South Korea Pavilion at Osaka Expo Breaks Ground

OSAKA, Feb 29 (News On Japan) - The groundbreaking ceremony for the South Korea Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo was held on Wednesday, showcasing a floor area of about 3,500 square meters, and a giant LED screen on the front of the building to display Korean videos.

The pavilion will also showcase advanced technology, such as recording visitors' voices from around the world and processing them with AI to create a single piece of music. The completion of the pavilion, including interior decoration, is targeted for March next year.

Kyoto Raises Lodging Tax as Peak Travel Season Begins

Kyoto City significantly raised its lodging tax from March 1st, increasing the maximum charge per person per night from 1,000 yen to as much as 10,000 yen, in a move aimed at tackling overtourism and funding the preservation of cultural assets, even as questions remain about its impact on visitors and the local economy.

Foreign Visitors and Ex-Rescuer Pull 80-Year-Old Woman From Hakuba Crashed Car

A former emergency responder and foreign tourists worked together to rescue a woman in her 80s who was trapped inside an overturned light vehicle in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture.

Tokyo Metro Begins Touchless Ticket Gate Trial

Tokyo Metro and Toshiba have launched Japan’s first demonstration test allowing passengers to pass through ticket gates without touching them by using their smartphones’ Bluetooth function.

Himeji Castle Hikes Admission Fee for Non-Residents

The admission fee for the World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, was revised on March 1st for the first time in 11 years, introducing a dual pricing system that significantly raises costs for visitors from outside the city.

Australian Girl, 8, Dies After Snowmobile Overturns in Hakuba

An eight-year-old Australian girl died after a snowmobile overturned in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture, at around 11 a.m. on February 28th, with authorities investigating the cause of the accident.

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MORE Sci-Tech NEWS

NTT’s IOWN Moves Toward European Deployment

NTT’s next-generation optical communications infrastructure, known as IOWN, is moving toward global standardization as the company steps up efforts to promote the technology in Europe.

Next-Generation Motor Achieves Rare-Earth-Free, High-Efficiency Performance

Motors are embedded in countless electronic devices, from home appliances and robots to automobiles, quietly generating the power that underpins modern life, and now a Japanese startup is challenging long-held assumptions by developing a next-generation motor that delivers both high efficiency and high output while eliminating the need for rare earth materials.

Major Maglev Excavation Begins

The assembly of a massive shield machine for tunnel construction at the Kanagawa Station site of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen has been completed, with the site opened to the media as excavation prepares to move forward toward Nagoya.

Tsurui Village to Acquire Planned Mega-Solar Site Near Kushiro Wetland for 80 Million Yen

Tsurui Village in Hokkaido is moving to purchase land designated for a large-scale solar power project near the Kushiro Wetland from an Osaka-based developer, in a bid to protect the surrounding landscape.

'Once-in-30-Years' Drought Grips Japan

Water shortages are worsening across Japan amid what meteorologists describe as 'once-in-30-years' low rainfall, with riverbeds exposed, reservoirs falling to record lows, and dry conditions fueling a renewed surge in influenza infections.

Probe Ship Chikyu Returns After Recovering Rare Earth Mud

A deep-sea exploration vessel that successfully recovered mud containing rare earth elements from a depth of 5,600 meters for the first time in the world has returned to Shimizu Port in Shizuoka City.

Japanese Startup Slashes Methane from Cow Burps

A startup is working to curb global warming by feeding seaweed to cattle in an effort to reduce methane emissions from their burps, with plans to commercialize the technology in the coming years.

Can Japan End Hay Fever by Killing Male Cedar Flowers?

The arrival of pollen season has once again begun to affect large parts of Japan, but new research aimed at preventing cedar pollen from dispersing is raising hopes that the future could bring relief for millions of sufferers, with scientists working on a method to wither only the male flowers of cedar trees and stop pollen at its source.

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