A revolutionary pair of glasses born in Japan uses liquid lens technology to automatically adjust focus for myopia, farsightedness, and presbyopia. Developed by ViXion, a HOYA spinoff, the ViXion01S weighs just 33g and runs for 15 hours. With over $3.6 million raised in crowdfunding and a top government tech award, we explore this next-gen autofocus eyewear and the future of vision correction technology.
Japan has approved Elevidys, a $2 million gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as the most expensive drug ever covered by its public health insurance. How does Japan's universal healthcare system handle the era of ultra-expensive medicines? We explore the challenges, patient hopes, and public debate.
Japan's health ministry panel has approved two iPS cell-derived regenerative medicine products — a world first. "ReHeart" for severe heart failure and "Amshepri" for Parkinson's disease are set to become the first commercially available iPS cell therapies. Twenty years after Shinya Yamanaka created iPS cells from mouse cells, Japan's groundbreaking technology is finally reaching patients.
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. Now budget chains Workman ($13), Nitori ($10), and Aeon are making this uniquely Japanese wellness trend accessible to everyone. Here's what recovery wear is and why millions of Japanese are buying it.
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 3-person family company, it's now scientifically validated and expanding overseas. Here's how this $220 innovation tackles aging societies worldwide.
Western Digital (WD) unveiled its roadmap to 100TB+ HDDs by 2029 at Innovation Day 2026. With HAMR technology for capacity and High Bandwidth Drive plus Dual Pivot tech for performance, WD aims to close the gap with SSDs. Here's what this means for the HDD vs SSD battle in the AI era.
Japan-born IoT wearable "DFree" uses ultrasound sensors to predict urination timing and has won the Grand Prize in Developmental Support at BabyTech Awards 2025-26. Learn how this device is transforming elderly care, disability support, and toilet training worldwide, with reactions from Japan and around the globe.
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.
Japan officially targets fusion power demonstration in the 2030s as part of its national strategy. With a new Cabinet Office task force, 80+ companies in the J-Fusion consortium, and decades of ITER expertise, Japan is accelerating its bid to lead the global fusion race against the US, China, and UK.
Beef tendon, a common Japanese hot pot ingredient, is being transformed into knee ligament implant material. A Waseda University startup has developed decellularization technology that could eliminate the need to harvest patients' own tissue for ACL reconstruction. Clinical trials are underway with commercialization targeted for 2028.
Osaka-based Satosen's liquid metal stretchable circuit board has been officially adopted by ATR-Promotions for biosignal measurement electrodes. With self-healing wiring that withstands over 250,000 stretch cycles, this technology opens doors for wearable devices, flexible displays, and soft robotics.
