News On Japan

Japan space center joins push to settle Mars and beyond

Aug 02 (Nikkei) - Like something out of a science-fiction movie, a mysterious, strangely shaped structure rises up from a barren red desert. Inside, buildings stand on tracts of green, grassy land and boats sail across vivid blue water -- all on near-vertical walls.

This computer-animated tableau was presented at the opening of Kyoto University's Human Spaceology Center as a potential vision for living on Mars.

The center was established amid a wave of renewed interest in space travel, with projects like NASA's Artemis program aspiring to send the U.S.'s first crewed flight to the moon since the Apollo missions, and the recent flights by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, aims to send people to Mars within the next decade.

The Kyoto University center, which was set up in October and launched fully in June, plans to help Japan contribute to the development of technologies needed for humans to venture and live far from Earth. The center is partnering with the private sector.

The video of the strange structure was a concept for one of the center's five main areas of research: habitations with earthlike artificial gravity, a challenge it is working on with general contractor Kajima.

The low gravity of the moon and Mars -- one-sixth and one-third that of Earth, respectively -- makes it harder to maintain and build muscle and bone mass. The center will pursue a variety of ideas for addressing this problem to keep space travelers healthy.

The center's research topics also include the use of wood in space, the effects of radiation, space education, and technology for space and earth exploration.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has decided to raise its policy interest rate from an annualized 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent. This marks the first rate hike in six months and appears aimed at correcting the historically weak yen.

Japan is facing an unprecedented rice shortage, with recent data highlighting alarming supply-demand imbalances in the domestic market. The Agricultural Newspaper reported on January 10 that the DI (Demand-Supply Index), a measure of rice market balance, reached a record high of 80. This figure indicates a critical shortfall in rice availability, surpassing even last year's levels when supermarket shelves were emptied.

The resignation of popular television personality Masahiro Nakai has sent shockwaves through the Japanese entertainment industry. Announced through his agency’s website, Nakai apologized, stating, “I’m truly sorry for this sudden farewell.” His decision to retire has sparked debates over whether this marks the conclusion of ongoing controversies surrounding him and the television networks involved.

Former executives of the Sunshine Aquarium in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, including a former director and three others, have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of fraudulently receiving management fees by misreporting the number of endangered turtles in their care.

Three people were attacked near JR Nagano Station at around 8 p.m., leaving a man in his 40s in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest and two others hospitalized.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A man was found lying on a street in Gifu City on the morning of January 24th with severe abdominal injuries inflicted by a knife. Police are treating the case as an attempted murder and are searching for the suspect who fled the scene.

An abandoned hotel in Tokyo's Kabukicho district has become a source of public concern due to the large amounts of trash accumulating in front of the building.

Former executives of the Sunshine Aquarium in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, including a former director and three others, have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of fraudulently receiving management fees by misreporting the number of endangered turtles in their care.

A senior yakuza member and three others were arrested by Osaka Prefectural Police on suspicion of extorting road-use fees from residents of a subdivision in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Using some interesting questions to ask when online dating can help you stand out and attract someone special on a dating site.

Every year, even in the depths of winter, people take on the challenge of waterfall meditation. The reasons vary: to clear their minds, strengthen their spirits, ward off misfortune, or affirm resolutions for a fresh start.

Three people were attacked near JR Nagano Station at around 8 p.m., leaving a man in his 40s in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest and two others hospitalized.

A Japanese high court has ruled that the calculation of earnings a girl with a hearing impairment who died in an accident would have made must be 100 percent based on the average income in Japan. (NHK)