Rikka Teramachi from The Mainichi:
A facial robot covered with "living skin" made from human cells has been developed by a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo and other institutions. The device will apparently help elucidate the process of wrinkle formation and reduce animal testing in cosmetics and drug development.
I'm sure this will have no negative consequences down the road.
Julian Ryall from South China Morning Post:
Alarmed by a new security deal between Russia and North Korea, Japan is poised to bolster its defensive alliances and ramp up multinational military drills in the months ahead – though analysts doubt the Moscow-Pyongyang pact will significantly alter Tokyo’s defence spending or posture.
The wall is getting stronger against the Russian sphere both in Europe and now in East Asia. This is either some kind of 8-dimensional chess by Putin or really grasping at the final straws.
From Kyodo:
North Korea launched a possible ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, but the projectile has apparently gone down, the Japan Coast Guard and the South Korean military said Wednesday.
Thanks to Kim for not firing it directly at me and triggering very loud emergency alerts while I sleep.
Sean Coughlan from BBC News:
The King’s speech talked of the close friendship between the UK and Japan.
“Ours is a partnership with deep roots,” said the King, in areas of science, culture, defence and trade."
He also referenced some Japanese contributions to popular culture, including the Hello Kitty brand and mentioned the “Pokemon phrase ‘gotta catch ‘em all’”.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...
From The Mainichi:
Nasu Animal Kingdom in east Japan's Tochigi Prefecture announced on June 24 that two Arctic wolf pups were born last month -- a first for a Japanese zoo.
Worth the click through to the article just to watch the video of the newborns.
From The Mainichi:
The plane is Japan Airlines' second Myaku-Myaku jet designated to fly abroad from Japan. On the aircraft, drinks are served in paper cups with the Myaku-Myaku design on them. The plane will fly until August next year to promote the expo to the world.
It is worth it to look up photos of this nightmare fuel. I can't believe that this character design made it past any kind of committee.
From Kyodo:
Naha prosecutors have indicted a U.S. Air Force member in Okinawa Prefecture for allegedly sexually assaulting and kidnapping a girl under the age of 16 in December, local authorities said Tuesday, with this latest incident involving military personnel likely to further inflame local opposition to their presence.
From The Japan Times:
These facilities will comprise areas for takeoff and landing, taxiways, parking zones, hangars, charging stations and passenger waiting lounges. The construction of these facilities is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2024, with trial flights scheduled for the following year.
From The Mainichi:
"We try to be the most open race in the world by respecting the diversity and identity of all participants," the foundation said.
One more step...
From Reuters:
The European Union is seeking security and defence industry partnerships with Japan and South Korea aimed at joint development of military equipment, the Nikkei reported on Sunday, citing a senior EU commission official.
These would mark the EU's first such security and defence-related collaboration with Asian nations, the Japanese business newspaper said in a report from Brussels that did not identify the official.
More defense alliances forming...
Ryo Asayama from Nikkei:
Leading Japanese retailer Aeon will take on 4,000 skilled foreign workers groupwide by fiscal 2030 amid severe labor shortages in Japan's food service sector, Nikkei has learned.
The Aeon group currently employs around 1,500 under Japan's Specified Skilled Worker program, which targets foreign workers with specialized skills in shorthanded industries. They work largely at food-processing plants that supply Aeon supermarkets.
Narumi Minagi from The Mainichi:
Of the 71 toilets at Tawaramoto Elementary School in Tawaramoto, Nara Prefecture, nearly half, or 34, are the squat type. The elementary school has lagged behind other counterparts in the town in adopting Western-style toilets, and new students have voiced their dislike of squat toilets, saying that they are "dark and scary."
As a westerner that has had a few dark and scary moments in one of these, I side with the kids.
River Akira Davis from The New York Times:
Executives from South Korea’s Naver and Japan’s SoftBank Group said they would jointly own the operator of Line, a South Korean-developed messaging app popularized in Japan. They gave the project a code name that emphasized cooperation: Gaia.
But late last year, cracks started opening in the Naver-Softbank venture.
Paywalled, but a good retelling of a century of strained relations between Japan and South Korea through the tale of a little green app called Line. For me, the cute stickers are the only good part of the Line ecosystem. The messaging portion of the app remains much like it was a decade ago and competitors like WhatsApp and Messages are taking laps around it. But it is still the king of text communication in Japan and no one seems able to topple it.
From The Mainichi:
Unless the current situation in which Okinawa is forced to make sacrifices on the grounds of security is changed, the rift between the central and prefectural governments will only deepen. The national government must amend its stance of forcing decisions on Okinawa and engage in sincere dialogue.
This is a good explainer about the burden placed on Okinawa Prefecture by the central government and how the local people are basically powerless to stop it.
From Kyodo:
"An increasing number of people (within the LDP) are feeling a sense of crisis that if this situation continues, there will be a change of government," Suga, still a prominent figure in the LDP, said in an online program broadcast Sunday.
When Suga returns from the dead to shit on you, you know the game is up.
From Kyodo:
Japan stands ready to take appropriate steps against volatile yen moves at "any time," a senior finance ministry official said Monday in a fresh warning, as the currency neared levels at which authorities have previously intervened to slow the yen's decline.
Yuri Kageyama from The Associated Press:
“In classical music, you play what’s written on the music sheet. Onigiri is the same,” he says. “You don’t try to do something new.”
A delightful read on one of Japan's core food staples.
From Kyodo:
Only 10.4 percent of the Japanese public want Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to win the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race slated for September and continue serving as premier, the latest Kyodo News poll showed Sunday.
At this point, he should see if the number could go any lower just for the sport of it.
Shoko Oda from The Japan Times:
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, a sprawling 4.2-million square meter complex by the sea, was once the crown jewel in Japan’s strategy to boost atomic power to 50% of the country’s energy mix by 2030. Inside, a framed certificate from Guinness World Records acknowledges the facility’s potential output of 8.2 gigawatts as the most globally.
Right now that output — which would be enough to power more than 13 million households — is zero. The seven reactors at KK, as the facility is known, were shuttered after the 2011 tsunami and meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 plant in the Tohoku region that prompted the government to rethink its dependence on nuclear energy.
Fascinating article about this one plant in Niigata but also the general pulse of the population on nuclear energy, the total fecklessness of Tepco, and government officials avoiding being the one in charge of allowing power generation to resume.
From The Mainichi:
"It is inadequate...that Japan has not established domestic laws to punish war crimes or crimes against humanity," ICC President Tomoko Akane said at a recent press conference in Tokyo. She is the first Japanese to lead the independent judicial body, which is based in The Hague.
Did not realize Japan was not a party to this treaty until I saw this article. Very surprising, curious, and troubling considering the nation's brutal treatment of Chinese during the Sino-Japanese Wars.