Nagano became the first prefecture to declare a climate emergency Friday, joining a growing coalition of nations, regions and local municipalities around the world in vowing to take action that reflects the urgency of the crisis. (Japan Times)

An environmental think tank from Germany has revealed that Japan was the worst-hit country by extreme weather in 2018. (NHK)

Sony Corp's PlayStation has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's best-selling home video game console, having sold 450.19 million units over 25 years, its game business unit said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Soon the Japanese capital's trendsetting Shibuya district will boast a cafe staffed by humanoid robots that can recommend perfect desserts for customers. (Nikkei)

Japan will develop a manned moon rover as the country plays an important role in U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitious mission to return American astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024. (Nikkei)

The finance and health ministries are thinking of setting up funds in each prefecture to support private hospitals trying to rid themselves of excess beds that are driving up medical costs, it has been learned. (Japan Times)

A nuclear power plant reactor that was damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster and idled under stricter safety standards following the Fukushima crisis won approval from the nuclear watchdog on Wednesday for operations to resume. (Japan Times)

A Japanese manufacturer is set to embark on a risky mass production process for OLED panels -- the next generation of electronic displays -- that will test whether the company can find more success than another government-backed challenger. (Nikkei)

The Japanese government plans to promote quantum technology as part of its national strategy. (NHK)

One of the criticisms of the “Medicare for All” government-run health care scheme proposed by U.S. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is that eliminating all limits to treatment would lead to “overuse” of the medical care system, meaning people would be seeing doctors for every little perceived ailment, which is wasteful. (Japan Times)

A bullet-train operator and a locality on the central Pacific Coast are sparring over the environmental impact of a planned ultrafast magnetic-levitation rail, threatening the targeted 2027 start of a service connecting Tokyo and Nagoya. (Nikkei)

Japan intends to devote 220 billion yen ($2.03 billion) to encourage private-sector research and development of technology that will succeed fifth-generation wireless communications. (Nikkei)

The industry ministry said Monday it would be safe to release water contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the ocean, stressing that on an annual basis the amount of radiation measured near the release point would be very small compared to levels to which humans are naturally exposed. (Japan Times)

Japan's space agency says its probe is on its way back to Earth after leaving the asteroid, Ryugu. (NHK)

Mt Sakurajima volcano shot smoke and ash miles into the sky on Friday in its biggest eruption in more than three years, Kyodo News reported. (Japan Today)

As Japan’s construction firms are squeezed by the tightest labor market since the 1970s and a rapidly aging population, they are pouring investment into technology — and providing unexpected support to an economy reeling from the bitter U.S.-China trade war. (Japan Times)

Toyota Motor Corp. and weather information provider Weathernews Inc. have started tests to improve the accuracy of rain forecasts by using real-time data from networked cars’ windshield wipers. (Japan Times)

Japan's Meteorological Agency has issued an eruption notice for Satsuma-Iojima Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. (NHK)

Quantum computing will reach the practical stage by 2035, and human outposts will be established on the moon and Mars by 2040, an institute under Japan's science ministry predicts. (Nikkei)

Every year, we see releases of blockbuster game franchises, all recycling ideas over and over from the same genre but promising slightly improved graphics and a few extra features. (newsonjapan.com)