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If you're of a certain age - or just watch a lot of Hulu or Nick at Nite - you probably remember the folding (and flying) car from "The Jetsons." The forthcoming Hiriko Fold doesn't fly, but it does fold. To make this work, regular controls had to be replaced with drive-by-wire, and the accelerator, steering wheel and brake are gone in favor of an aerospace-type yoke that (as in a Segway), is moved forward to move the vehicle forward, and back for reversing. Left and right are for steering. Just like in the Jetsons' car (and the 1950s BMW...

Seafood caught off Fukushima goes on sale for first time since disaster By Yuri Kageyama National Jun. 25, 2012 - 08:50PM JST ( 50 ) TOKYO — The first seafood caught off Japan’s Fukushima coastline since last year’s nuclear disaster went on sale Monday, but the offerings were limited to octopus and marine snails because of persisting fears about radiation. Octopus and whelk, a kind of marine snail, were chosen for the initial shipments because testing for radioactive cesium consistently measured no detectable amounts, according to the Fukushima Prefectural fishing cooperative. They were caught Friday and boiled so they last...

Restart of reactors may boost nuclear power, uranium prospectsSAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Japan’s devastating disasters last year derailed some growth in the nuclear industry world-wide, but demand for uranium is poised to strengthen after the nation that fed doubts over safety approved its first restart of nuclear reactors since the catastrophe. “Stealthily … developments in the nuclear industry are moving ahead,” said Jeb Handwerger, a natural-resource analyst and editor of GoldStockTrades.com. “Homage was paid to Fukushima,” but it did not deter companies in the nuclear power industry “from continuing the development of nuclear energy.”

'National security' amendment to nuclear law raises fears of military use June 21, 2012 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Supporters of an amendment quietly slipped into Japan’s nuclear power law saying it should contribute to "national security" are denying it could provide cover for military use of nuclear technology. The provision, which says nuclear safety should be guaranteed not only to defend lives, people's health and the environment but also to "contribute to Japan's national security," became part of the Atomic Energy Basic Law on June 20. Critics say the change to the 1955 basic law, known as the "constitution" of nuclear...

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government filed a complaint against Japanese budget carrier Skymark Airlines and the Consumer Affairs Agency requested that it remove the notices, which informed passengers that Skymark would not accept complaints during flights. Instead, passengers were told to direct any complaints to public consumer centres. Hirohiko Fukushima, the head of the Consumer Affairs Agency, said in Tokyo, "We cannot condone an attitude of directing complaints about a company's services to public organisations." Skymark's eight-point "Service Concept" guidelines were introduced aboard its aircraft in mid-May and stated that cabin staff would not help passengers stow their bags, that attendants...

Katsuya Takahashi, a former Aum Supreme Truth cult member sought over the March 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway system, was arrested Friday in Tokyo after 17 years on the run.... The arrest of the last Aum member on a special wanted list marks a new chapter in the investigation of a series of crimes allegedly committed by the cult that shocked and horrified the nation, including sarin gas attacks in Tokyo and Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and the sending of a parcel bomb addressed to the then Tokyo governor.

Kiyoshi Takayama, considered to be the second most important man in the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza group, was awarded a Y1.5 billion ($19 million) bail and could be freed ahead of his trial. Takayama, 64, is charged with extortion, being accused of taking some Y40 million from a construction company in 2005 and 2006. Currently he is in the hospital due to poor health according to press reports. The Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan’s biggest yakuza group. The yakuza engages in activities like gambling, prostitution and drugs, while conducting business through front companies. The yakuza gangs have long been tolerated by the Japanese authorities,...

At this moment, people in Osaka and Kobe are tweeting the color of Osaka bay looks strange. From the picture, it looks pale yellow. From local citizens, it became strange color before The great Hanshin earthquake (1995) as well. They might need to stay informed just in case.

In a smart and expensive neighbourhood of Tokyo, Toshiko Horikoshi relaxes by playing her grand piano. She's a successful eye surgeon, with a private clinic, a stylish apartment, a Porsche and two pet pooches: Tinkerbell, a chihuahua, and Ginger, a poodle. "Japanese dog owners think a dog is like a child," says Horikoshi. "I have no children, so I really love my two dogs." Many Japanese women like Horikoshi Startlingly, in a country panicking over its plummeting birthrate, there are now many more pets than children. While the birthrate has been falling dramatically and the average age of Japan's population...

The news report is HERE:LINK.This is from Japanese TV news today, it reports that the sale occured in August last year (4 mobile transporters used in North Korea's massive military parade showcasing the mobile nature of their ICBM program, including modified Scud, Nodong, etc.). Japan caught wind of this dangerous, nefarious PRC-DPRK deal in October. The United States also came to know this material fact.The sale marks a complete violation of UN embargoes on such material and equipment for export to the DPRK for thier intermediate and long range missile program. Japanese news notes the US kept silent about...

TOKYO (AP) -- A panel investigating Japan's nuclear disaster said Saturday that the ex-prime minister and his aides caused confusion at the height of last year's crisis by heavily interfering in the damaged and leaking plant's operation. Shuya Nomura, a member of the parliamentary panel, said that Naoto Kan's aides made numerous calls to the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, often asking basic questions and distracting workers, thus causing more confusion. They did not follow the official line of communication -- through the regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency -- under the country's nuclear disaster management law, he said.

Seven US conservation groups on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, accusing the government of failing to regulate the use of toxic lead bullets in hunting. Lead bullets have been shown to fragment upon impact, leaving bits behind in carcasses that other animals scavenge. The practice can cause lead poisoning in species such as the endangered California condor, eagles, swans and more. A petition by 100 environmental groups to the EPA in March, asking for the agency to regulate the components of ammunition used in hunting under the Toxic Substances Control Act, was refused amid strong opposition...

Video @ link...A 66ft long floating dock that was ripped from the shores of Japan during last year's tsunami has arrived on a beach 5,000 miles away in Oregon.

TOKYO — Master Sgt. Marc Maschhoff revels in the turns his life has taken in the last year. Last summer, Maschhoff had to keep his sexuality a secret or risk being kicked out of the Air Force. On Monday, he was happily introducing his boyfriend to diplomats and politicians from around the world as the U.S. ambassador to Japan held a reception in honor of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month. . . Maschhoff traveled with his boyfriend — who is also an airman — from Misawa Air Base in northern Japan to Tokyo for the event. Maschhoff said...

Six months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan sent aircraft carriers to the Pacific atoll of Midway. Despite those odds, the U.S. Navy sank four Japanese aircraft carriers the first day of the three-day battle and put Japan on the defensive. And though intelligence was a key reason behind a U.S. victory, other factors came into play, such as brave heroics by Navy dive bomber pilots.

2012/06/04 16:23 KST N. Korea denounces Japan's move to deploy destroyers near S. Korea SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's propaganda Web site on Monday lashed out at Japan's move to deploy Aegis destroyers in international waters between South Korea and China. The Uriminzokkiri associated Japan's plan with what it claimed was South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's "toadyism" to the United States and Japan, accusing Lee of seeking to collude with Japan in military affairs. The criticism came days after Japan's Kyodo news agency reported Tokyo plans to deploy the destroyers to waters near the Yellow Sea to improve...

Six months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan sent four aircraft carriers to the tiny Pacific atoll of Midway to draw out and destroy what remained of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. But this time the U.S. knew about Japan's plans. U.S. cryptologists had cracked Japanese communications codes, giving Fleet Commander Adm. Chester Nimitz notice of where Japan would strike, the day and time of the attack, and what ships the enemy would bring to the fight. The U.S. was badly outnumbered and its pilots less experienced than Japan's. Even so, it sank four Japanese aircraft carriers the...

Spanning hundreds of leagues and four days, June 4-7, 1942, the Battle of Midway pitted an overmatched American fleet against a Japanese armada in a desperate struggle for command of the Pacific. What unfolded more than 1,000 miles northwest of Hawaii was, British historian John Keegan maintains, “the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.” Saturday in San Diego, the U.S. Navy celebrated this triumph’s 70th anniversary. Aboard the retired aircraft carrier named for the battle, 1,000 guests were to hear videotaped comments from a handful of survivors. They included aviators, Marines and one plucky steward....

The Tokyo market slumped to a 28-year low on Monday as Asian shares dived on fears of a nightmare scenario of euro-zone breakup, U.S. economic relapse and a sharp slowdown in China. Investors hedged against global financial and economic crisis, heading for havens such as the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond whose yield fell below 0.80 percent to its lowest since July 2003. Ten-year JGB futures prices jumped to a 19-month high.

TOKYO, June 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares tumbled on Monday, pushing the broader Tokyo market to a 28-year low, as investors extended a rout of global stocks and worried about a nightmare scenario of euro-zone breakup, U.S. economic relapse and a sharp slowdown in China. Tokyo's broader Topix index lost 2.1 percent to 693.35, a level not seen since late 1983, as Asian markets plumbed new lows for 2012. Japan's Nikkei average fell 2 percent after last week marking its ninth straight week of losses, the longest such losing streak run in 20 years.