CNET – May 13, 2016 – A pill that unfolds into a little robot could one day give parents everywhere a little more peace of mind. Once swallowed, it can open up inside a person’s stomach, crawling across the stomach wall to retrieve a single-cell button battery, and even patch wounds. This is no small thing. In the US every year, over 3,500 incidents of swallowed button batteries are reported in the US, and most cases of battery…

The Korea Herald – May 12, 2016 – With Japan welcoming U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima later this month, a frosty and bitter air has gripped diplomatic and academic circles in Seoul. The White House gave reassurances that there would be no apology for the U.S. nuclear bombing 71 years ago or a major speech during his visit. Yet concerns persist that the stopover itself would be tantamount to indulging a government that…

DealStreetAsia – May 11, 2016 – Later this year, outdoor-gear retailer North Face will offer its environmentally conscious shoppers at its outlet in Tokyo’s posh Harajuku fashion district a chance to save the planet. North Face’s outlets in Japan will sell a $1,000, special edition “Moon Parka,” a gold-colored jacket based on the design of its existing Antarctica parka, made out of synthetic spider silk, a super-strong material developed by Spiber Inc. Spiber President Kazuhide Sekiyama,…

The Hollywood Reporter – May 10, 2016 – Manga adaptation veteran Shinsuke Sato shakes up zombie tropes in the screen treatment of Kengo Hanazawa’s popular manga. The tired zombie apocalypse genre gets a refreshing shot in the arm in Shinsuke Sato’s I Am a Hero, unsurprisingly adapted from the manga (the Japanese version of YA novels at this point) by Kengo Hanazawa. What took so long for the densely packed and futuristic Tokyo to get in…

Parent Herald.com – May 9, 2016 – Several fans were devastated when the “Attack on Titan” series finally came to a close. Now, the hype for the upcoming “Attack on Titan” Season 2 is cresting once again as reports about its production have been surfacing like wildfire. ‘Attack on Titan’ Season 2 production underway  Recent reports are claiming that the production for the upcoming “Attack on Titan” Season 2 is now underway. Expected to cover…

BBC – May 6, 2016 – The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.7% at midday to 16,031.72, after a 0.4% jump at the open. The market is trading again after a three-day national holiday, Meanwhile in Australia the S&P ASX 200 share index was flat at 5,260 points around midday, after having lost 0.9% at the open. Banking stocks were mixed. Westpac was in the lead with a 0.3% gain. Shares of the country’s biggest lender…

Hollywood Reporter – April 26, 2016 – Zootopia opened in the second spot at the Japanese box office this weekend with a strong ￥446 million ($4 million) from 329,500 admissions on 471 screens, behind local manga release Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare. Still, Zootopia marks the third-biggest debut for a Disney Animation Studios title in the country behind Frozen and Big Hero 6. And the Byron Howard- and Rich Moore-directed movie’s opening was 10 percent higher than the Japan start for Pixar’s Inside Out,…

NZME – April 22, 2016 – A Snoopy Museum dedicated to the artwork of Charles M Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, is opening its doors in Japan. Based in Tokyo, the temporary museum is the first official satellite of the California-based Charles M Schulz Museum outside the United States and kicks off with a My Favorite Peanuts exhibition. On display are items including original cartoons and large scale works by Schulz, whose…

hindustantimes – April 21, 2016 – Some of Japan’s top automakers, with a reputation for quality performance wrapped in often bland design, are turning to the country’s pop culture to give them that “J-factor” that will help set them apart in a world of increasingly look-alike cars. Designers of Nissan Motor’s GT-R supercar, for example, borrowed from the popular “Gundam” sci-fi anime franchise to give the pug-nosed $100,000 model a mechanical, robot-like appearance, with a…

The Star – April 20, 2016 – TOKYO: Japanese automotive chipmaker Renesas Electronics said aftershocks were keeping it from installing replacement equipment at a quake-hit plant, raising the prospect of delays for the global supply chain for automakers. Renesas holds 10.5% of a US$30bil (RM116.56bil) market for chips that are used throughout vehicles, in critical areas such as engines as well as in frills like assisted parking, according to research firm Gartner. The company said the…