Two decades after Shinya Yamanaka's 2006 paper, Japan approved the world's first iPS-derived regenerative medicine products on March 6, 2026: Amchepry for Parkinson's disease and RiHEART for severe heart failure. The trial data, the seven-year clock, and the 55 million yen price.
At Toyosu Market's 2026 New Year auction, a purple sea urchin from Hakodate sold for a record 35 million yen, about 87,500 yen per gram, five times the previous year's top lot. The million-yen uni bowl, a 23-fold rise in two years, and why uni keeps getting pricier.
At Toyosu Market's 2026 New Year auction, a 243kg Oma bluefin sold for a record 510.3 million yen, about $3.2 million, to the Sushi Zanmai operator Kiyomura. What ichiban maguro means, how the ceremonial premium works, what the fisherman keeps, and where the stock stands.
"open.space" is an open-source phased array antenna built for Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communication. It aims to replace the traditional dish-and-kilowatt setup with a 1-meter, 240-element array, priced from $49-99 for a single tile up to $4,999 for the full array. Here is what the project offers and where it now stands.
Meiji University spinout Pormedtec is preparing Japan's first pig-to-human organ transplant trial, now targeted for 2028 at Hokkaido University Hospital and Shonan Kamakura General Hospital. Only about 4% of Japan's 16,000 registered transplant candidates receive an organ each year. In the US, a gene-edited pig kidney has functioned in a patient for more than seven months.
Researchers at Japan's JAIST found that Ewingella americana, a bacterium from Japanese tree frog intestines, completely eliminated colorectal tumors in mice after a single dose, a 100% complete response rate that outperformed chemotherapy and immunotherapy in the same comparison. Here is what the preclinical study showed, and what it does not yet show.
A groundbreaking UK-Japan study reveals that playing Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi games can boost happiness and reduce burnout risk in young adults. Discover how the "childlike wonder" evoked by colorful visuals and cheerful music creates a mental reset that combats modern stress and exhaustion.
JTB Research Institute's 2025 survey reveals 70% of travelers book via smartphone, with generative AI usage surging from 9.7% to 28.8%. Discover how technology is reshaping Japan's travel landscape, from AI trip planning to e-sports tourism.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry allocates approximately 300 billion yen for generative AI in its 2026 budget proposal. Supporting domestic AI development with 1 trillion yen over 5 years in partnership with private companies like SoftBank. Also advancing next-generation nuclear reactor development to strengthen Japan's industrial competitiveness.
Kagoshima University's oncolytic virus Surv.m-CRA-1 has entered a Phase 3 physician-led trial for primary malignant bone tumors, aiming at full approval. The therapy acts on cancer stem cells that conventional drugs struggle to reach, offering a possible new option for a cancer that has seen no new drug in over 30 years. Inside the mechanism, the Nippon Zoki licensing deal, the 2027 approval target, and what remains unproven.
LF Research's State of Open Source Japan 2025 finds 69% of Japanese organizations reporting rising business value from OSS against a 54% global average, alongside a 40-point gap in open source OS adoption and executives who rate OSS lower than their own engineers. A look at the numbers, including Japan's fourfold lead in AR/VR.