Tech & Life

Japan, which boasts some of the world's most advanced technological capabilities, has developed original technology in the field of aerospace. Japan carried out the first successful sample return of asteroid matter to Earth, and has been moving ahead with development of the world's first ultra-compact satellite that can fit in the palm of your hand. Japan also makes a great contribution as one of the 15 countries that help run the International Space Station (ISS).

Japanese companies from various industries are developing new materials in pursuit of creating a sustainable society. They are based on a wide range of source materials, such as discarded rice and vegetables, cloth that failed to meet strict product quality standards, and shards of Japanese porcelain. What kinds of new materials will emerge by repurposing these waste products that used to be simply discarded?

In Japan, vending machines are everywhere — not just ordinary places like town centers and train stations, but even remote spots like the side of the road in tiny rural villages. Events in recent years have highlighted the benefits being able to buy products without making contact with another person, and various new types of vending machines have appeared as a result. Vending machines are a beloved part of life in Japan, so it's no surprise that they've evolved to cater to people's specific needs alongside selling regular products like drinks and snacks.

Making the most of the natural flavors of ingredients is integral to Japanese cooking, so for chefs, cutting ingredients requires the utmost precision. The way something is cut can affect not just the look but also the taste and texture of the food — which is where razor-sharp Japanese kitchen knives come in. A well-sharpened Japanese knife can cut through ingredients without crushing their fibers, keeping all of the natural flavors and umami taste intact. Let's take a look at what makes Japanese knives special, how they're used, and how they've been honed to suit Japanese cookery.

Despite the absence of trash cans, Japanese streets and downtown areas are not covered with garbage, and scenes of Japanese sports fans picking up trash after games have garnered attention around the world. All this adds up to Japan having an international reputation for being clean. Let's take a look at some hygiene-related technologies and initiatives that focus on sanitization and sterilization.

Victory bouquets are held by athletes in their moment of triumph on the winners' podium of a sports competition. There are a myriad of sought-after attributes for bouquets given to winning athletes, such as their color, shape, longevity, size, the strength of their stems, and many more. Here are some examples of selective breeding and cultivation techniques, and smart agriculture in the production of flowers for victory bouquets.

Natural disasters are a growing risk worldwide, from earthquakes to tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, torrential rains, flooding, landslides, tornadoes, heavy snowfall, and more. Japan is no stranger to disasters, having witnessed its share of torrential rain, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. As a result, the country is engaged in a number of disaster-related initiatives.

In Japan, where people eat a lot of fish, including some of it raw, freezing is essential to a stable and wide supply of fresh fish. In the 1960s, technology for rapidly freezing tuna at ultra-low temperatures of -50°C was introduced. Rapid freezing is characterized by its ability to freeze the molecular structure of the food quickly so that it does not break down or degrade in quality.

Washi is the traditional Japanese paper that has been used in the daily lives of Japanese people since ancient times, in things like shoji sliding doors and lanterns. Washi can be used to give spaces a subtle ambience because of the way it softens the quality of the light and sound that passes through it and moderates the room temperature. Not only that, washi is also very durable — we still have some documents that were written on washi 1000 years ago!

Special dishes are eaten on seasonal events and days of celebration. In Japan, these kinds of special dishes use ingredients that are in season, and people eat them while wishing for the happiness and health of their families. This article showcases the appeal of dishes eaten on special events in Japan that you are encouraged to try, even if you live abroad.

Japan’s weather forecasting technology continues to improve in accuracy every year. Weather forecasts in Japan are carried out using land surface weather observation, supercomputers, weather satellites in space, and other methods in combination. Weather forecasts help people with social and economic life, as well as in preventing disasters. This article looks at Japan’s ever-evolving weather forecasting technology.

The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami struck on March 11, 2011. A 9.0-magnitude (Mw) earthquake occurred off the Sanriku coast in Japan, marking the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history. This earthquake resulted in a tsunami that brought damage to many locations, including the coastal areas in the Tohoku region beside the Pacific Ocean. The year 2021 when this article was prepared marks a decade since this unprecedented disaster occurred, taking many casualties with it.
This article is the first in a two-part special feature covering the Sanriku coast, an area that suffered significant damage from the tsunami. Part two looks at the current state of areas that were affected by the disaster.

The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami struck on March 11, 2011. A 9.0-magnitude (Mw) earthquake occurred off the Sanriku coast in Japan, marking the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history. This earthquake resulted in a tsunami that brought immense damage to many locations, including the coastal areas in the Tohoku region beside the Pacific Ocean. You may remember the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that occurred as a result of this earthquake and tsunami.
The year 2021 marks a decade since this unprecedented disaster occurred, taking many casualties with it. This article is the first in a two-part special feature covering the Sanriku coast, an area that suffered significant damage from the tsunami. Part one looks at the lessons that can be learned from the tsunami and earthquake, along with initiatives for improving awareness regarding disaster prevention.

Japan is peaceful, and is recognized as one of the safest countries in the world. One factor that helps keep Japan peaceful can be found in the “Koban” located in many areas in the city. The Koban is also called a “police box,” but people around the world are familiar with the Japanese word. This article introduces the role and origins of Koban.

Japan is known to be a country with a strong awareness for hygiene. Customs to wash hands and gargle on a daily basis are particularly widespread, and are carried out actively by a wide range of people in the country—from children to grown-ups.

Toilets are one area that many non-Japanese people praise after visiting Japan. You will often hear people say “I was amazed by the warm water toilet seat bidets. I want one in my house, too” or “I was surprised that the toilet seat was warm.”

Situated in Tokyo’s Ueno Park, the main building of the National Museum of Western Art was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 as one part of “The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.”

It is almost time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where athletes from around the world will strive to unleash their full power in competitive events. We are sure to be moved by their performance as we witness the limitless possibilities that humankind is capable of.

Japan's industrial products, such as luxury cars, food packaging and high-performance films, are taking advantage of biomimetic technology, which uses the extraordinary structures and functions of living organisms.

Warmly welcoming travelers is at the heart of Japanese hospitality. When we see a foreign visitor doing sightseeing with luggage in both hands, we would like to help him or her enjoy the trip in a more relaxed manner.

New agricultural technologies have been developed in Japan that allow crops to grow even in environments that are hostile to plants, such as cold regions, arid regions and areas where the soil is contaminated. These have been gaining attention both in Japan and abroad as "dream technologies that will revolutionize agriculture across the globe."

These days we need to pay attention to our daily diet and ensure balanced nutrition and proper calorific intake in order to live a healthy life.In Japan we have developed measuring instruments that can instantly detect how many calories are in the food we consume daily; instruments that are used predominantly by food manufacturers and research institutes.

A declining birth rate and an aging population is a serious problem, predominantly in developed countries; and Japan is no exception. In order to respond positively to this aging problem, we need to create a framework for society as a whole.

The technology of dreams has been created; one that allows us to revive cultural assets lost in natural disasters and to directly touch cultural property that is normally stored under strict conditions due to its value.

Life at home changes drastically when you can activate various services simply by where you are standing or by voice command. Such futuristic lives, previously experienced only in movies, will soon be a reality.

Have you ever worn a shirt that feels cool in summer or underwear that warms you up in winter?Garments made of synthetic fibers feel cool, are absorbent and quick drying or have the function of retaining heat.

Laundries are everywhere you look when you walk along the streets of Japan. One reason for their prevalence might be the Japanese seasons.

Dry cell batteries are essential to our lives today. People put them in TV remote controllers, flashlights and other electronic gadgets that are often used without thought in daily life.

Automated multistory parking facilities, which have machines automatically carrying cars to parking spaces, are quite a common sight in Japan.

Many people in Japan suffer from hay fever and can be seen wearing masks when spring arrives. Face masks sold in Japan have an extremely tight weave, so dust and pollen particles cannot pass through them easily.

The 21st century has been lauded as “the era of the environment” as the world faces a host of problems such as global warming, as well as air and water pollution. As a consequence, there is a growing interest in Japan for new technologies that make use of sunlight.

Car sharing, a membership system for the joint use of cars, is growing. The system is proving popular because you can use a car anytime you need one, and try out cars with automatic braking and other uniquely Japanese options that meet a broad spectrum of customer needs.

In Japan, you can drink delicious tap water safely anytime, anywhere.

Japanese convenience store companies are now working to make low-cost stores while reducing their impact on the environment by utilizing natural energy.

Japanese stationary continue to evolve daily, aiming for the ultimate experience.

In Japan, high capacity communication and plant factory using LED lighting has reached the stage of practical use.

The latest models of electronic paper developed by Japanese manufactures are able to activate company meetings and transform school lectures into on-the-spot workshop in which all students can participate.

Japanese manufacturers of household appliances are bringing out new handyelectronic beauty products which allow us to meticulously groom the whole body, including skin, eyes and scalp.

Attention is focused on initiatives promoted by Japanese companies and research institutes that aim to develop algae as a resource, amid concerns over depleting energy resources such as oil and food crises.

In Japan, the technological developments in energy harvesting (environmental generation) that convert the faint energies from heat and vibration occurring in daily life into electricity are in progress.

Biometric authentication technology, using vein patterns of the hand or finger, becomes the center of public attention as the most important technology of personal identification among the information protection measures.

Advanced new high technology has been introduced to demolish high-rise buildings in Japan. High-tech demolition systems feature safety, energy conservation and environmental protection, and even visually beautiful.

A world-class underground discharge channel has been constructed to protect residents from flood by using the very best of Japan's state-of-the-art civil engineering technology on the outskirts of Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

Hera-shibori, or metal spinning, is a metal sheet-processing technique requiring exquisite manual work. Permitting higher degrees of precision than those made by state-of-the-art processing machines, it is indispensable for the manufacture of some products such as rocket nose cones and dish antennas.

Japan has been doing extensive research on water-recycling and reuse technologies. "Water Plaza Kitakyushu" is one of Japan’s largest facilities aimed dealing with global water problems.

Head-mounted displays (HMD) have been evolving in Japan. When an HMD is worn like a pair of goggles, it shows spectacular video images right in front of the wearer's eyes. Japanese manufacturers have developed various HMD video entertainment systems with breathtaking 3D images, taking advantage of LCD panels and CG technology in which they excel.

In Japan, the development of next-generation cars is focusing on safety systems aimed at avoiding a collision itself, utilizing a high-tech evolution in sophisticated automatic braking and driver-warning systems made possible with miniaturized cameras as well as advanced radar and image-processing technologies.

High technology has been employed in nursing care in the aging society of Japan, including automatically controlled beds based on human engineering and nursing care robots, to help care receivers live more comfortably.

Japan is coming up with innovative housing "with a zero energy bill," counting on natural power, like solar energy and geothermal heat.

Carbon fiber technology, developed in Japan decades ago, has come into the limelight for use in a growing array of lightweight, cutting-edge applications.

Japanese industrial development has been sustained over the years by small, innovative, hard-working manufacturers. Today, major engineering firms around the world also rely on this advanced expertise.

From ancient times, many areas of Japan have experienced long, cold winters— climactic conditions that have inspired a whole array of innovative countermeasures to help fight off the incessant chill of the season.

Technological advances in the traditional weaving and knitting industry have revolutionized the creation of modern-day cloth and fabric, helping to generate an array of astonishing new designs, composition and quality.

Colds have plagued humankind since time immemorial, and every culture has produced it own traditional remedies. In Japan, people rely on various concoctions of vegetables and herbs—and even sake—to relieve troublesome cold symptoms.

When people consider odor, they have few pleasant thoughts. But in Japan today, scientists are conducting advanced research into the amazing benefits of using odor to prevent danger and detect disease.

Japan's small, urban side-street pubs and bars are experiencing a new boom, as young people are flocking to them for camaraderie, conversation and relaxation.

Used from ancient times in Japan, fermented foods provide an abundance of benefits, and it is not just their health and preservation attributes—they have become a core aspect of the subtlety, savoriness and depth of Japanese cuisine.

Japanese cell phone and smartphone users will soon be able to talk freely with people who don't speak a word of Japanese. The new phones use amazing new technologies to translate spoken conversations in real time. Good bye, language barrier!

Japan's K supercomputer is now the world's fastest, carrying out calculations at over 10 petaflops and opening up many new possibilities for advanced research and simulations.

Around the world, Japanese green tea has been acclaimed as one of the healthiest drinks available, but few people know much about its ancient origins, varieties and popularity throughout present-day Japan.