Students at the Tokyo University of Science have developed a cybernetic suit that won’t only make you look like a superhero straight out of Transformers but will also give you super-human abilities in lifting heavy objects.

The reporter who tested the suit said the 40 kg (88 lbs) bag of rice he was holding seemed as light as a feather!

In contrast to robotic suits that use mechanical motors, this new invention utilizes PAMs — pneumatic artificial ‘muscles’ — which are filled with compressed air, offering a power-to-weight ratio that is 400 times greater than that of current models. Another advantage is that the suit responds to voice commands which will come in handy for anyone using the suit for medical reasons.

The exoskeleton weighs 9,2 kg (20,28 lbs) but feels weightless for the wearer because of the special construction with the artificial muscles.

The technology is still being perfected but the engineers believe that the suit is practical enough for commercial use. The robot suit is scheduled to be released early next year and available for rent from 15,000 yen ($186) per month, but Japan’s health insurance will cover 90% of the charge in most cases.

The soccer ball from a Japanese school that was found on a shore of an Alaskan island.

According to the reports, a soccer ball swept away by last year’s Japanese tsunami was found on a shore of a remote island in Alaska, more than a year later and thousands of miles away.

The ball apparently belonged to the Osabe School (Iwate Prefecture) which is located on a hill and wasn’t seriously impacted by the tsunami.

The Japanese writings on the ball are boys’ names: Yuuki, Akinori and Shunsuke.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials, who are working with the Japanese consulate to set up a process to return the ball, said that the soccer ball is likely the first identifiable item from the tsunami debris that could be returned to its previous owner.

How cool would it be to wear a mask of your own face and creep people out for Halloween? Japanese start-up Real-f can make your dreams come true by creating an ultra-realistic mask of your face.

Your face clone — called The REALFACE — which will cost you 300,000 yen (about $3672) is crafted to the smallest detail such as blood vessels, freckles, wrinkles and even irises in the eyes.

Using a technique called 3DPF (3 Dimensional Photo Form) they take digital stills of your face and map them onto a 3D model made of vinyl chloride. The mask is ready in two weeks. Instead of taking photos, they can also digitize your face with a 3D scanner.

If you’re not quite happy with just a mask, you will soon be able to order The REALHEAD option which will include the whole head with shoulders. Real-f promises to offer additional options like a wig, mannequin body, clothes and other things.

Interestingly, Real-f is not the only company that can duplicate your face, but their products are currently the most realistic face masks on the market.

Masafumi Nagasaki enjoys solitary life on a tropical island. Photo source: Reuters

For a 76-year old Masafumi Nagasaki each days begins according to a strict schedule: morning stretches on the beach, followed by washing, cooking and cleaning of his camp before the sun goes down and insects come out to bite.

The retired, sun-scorched Nagasaki has been living on a remote little island of Sotobanari for the past two decades. The island — its name means “outer distand island” in Okinawan dialect — lies at the southern end of the Ryukyu Islands, part of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture and measures just 1 kilometer in length.

On Sotobanari there is no drinking water, every now and then a powerful typhoon sweeps through the island, and the currents are so dangerous that local fishermen rarely fish around there.

Before he decided to move away from civilization, Nagasaki worked in the entertainment industry.

“I don’t do what society tells me, but I do follow the rules of the natural world. You can’t beat nature so you just have to obey it completely,” he said for Reuters.

Nagasaki spends his days completely naked on the island. “Walking around naked doesn’t really fit in with normal society, but here on the island it feels right, it is like a uniform.” he adds.

His staple food are rice cakes (onigiri) which he boils in water and eats whenever he feels hungry. Water for bathing and shaving comes from the rain that collects in old cooking pots.

Once a week he puts on clothes and visits a nearby island to buy mainly drinking water and rice cakes with money — 10,000 yen — sent to him by his brother each month.

“Finding a place to die is an important thing to do, and I’ve decided here is the place for me,” says Nagasaki.

“It hadn’t really occurred to me before how important it is to choose the place of your death, like whether it’s in a hospital or at home with family by your side. But to die here, surrounded by nature – you just can’t beat it, can you?”

The island of Sotobanari is located at the southern end of the Ryukyu Islands, close to Taiwan.

Diet pills 'Japan Rapid Weight Loss Diet Pills' contain cancer-causing agent.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week warned consumers not to use or purchase Japan Rapid Weight Loss Diet Pills because they contain undeclared phenolphthalein, a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer-causing agent.

These weight loss pills are being sold on various websites. Until last week, it was possible to buy them on Amazon.

The product uses a misleading name “Japan” Rapid Weight Loss Diet Pills that makes it seem like it’s a Japanese product. However, it has nothing to do with Japan. It’s sold by a company called Xiushentang from China that tries to gain better credibility and improve sales with misleading marketing.

After the FDA warning, several news sites reported on the story but most of them did not mention that the pills are manufactured by a Chinese company.

Xiushentang put various Japanese description labels on the packaging, not only for this particular product, but also on several other that you can find on their website. Interestingly, you can even check authenticity of their products, just to make sure you don’t own a fake item.

The sign says: "Politicians' home". Source: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201204020003

Japanese artist Yoshiaki Kaihatsu has built a ‘home’ for politicians. The exclusive shack is located not in a prestigious Tokyo neighborhood but just 20 kilometers away from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Minami-Soma.

“I want politicians to feel the (post-disaster) situation in their bones and re-live the experiences of residents. I want them to formulate policies by drawing on how they feel when they drop in here,” said the 45-year-old artist.

You can read more at The Asahi Shimbun.

Photo: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201203190005

When Tokyo Sky Tree opens to public on May 22, you won’t have to ask which station to get off at to see the world’s tallest tower.

This weekend, the former Narihirabashi Station on Tobu Isesaki Line was renamed Tokyo Sky Tree Station. To prepare for a surge in visitors in the coming weeks, the closest station to the city’s newest tourist attracting will now be under major renovation work for about a month.

Photo: http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=3

Fukushima governor Yuhei Sato on March 11 at 2:46 pm — exactly a year after 3/11 — issued a declaration to promote renewable energy in the prefecture.

The “Fukushima Declaration” which you can read here in English calls for revitalization of the prefecture — a home to two million people — and abolition of nuclear power.

At the Comcom event complex in Fukushima City, the governor pledged to show the world a new kind of society that balances community development and conservation of the global environment without relying on nuclear power.

Meanwhile, a yet-to-be-released report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects that despite the disaster in Fukushima, the global use of nuclear energy could increase by as much as 100 percent in the next twenty years due to future plans for new nuclear power plants elsewhere in the world.

Photo: http://response.jp/article/img/2011/09/26/162814/367608.html

From March 17 until the end of May, Mimi-car (耳カ) or the ‘ear-car’ of the Heartlink Nippon project will be collecting voice messages of support and encouragement and deliver them to people in the areas of northeastern Japan that were devastated by last year’s earthquake and tsunami. The car will be stopping at Nexco’s service areas along the highways.

People will be able to speak their messages into the giant ears. Their recordings will then be heard on radio and during a festival in Iwate prefecture on May 26th and 27th. The Mimi-car will also invite people from the affected areas to record their messages to the rest of Japan.

The idea comes from the Japanese magician Magi Shinji who lost his grandmother and an aunt in the tsunami.

The Mimi-car was already introduced at the last year’s Tokyo Motor Show 2011 where it was used as a way for people to whisper their comments and ideas for features they wanted to see in future cars.

You decide! Japanese airline ANA has a “Cool Campaign” from February 17th to March 31st with aim to promote tourism in Japan.

They put up a website targeted to foreigners that introduces many old and current Japanese trends through video clips and articles. You get to vote on each featured item whether it’s “cool” or “not so cool”.

By filling out the entry form on the website, you can also win a pair of round-trip tickets to Japan. Hurry!