Fundamental science from Japanese universities and national research institutes.
Japan's AIST has established ASiST, a new consortium bridging chip design, front-end, mid-process, back-end, and packaging. Learn how it fits into Japan's semiconductor revival alongside Rapidus and competes with U.S. and EU chip strategies.
DENSO and the University of Tokyo signed a 10-year partnership starting April 2026 centered on Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT). Learn how charging EVs while driving could shrink batteries, cut costs, and reshape energy infrastructure — plus how Japan's approach compares to Sweden, Israel, and the US.
Fujitsu and Osaka University developed STAR Architecture ver. 3 and molecular model optimization to cut quantum computing resources to between 1/15 and 1/80 of conventional FTQC needs. Calculations for drug-critical Cytochrome P450 fall from 740,000 to 40,000 qubits and complete in 9 days. Comparison with IBM, Google, and IonQ's quantum drug discovery efforts included.
Osaka University startup QuEL has demonstrated 24-hour stable operation of its quantum bit control device QuEL-1 SE, achieving amplitude standard deviation of 0.15% and phase standard deviation of 0.39°. Published in Review of Scientific Instruments, this breakthrough in device-level temperature control clears fault-tolerant thresholds crucial for scaling quantum computers toward the million-qubit era.
Researchers at Osaka and Yamagata Universities have created a 'smart plastic' whose degradation can be toggled on and off with light. Using movable molecular rings, the material balances durability with biodegradability — and can even encode QR codes revealed by enzyme digestion. Published in ACS Nano.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed an AI model that integrates cine MRI imagery of uterine peristalsis with clinical data, significantly improving pregnancy prediction for patients with recurrent implantation failure. The novel approach condenses 18 seconds of uterine movement into a single image for deep learning analysis.
Not the iPS cells themselves, but the liquid they're grown in, injected into arthritic knees. A Japanese team's world-first study showed 71.4% improvement by international criteria with no serious adverse events. We look at what a seven-patient uncontrolled pilot can and cannot tell us, and where conditioned medium sits in Japan's regulations.
Osaka University's QIQB and Fixstars achieved the world's largest quantum chemistry circuit simulation using 1,024 NVIDIA H100 GPUs on Japan's ABCI-Q supercomputer. Breaking the previous 40-qubit barrier, they simulated H₂O with 42 spin orbitals and Fe₂S₂ with 41 qubits — accelerating quantum algorithm development before fault-tolerant quantum computers arrive.
Japanese esports team ZETA DIVISION partners with the University of Tokyo to scientifically extend pro player careers through neuroscience research on reflexes, cognition, and motor control. Fighting game legends Momochi and Higuchi join the study.
Japanese startup Orizuru Therapeutics has begun clinical trials transplanting iPS cell-derived islet cells into diabetes patients. The first-ever transplant surgery succeeded in February 2025, with company-sponsored trials planned in Japan and the US. Over a decade after Professor Yamanaka's Nobel Prize, Japan's regenerative medicine enters the practical stage.
Shibaura Institute of Technology and AIST have measured the stable carbon isotope ratios of PFOA and PFOS, a world first for PFOS, using an Orbitrap that reads the chemical fingerprint without burning the sample. River spike tests proved it works on real environmental water, opening a path to identifying PFAS pollution sources. The bench work was a senior thesis. Japan made its 50 ng/L tap water standard legally binding in April 2026.