Japan New SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

	Japan's biggest daily admits its iPS transplant reports were wrong
	The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's biggest daily, published a front page apology in its Oct. 13 morning edition admitting its sensational reports earlier in the week on the transplant of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells were wrong.

Oct 14	Nature calls researcher's method 'weird'
	The prestigious scientific journal Nature questioned the credibility of the Japanese researcher's claimed success in the clinical application of induced pluripotent stem cells, saying the "transplant of iPS cells to treat heart failure probably never happened." (Yomiuri )

Oct 13	Japan proposes restricting trade of Ryukyu turtle
	Japan has proposed restricting international trade of a species of turtle endemic to the islands in its southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

Oct 13	TEPCO succeeds in taking water sample from crippled No. 1 reactor
	The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant succeeded Friday in taking a sample of water from the No. 1 reactor's primary containment vessel, the first such attempt since the accident at the plant occurred last year.

Oct 13	Robots to the rescue as an aging Japan looks for help
	Robots in rapidly ageing Japan are moving from the realm of science fiction and technology fairs to practical use, helping the elderly with rehabilitation and performing daily tasks.

Oct 12	Earthquake shakes eastern Japan, no tsunami warning issued
	An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5 hit eastern Japan on Friday, public broadcaster NHK said. (Reuters )

Oct 12	Super forms of gonorrhea on way
	The ''clap'' is making a comeback, and experts say it is only a matter of time before superbug strains of the sexually transmitted infection reach Australian shores. The first form was in Japan, while the second was found in France and soon after jumped to Spain. (The Age )

Oct 11	TEPCO says water level high enough to cool reactor-1
	The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant says melted fuel at the bottom of the No.1 reactor is being kept cool. Tokyo Electric Power Company says its latest probe reveals the water level in the reactor's containment vessel is at 2.8 meters - enough to stop the fuel from overheating. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 11	BioJapan 2012 showcases iPS cell tech
	The BioJapan 2012 exhibition showcasing the latest technologies in regenerative medicine and drug development began in Yokohama on Wednesday. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 11	Tepco looks inside reactor 1
	Tepco has started a series of surveys to check the interior condition of Fukushima No. 1's reactor 1, one of the three units that suffered a meltdown. (Japan Times )

Oct 11	Japan, ASEAN discuss measures against cyber attacks
	Japan and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are discussing coordinated measures against cyber attacks on government and business computer networks. (NHKReloaded)

Oct 10	Swans arrive in Yonago City for wintering
	A flock of wild swans have arrived at an aquatic bird park in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, signalizing that winter is coming soon. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 10	Japan takes action against complex cyber threats
	In the year since a sophisticated cyber attack on Japan's largest military contractor unleashed a flood of revelations about the vulnerability of the country's most sensitive technical data, cybersecurity has vaulted onto the country's national security agenda. (defensenews.com )

Oct 10	New virus type can spy on entry data
	Viruses used to send online threats from the personal computers of two men in the Kansai region had the ability to spy on data in the terminals and steal keyboard entry information, it was learned Tuesday. (Yomiuri )

Oct 10	'Embarrassing' drawing won Nobel laureate grant
	Powerful presentation skills and an "embarrassing" illustration proved to be key driving forces in pushing forward Shinya Yamanaka's breakthrough research in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which won him the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. (Yomiuri )

Oct 09	British-Japanese duo win Nobel
	Shinya Yamanaka of Japan and John B. Gurdon of Britain won the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for their groundbreaking work on stem cells, the jury said. (thefrontierpost.com )

Oct 09	DNA study reveals genetic traits for skin problem
	Japanese scientists have identified the genetic characteristics of people likely to suffer from chronic skin problems. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 09	Study: Eating dinner late leads to obesity
	Eating late dinners can disrupt the biological clock that determines a person's daily circadian rhythm, leading to obesity and diabetes, according to a Waseda University research team. (Yomiuri)

Oct 08	New 'branch of life' found in sea
	Japanese researchers have apparently discovered a previously unknown class of microorganism in the seafloor off Tokyo's Izu Islands that may help shed light on the evolution from simple to complex life forms on Earth. (Yomiuri)

Oct 07	Submerged breakwater to be built in Wakayama Prefecture
	Submerged breakwater to be built in Wakayama Prefecture Work has begun on a submerged breakwater in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan that will surface in the event of a tsunami. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 06	Scientists to make sperm, ova from human iPS cells
	Scientists at Keio University in Tokyo say they have produced cells that will become sperm and ova from ones developed from human skin. They say the achievement is the first of its kind in Japan. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 06	Researchers produce ova from iPS cells
	Japanese researchers have succeeded for the first time ever in generating ova from multipurpose stem cells and using the ova to produce mice offspring through in vitro fertilization. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 06	Japan's LED-stacked cubesat will burn Morse code into the heavens
	If you thought cloud writing was cool, then how about a message from space burnt into the night sky? A group of unassuming cubesats recently left the comfort of the ISS and joined Earth's orbit -- among them was FITSAT-1 (aka Niwaka), a four-inch-cubed Japanese satellite covered in high-powered LEDs. (engadget.com )

Oct 05	Japanese micro satellites released from ISS
	Astronauts onboard the International Space Station have released into orbit 5 micro satellites, including ones made by Japanese companies and universities. (NHKReloaded )

Oct 05	Climate change skepticism is highest in Japan, Britain and U.S., poll finds
	While nine out of 10 people surveyed in a recent Ipsos poll "believe that the climate has changed significantly in the past 20 years," those polled in Japan, Britain and the U.S. had the highest rates of climate change skepticism. (huffingtonpost.com )

Oct 04	New giant active fault blamed for 311 tsunami
	A research team says a newly discovered undersea fault may have magnified the massive tsunami that struck northeastern Japan last year. ( )

Oct 04	Japan shows bomb-detecting plane ticket reader
	Plane passengers could soon be scanned for bombs as they swipe their boarding pass, a Japanese company said Wednesday, unveiling the world's first explosive-detecting departure gate. (AFP )

Oct 04	Japan snail sheds tail to escape: scientist
	Snails that can shed their tails to escape much faster-moving predators and then regrow the amputated body section have been discovered living in sub-tropical Japan, a study said Wednesday. (AFP )

Oct 03	Hottest September in more than 110 years
	The country recorded the hottest September in more than 110 years this year, due to an extremely strong high pressure system in the Pacific, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. (Yomiuri )

Oct 03	Toyota showcases Smart Insect concept car
	Toyota's latest concept car is dubbed the Smart Insect and is somewhat reminiscent of a Smart car, if only a tad smaller. (tgdaily.com )

Oct 03	TEPCO starts removing fuel from Fukushima Daini reactor
	Tokyo Electric Power Co. showed to the media on Tuesday its work to remove fuel from a nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daini plant, the first time to do so after a huge earthquake and tsunami hit the complex and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March last year. (Mainichi )

Oct 02	Nuclear plant construction to resume in Japan
	A Japanese power company says it will resume the construction of a nuclear power plant. This is the first such move in the country since last year's nuclear accident at Fukushima. (NHKReloaded )

Sep 30	Radiation near Fukushima plant falls by 20%
	Japan's Science and Technology Ministry says the average radiation level 1 meter above ground within an 80-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi plant fell by more than 20 percent during a 7-month period up to June. (NHKReloaded )

Sep 29	TEPCO shows video taken inside N-reactor
	Tokyo Electric Power Co. has released video footage taken inside the damaged containment vessel of the No. 1 reactor at its Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, the first such footage the utility has released since the crisis that erupted at the plant in March of 2011. (Yomiuri )

Sep 29	Japan privatizes H-2B launch operations
	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has taken over responsibility for all launches of Japan's H-2B rocket from the Japanese government in a move that could bring the vehicle into the global commercial launch market, the Japanese space agency, JAXA, announced Sept. 27. (spacenews.com )

Sep 28	City opposes radioactive waste site proposal for Fukushima Daiichi
	Japan's government has again met severe local opposition when proposing a site for permanent disposal of ash and mud exposed to radiation from last year's nuclear plant accident. (NHKReloaded )

Sep 28	Town eyes makeshift tsunami bridge
	A town in western Japan has held a drill to build temporary bridges to restore passage on the assumption that coastal roads become impassable due to a tsunami. (NHKReloaded )

Sep 28	Spike in heart failures follows Japan's 2011 quake
	Following the massive earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011, which devastated parts of eastern Japan, the number of heart failure cases spiked in Miyagi Prefecture and remained elevated for six weeks, according to a new study. (Reuters)

Sep 27	Element 113: Ununtrium reportedly synthesized in Japan
	Scientists in Japan think they've finally created the elusive element 113, one of the missing items on the periodic table of elements. Element 113 is an atom with 113 protons in its nucleus - a type of matter that must be created inside a laboratory because it is not found naturally on Earth. (huffingtonpost.com )

Sep 26	Japan eyes at least 10 years whaling with ship refit
	Japan's Fisheries Agency said Wednesday it plans to refit the factory ship used every year on its Antarctic whaling expeditions, in the hope of getting at least another decade's service. (AFP )

Sep 26	Freak weather conditions spark tornadoes in Hokkaido
	Unstable atmospheric conditions in northern Japan have triggered a series of tornadoes. Video footage taken on Tuesday evening shows a tornado that uprooted several trees in Oshamanbe town, Hokkaido. (News On Japan )

Sep 26	TEPCO: No damage to N-fuel from steel beam
	Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday it found no visible damage to nuclear fuel assemblies in a spent fuel pool at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant from a steel beam that recently fell into the pool. (Yomiuri )

Sep 26	Jellyfish outbreaks may last longer
	Massive outbreaks of Echizen kurage giant jellyfish in the Sea of Japan may be prolonged this year, which could greatly damage local fishing industries, according to marine biologists. (Yomiuri )

Sep 26	Japan plans restart of controversial reactor
	There has been an ongoing debate in Japan on the best way to obtain a safe and affordable energy supply for the island nation. The nuclear option suffered a setback in March, 2011, when a massive earthquake and devastating tsunami caused a meltdown in reactors at Japan's main Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. (VOA News )

Sep 25	Car accident prevention with smartphone apps
	Japanese non-life insurers plan to start using smartphones to help reduce the number of car accidents. The move comes as casualty insurers are feeling the burden of rising payout claims resulting from car accidents. (NHKReloaded)

Sep 25	Man against dolphin - a search for understanding the conundrum that is Japan
	Right now the annual bloodbath of dolphin hunting in Taiji, Japan is ongoing. During this archaic process dolphins and small whales are driven into a cove where some are destined to be sold to amusement parks while the rest are cruelly slaughtered en masse nearby, the screeching screams of their pod mates audible to all. (seattlepi.com )

Sep 24	Data that lives forever is possible: Japan's Hitachi
	As Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones prove, good music lasts a long time; now Japanese hi-tech giant Hitachi says it can last even longer-a few hundred million years at least. (phys.org)

Sep 24	Japan to study wild animals in no-entry zone
	Japan's Environment Ministry has decided to study wild animals in no-entry areas around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in preparation for the return of residents in the future. (NHKReloaded )

Sep 24	Kunimasu freshwater salmon to be excluded from red list
	The Environment Ministry has decided to exclude a freshwater salmon species known as "kunimasu" from the red list of extinct species and designate it as a species extinct in the wild, or a species that continues living in places other than its indigenous habitat, sources close to the issue said Saturday.

Sep 23	Japan crop circle not made by UFO: Scientific explanation for mystery circle
	Japan's crop circle was not the work of a UFO or other unexplained phenomena. In fact, there is a perfectly scientific explanation for the beautiful patterns discovered underwater, and it has nothing to do with UFOs. The circular indentations in the sand were made by a single male pufferfish. (examiner.com )