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 30 | Mudskipper numbers jump eightfold |
 The population of mudskippers in Kyushu's Ariake Sea has increased eightfold in the first survey in 16 years, as the fish have been able to easily survive mild winters amid rising temperatures, a research institute said Wednesday. (Japan Times ) |
| May 30 | New Japanese vaccine cuts malaria risk by 70 pct |
 A team of researchers led by a Japanese professor has developed a vaccine that cuts the risk of malaria in humans by some 70 pct, according to a recent article published on the U.S. journal PLOS One. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 29 | Final decision made to halt Monju reactor restart work |
 Japan's nuclear regulator reached a final decision Wednesday to suspend work to restart the Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 29 | Nankai Trough quake prediction impossible: report |
 A Cabinet Office panel released a report Tuesday that claims it is impossible to observe any precursor to a strong earthquake originating in the Nankai Trough off mainland Japan that would allow a prediction of the time, size and area of the quake with any accuracy. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 29 | Endangered whale used for Japan dog treats: NGOs |
| Meat from endangered whales caught by Icelandic hunters is being sold in Japan as luxury dog treats, environmental campaigners said Tuesday. (AFP) |
| May 28 | Radiation leak at Ibaraki lab labeled as Level 1 accident |
 The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday provisionally evaluated the severity of a recent leak of radioactive substances at a Japan Atomic Energy Agency laboratory northeast of Tokyo as Level 1, third from the bottom on a 9-level international scale. (Kyodo ) |
| May 27 | Rainy season starts in southwestern Japan |
 Japanese weather officials say the rainy season has started in 3 southwestern regions. (NHK ) |
| May 27 | Radiation exposures at Tokai rise to 30 |
 The Japan Atomic Energy Agency says an additional 24 people are newly confirmed to have been exposed to radiation as a result of an accident last week. (NHK ) |
| May 26 | J-PARC leak signals poor sense of crisis |
 The release of radioactive material from a Japan Atomic Energy Agency facility in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture last week suggests scientists still lack a sense of crisis and urgency about radiation dangers despite the 2011 Fukushima disaster. (Japan Times ) |
| May 25 | Panel: 70% chance of Nankai Trough quake by 2040s |
 A government research panel says there is a 60 to 70 percent probability that a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 will occur off Japan's Pacific coast in the next 30 years. (NHK ) |
| May 25 | CO2 density rising above intl. standard in Japan |
 Weather officials say the average density of carbon dioxide in Japan is rising above the international standard at all 3 observation points in the country.
Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases associated with global warming. (NHK ) |
| May 25 | Bill for ID number program clears Diet |
 The Diet passed a bill Friday to set up a system that will assign an identification number to every citizen to improve government management of income, social security and tax information despite public concerns about the potential for data abuse. (Japan Times ) |
| May 25 | Water decontamination device to be used in fall |
 The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start full operations this year of a system to remove accumulated radioactive wastewater. (NHK ) |
| May 23 | Japanese researchers find virus-carrying tick |
 Researchers have found for the first time in Japan a tick carrying a virus blamed for 8 deaths so far in the country. (NHK ) |
| May 23 | Nuclear regulators acknowledge fault below Tsuruga reactor is active |
 The Nuclear Regulation Authority accepted on Wednesday an assessment that a reactor at the Tsuruga plant in western Japan is sitting above an active fault, making it increasingly difficult for the facility to resume operation. (Kyodo ) |
| May 23 | Cesium levels in water, plankton baffle scientists |
 Plankton and seawater sampled at 10 points less than a year after the Fukushima meltdowns found concentrations of radioactive cesium were highest at different locations in the Pacific, puzzling scientists. (Japan Times ) |
| May 22 | Japan to launch new rocket with satellite on Aug. 22 |
 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch the country's new solid-fuel rocket Epsilon on Aug. 22, carrying a satellite whose mission is to observe Venus and Mars while orbiting Earth, the science ministry said Tuesday. (Kyodo ) |
| May 22 | Japan draws up draft measures against cyberattacks |
 The Japanese government drew up a draft outline on Tuesday of strategies to counter the increasing threat of cyberattacks by foreign entities. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 21 | Tokyo hospital ready to conduct mastectomy to prevent cancer |
| A hospital in Tokyo said Monday it is ready to conduct mastectomy procedures to prevent breast cancer and that several women have undergone such surgery at the hospital in the past after they developed cancer in one breast. (Kyodo) |
| May 20 | Abe to focus on advanced medical technology |
 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday underscored his government's intention to help promote the state-of-the-art medical technologies. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 20 | IAEA inspector backs pumping Fukushima groundwater into sea |
 A possible solution to the increasing amount of contaminated water inside the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could be to pump groundwater into the sea before it gets into the reactor buildings, as planned by the plant operator, the head of international inspectors has said. (Kyodo ) |
| May 18 | Strong 6.1 earthquake strikes off Japan |
 A strong 6.1 earthquake has struck off the northern coast of Japan's main Honshu island, seismologists say, but no tsunami warning was issued and there are no immediate reports of damage. (news.com.au ) |
| May 18 | Japan to begin developing new rocket |
 A government space panel has determined that Japan should begin developing its next-generation mainstay rocket for satellite launches in fiscal 2014. (NHK ) |
| May 18 | Little progress in Fukushima radiation cleanup |
 An NHK survey has found that little progress is being made to clean up radioactive material in areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (NHK ) |