XELA Robotics, a startup launched from Waseda University, has developed a tactile sensor that gives robots a human-like sense of touch, a technology that could enhance precision in manufacturing and reduce industrial waste. The “uSkin”...
Epson Atmix Corporation, a group company of Seiko Epson Corporation, announced on earlier this month the completion of its new metal refining factory in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. The facility, which begins operations this month, will recycle...
Chubu Electric Power is pioneering a new method of rice cultivation that does not require flooded paddies, a technique that reduces methane gas emissions by approximately 80% and cuts labour time by around 60%. The initiative, trialled in the fields...
Future with Forest Association has opened entries for the Future with Forest Sustainable Award 2025, designed to uncover commercially viable ideas that will allow people and forests to coexist a century from now. Announced on 13 June 2025, the award...
Nearly 40 per cent of LGBTQ+ people in Japan have faced obstacles when trying to secure housing, a new Pride Month survey shows. In the study, conducted by Pencil Co.,Ltd. and the non‑profit Colourful Change Lab, researchers asked LGBTQ+ respondents...
Soiro living LLC has relaunched “High●light,” a pendant lamp that breathes new life into redundant porcelain ashtrays. Each lamp begins as a vintage or deadstock ashtray recovered from recycling centres and warehouse inventories. Technicians drill a...
The news can feel heavy right now, with conflict and climate worries never far from sight. We are organising the “Sophia Irori” to offer a gentle pause: an evening circle at BIKAS COFFEE where six people settle around a figurative Japanese hearth to...
Minna Denryoku, a leading renewable-energy supplier in Japan, rebranded as UPDATER, a Tokyo-based social-update company. Recently, it has turned to the traditional art of rakugo to show that renewable energy can be engaging and practical. Its...
Osaka’s community hub PLAT UMEKITA is revealing a series of new hints for a sutainable lifestyle with “PU-katsu,” a year-round programme that treats sustainable living as play rather than preaching. For the rainy month of June, the...
Japan’s convenience stores enjoy a romanticised image from visitors, often a symbol of choice, hygiene and efficiency! Walk into a Japanese convenience store in a business district at lunch time and you’d have a chance to witness the...