Japans

Japan has a high level of adoption when it comes to advanced technologies and is a world leader in various areas, such as robotics. However, it's also resistant to certain facets of modernization and tend to stick to old-fashioned solutions — fax machines, for instance, are still widely used. And apparently, so are floppy disks. The country's newly appointed Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, has tweeted that he's declaring "a war on floppy disks." Apparently, there are still around 1,900 government procedures in…

CLIMATE POLICY California to ban gasoline-only cars California regulators last week issued the first ban by a U.S. state on the sale of new passenger cars that run only on gasoline. Starting in 2035, nearly all new cars sold in California must be all electric or run on hydrogen fuel cells; 20% can be hybrid-electric vehicles with batteries capable of running at least 80 kilometers. The measure is expected to halve greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars, pickups, and SUVs…

Image: Epov Dmitry (Shutterstock)Japan, a country known for advancing some of the world’s most innovative and quirky tech, is preparing to launch an all out “war” against the humble floppy disk.Taro Kono, the country’s newly appointed Digital Minister, bellowed out his battle cry on Tuesday, via Twitter. According to Kono, floppy disks—along with other dated tech like CDs and MiniDiscs —are still required for around 1,900 government procedures. Kono’s vow to purge the government of the 50 plus year old floppy tech comes…

Image: Getty Images / Saturno Dona' / EyeEmJapan's digital minister has vowed to remove laws requiring that data sent to the government is shipped on floppy disks and other physical media. Digital minister Taro Kono on Tuesday vowed to dismiss Japan's laws that have entrenched floppy disks and CD-ROMs in the nation's systems. In a tweet from his English Twitter account, Kono said he was declaring "war" on floppy disks as part of its digital transformation and enabling citizens to submit data online.  Kono explained…

Olympus Corp said it had agreed to sell its microscope unit to private equity firm Bain Capital for 427.6 billion yen ($3.1 billion), in what would be the Japanese company's biggest divestment yet. The sale of the unit, which also makes industrial endoscopes and x-ray analysers, comes as Olympus speeds the overhaul of its business portfolio, so as to focus solely on medical technology. The unit is to be transferred to Bain on Jan. 4 next year, subject to antitrust regulatory approvals in Japan and abroad. In a statement,…

Consumers are driving growth as pandemic restrictions are lifted and they have greater freedom of movement. Photo: Akio Kon/Bloomberg News…

An employee of Honda Motor Co. cleans a Honda car displayed at its headquarters in Tokyo on July 31, 2018. Honda’s fiscal first quarter profit fell 33% from 2021 as a global computer chip shortage, a pandemic-related lockdown in China and the rising costs of raw materials hurt the Japanese automaker. Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. reported Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, that its profit totaled 149.2 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in the April-June quarter, down…

The people on Japan’s “Island of Immortals” may have discovered the secret to a longer life. Okinawa island is located in the East China Sea, between the Japanese mainland and Taiwan. On top of being absolutely beautiful, the island’s average lifespan is between five and 11 years longer than in the United States. And the environment may have more to do with it than we think. People on Japan’s “Island of Immortals” may have discovered the secret to longer life Image source: allensima / AdobeOn the island,…

Tokyo-based clothing company Sweet Mommy has a novel way to keep pets cool. Instead of romping in sprinklers or parking in front of the air conditioner, it’s created “air-conditioned pet clothes” called COOL DOG (though cats can wear them as well). The device is a wearable fan that can be fixed to a pet’s back and is designed to help prevent pooches from getting heat stroke during walks. The fan, which launched at the beginning of July, uses two AAA batteries and weighs roughly three ounces. In an interview with the…

Japanese telecoms company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) will invest JPY 64 billion (roughly Rs. 4,509 crores) in NEC Corp to beef up efforts to develop fifth-generation (5G) wireless technologies, the two firms said on Thursday.The capital alliance will give NTT a 5 percent stake in NEC as its main network equipment supplier hopes to crack the dominance of Huawei Technologies, Ericsson, and Nokia in 5G network infrastructure.Japan started its 5G service this year, lagging behind the United States and China, among…