News On Japan

Japan becomes first in Asia to get Starlink connection

TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday became the first country in Asia to receive Internet access from the Starlink satellite system from the SpaceX company controlled by Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Starlink is led by SpaceX, which envisions the system as part of a constellation of satellites that would deliver broadband Internet across the globe.

A service map from Starlink shows most of central and northern Japan is now covered by the technology, including Tokyo. The rest of the country could see full coverage by the fourth quarter. South Korea, to Japan's west, is expected to get service early next year, the Bloomberg news agency reported.

SpaceX broke its annual record with the completion of its 32nd successful launch in 2022 after sending 46 of its Starlink satellites to orbit in July. It completed 31 successful launches in all of 2021. ...continue reading

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A tropical depression developing near the Chuuk Islands is expected to become a typhoon by the evening of August 19 before continuing to strengthen over unusually warm waters and reaching the vicinity of the Mariana Islands as a strong typhoon by August 23.

After 10 p.m., the clouds that had covered the sky above Shirakoma Pond gradually began to clear, revealing countless stars and the Milky Way rising vividly over the mountain lake in Nagano Prefecture's Northern Yatsugatake range.

A fire broke out at Sairinji temple in Saga city on the morning of August 18, engulfing the building in flames and prompting the dispatch of 10 fire engines and two ambulances, with no injuries reported so far.

Severe disruption continued across Chiba Prefecture after the holiday period, with rail closures forcing some commuters into three-hour journeys while more than 2,700 vehicles remained immobilized by flooding caused by last week's torrential rain.

Train stations, airports and expressways were crowded on August 16 as travelers returned from vacations and hometown visits on the final day of the Obon holiday.

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MORE Sci-Tech NEWS

Japanese researchers are developing a lithium-air battery that uses oxygen from the atmosphere to store and generate electricity, promising nearly five times the capacity of conventional lithium-ion batteries at less than half the weight and potentially opening the way to far longer electric vehicle driving ranges.

Security camera footage captured the moment part of the Hinagu Fault Zone broke through the ground during the Kumamoto earthquake on July 28, as strong shaking lifted the surface of a rice field and moved a nearby light truck violently.

New research is reshaping long-held assumptions about Tyrannosaurus rex, including suggestions that the giant predator may have lived to around 40 years rather than 28, while advances in fossil analysis are also offering new clues about dinosaur growth, posture and even color.

Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 successfully placed the Michibiki No. 7 navigation satellite into its planned orbit after lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:23 a.m. on August 11, marking the country's second consecutive successful H3 launch.

Requests for rapidly constructed "instant houses" are growing across areas of Kumamoto Prefecture devastated by the recent earthquake, providing air-conditioned temporary shelter for residents who have been sleeping in tents and vehicles beside their damaged homes.

University students in Shizuoka have designed a future lunar city using the globally popular game Minecraft and educational materials supervised by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, combining programming and spatial design to explore how people could live safely and sustainably on the moon.

Toyota Motor has begun recruiting residents of Shizuoka Prefecture to live in Woven City, its experimental community for developing future technologies, with about 25 households expected to move into the site for two years from March 2027.

A 29-year-old Osaka University researcher is developing technology to produce sugar from carbon dioxide in the air, seeking to create a faster and more sustainable source of livestock feed as population growth, extreme weather and poor harvests raise fears of future food shortages.