KYOTO, Aug 01 (News On Japan) - A demonstration flight of a "flying car" developed by SkyDrive was held on Thursday at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, ascending to a height of about four meters and hovered for approximately three minutes.
The flying car also moved forward and backward over a distance of around 50 meters.
As of 3 a.m. on October 6th, Typhoon No. 22 (Halong) was located over the sea south of the Ogasawara Islands, almost stationary, with a central pressure of 994 hPa and maximum winds near the center reaching 23 meters per second. The typhoon is forecast to gradually move north while intensifying, reaching peak strength between the 8th and 9th. However, the storm’s path remains uncertain, and weather authorities are urging the public to stay alert for new updates.
A Spanish tourist was attacked by a bear while visiting Shirakawa-go, the UNESCO World Heritage village in Gifu Prefecture known for its traditional thatched-roof houses, on October 5th. The incident adds to a growing number of bear encounters reported across Japan in recent weeks.
Sanae Takaichi, elected as the Liberal Democratic Party’s new president on October 4th, declared on stage, “I ask everybody to work like a horse,” after defeating agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff to become the party’s first female leader.
A string of so-called “honey trap” cases is drawing attention across Japan as schemes once limited to extortion have become increasingly violent, involving physical assaults and life-threatening intimidation.
Police have revealed that a woman killed by her former partner in Higashi-Osaka had sustained dozens of stab wounds across her body, including injuries that pierced internal organs.
A future where people control machines simply by thinking may be closer than science fiction suggests. At the forefront of this research is Masayuki Hirata, a neurosurgeon and specially appointed professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Medicine, who is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) that allows high-tech devices such as smartphones or robotic arms to be operated by thought.
Vast hillsides have been cleared for the construction of a large-scale solar power facility in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture, leaving piles of felled trees scattered across the slopes. The development covers approximately 146 hectares, or the size of 32 Tokyo Domes, and involves cutting down about 365,000 trees to make way for 470,000 solar panels.
A massive tornado-like phenomenon was observed late in the morning of October 2nd off the coast of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture’s Shonai region, with thick swirling clouds rising high into the sky as seawater was drawn upward.
The Okinawa region experienced record-breaking heat in September, with average temperatures 1.6 degrees Celsius above normal, the highest since records began.
A new study has shed light on the lingering condition known as brain fog, one of the most troubling aftereffects of Covid-19. Researchers at Yokohama City University found that patients experiencing this symptom showed higher levels of a key brain protein compared to healthy individuals, suggesting a potential pathway for future treatment.
Across Japan, water rates are being raised as aging infrastructure and population decline place mounting pressure on municipal waterworks, with a survey by Tokai TV revealing that many operators see no path forward without structural change, prompting new approaches that go beyond conventional frameworks to address what is being called a water crisis.
Saudi Arabia is advancing its national project Vision 2030 to achieve a post-oil society by the end of the decade, with the Riyadh Expo positioned as its grand culmination, and Japan is aiming to secure a foothold in the initiative by providing technologies such as decarbonization systems and expertise in hosting world expos, while also looking to translate this involvement into domestic economic growth.
Ishikawa Prefecture has surpassed Fukui Prefecture in total land area after a significant increase caused by coastal uplift triggered by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, according to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.
