Topic · 06 of 08

Business & Economy

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Technology

Recovery Wear: Japan's "Wear It and Heal" Clothing Craze, What It Is and Why Budget Giants Are Racing to Sell It

What if your pajamas could heal you while you sleep? In Japan, "recovery wear" (clothing infused with ceramic minerals that emit far-infrared rays to boost blood circulation) has become a national craze, even earning a Word of the Year nomination. Budget chains Workman, Nitori and Aeon have pushed entry prices down to single digits in dollars. Here's what recovery wear is, why millions of Japanese are buying it, and how the sales numbers look through mid-2026.

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Technology

Rubber Muscle Walking Device: Japan's 3-Person Family Company Creates $220 Wearable That's Going Global

No batteries. Just 280 grams of rubber. A Japanese bone-setter turned entrepreneur created "futto," a walking support device using rubber tubes as artificial muscles. Built with hardware store materials by a three-person family company, it now has peer-reviewed backing, a distribution deal with France Bed, and sales abroad. Here's how this $220 device answers a problem every aging society shares.

Society

Lab-Grown Diamonds: The Next Rare Earth Crisis? Japan's $36B US Investment Gamble Explained

Japan and the US have agreed on the first tranche of a massive $550 billion investment plan, including a $600 million lab-grown diamond factory in Georgia. With China controlling over 60% of global production, synthetic diamonds are being called "the next rare earth." But with a controversial profit-sharing deal, is this a smart bet or a high-risk, low-return gamble for Japan?

Technology

Excretion Prediction Wearable "DFree": Japan's Ultrasound IoT Device Wins BabyTech Awards Grand Prize

Japan-born IoT wearable "DFree" uses ultrasound to predict urination timing and has won the Grand Prize for Developmental Support Tools at BabyTech Awards 2025-26. How the 20-gram device works, why the judges picked it, how it came to be covered by Japan's long-term care insurance, and what it means for elderly care and children with disabilities.

Technology

Cultivated Fish Meat: Japan's Maruha Nichiro Pioneers Lab-Grown Bluefin Tuna to Save the Ocean

Japan's largest seafood company Maruha Nichiro has partnered with Singapore's UMAMI Bioworks to develop cell-cultivated bluefin tuna using cells from fully farmed fish. Targeting overseas sales by FY2027, this report covers the technical breakthroughs, commercialization challenges, and global cultivated meat market landscape behind Japan's ambitious quest to produce fish without the ocean.

Business & Economy

NAND Flash Market 2026: AI Demand Outpaces Supply as Japan's Kioxia Posts Record Revenue Exceeding $14 Billion

Japan's Kioxia is set for consecutive record-breaking years, with revenue exceeding $14 billion for the first time. NAND production capacity for 2026 is already "sold out" as AI data center demand far outpaces supply. From a rocky IPO to the world's best-performing stock of 2025 with a 540% gain, we explore Kioxia's remarkable turnaround and what it means for Japan's semiconductor renaissance.