Sci-Tech | Page 2

Japanese startup to launch balloon flight space viewing tours
DNAIndiaNews - Feb 24
A balloon made that could soon be carrying passengers to space. A new Japanese company IWAYA INC. announced its plans in Tokyo. It is a drum-shaped plastic cabin is 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in diameter and has several large windows to allow a view of space above or the Earth below.

Japan to eliminate Covid-specific hospital beds within a year
AsiaNews - Feb 23
Hospital beds will no longer be reserved exclusively for COVID-19 patients within a year after the disease’s status is lowered to the same level as seasonal flu, it has been learned.

Japan flying car group makes first manned outdoor flight
Nikkei - Feb 22
A flying car achieved the first manned outdoor flight in Japan on Friday morning in a trial by a local consortium of aviation and automobile businesses, a big step for a technology seen as serving remote islands and mountainous regions that lack transportation.

Analyzing why new Japanese H3 flagship rocket did not lift off
NHK - Feb 17
Experts are trying to figure out why Japan's new H3 flagship rocket was not able to lift off from a site in southwestern Japan as scheduled.

Releasing too much fish into rivers reduces fish population, researchers say
NHK - Feb 15
A team of Japanese and US researchers says releasing too much young fish into rivers disrupts their ecosystems and reduces river fish populations.

A gibbon who lived alone in her cage had a baby. Japanese zookeepers finally know how
ctvnews.ca - Feb 11
Japanese zookeepers believe they have solved the mystery of how a gibbon became pregnant despite living alone in her cage.

Japan cabinet approves use of nuclear reactors beyond 60 years
Nikkei - Feb 11
Japan's Cabinet formally adopted a policy on Friday that will allow for the operation of nuclear reactors beyond their current 60-year limit alongside the building of new units to replace aging ones as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions while ensuring adequate national energy supply.

Japan rolls out 'humble and lovable' delivery robots
WION - Feb 09
From April, revised traffic laws will allow self-driving delivery robots to navigate streets across Japan.

Sakurajima volcano in southwestern Japan erupts
Kyodo - Feb 09
A volcano on Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, erupted Wednesday, with a local weather observatory warning those within a 2-kilometer radius against pyroclastic flows and falling rocks.

Japan’s war on space junk
Nikkei - Feb 08
On a quiet day at work around 10 years ago, Tadanori Fukushima started receiving alarming email messages from a sender he did not recognize. The emails warned that his company's broadcasting satellite -- worth roughly $150 million -- was on a collision course with an unidentified object. The sender turned out to be the U.S. Air Force.

2 New Volcanic Eruptions in Japan; Nishinoshima & Bayonnaise Rocks
GeologyHub - Feb 02
In the last week, both the Nishinoshima & Bayonnaise Rocks volcanoes began producing new eruptions in Japan. Both volcanoes exist above calderas in a similar geologic setting.

Japanese Macaques Have Entered The Hot Tub Age
Animalogic - Jan 29
This is the northern-most living wild primate in the world, the Snow Monkey.

1st oral abortion pill steps closer to approval in Japan
Kyodo - Jan 28
A pharmaceutical advisory body for Japan's health ministry on Friday expressed no objection to the manufacturing and marketing of an abortion pill, bringing the medication a step closer to becoming the first of its kind to gain approval in the country.

Japan launches intel satellite to watch N. Korea, disasters
AP - Jan 26
Japan successfully launched a rocket Thursday carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and improve natural disaster response.

Wakata completes his 1st spacewalk
NHK - Jan 21
Japanese astronaut Wakata Koichi has completed his first spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Japan divers capture rare footage of live giant squid
gulfnews.com - Jan 20
A pair of scuba divers has captured rare video and photos of a 2.5-metre giant squid swimming in the waters off Japan's west coast.