Geographic Location
Fukushima Pref. to abolish nuclear fuel tax
November 19, 2012 10:51 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Fukushima prefectural government will abolish a nuclear fuel tax imposed on two power plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato said Monday, as the prefecture seeks the decommissioning of all reactors following the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant...
Panasonic, Itron tie up to develop smart meters for Japanese market
November 19, 2012 10:48 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsU.S. smart meter maker Itron Inc. has tied up with Panasonic Corp. to develop smart meters for the Japanese market with third-generation mobile communications capability. With the smart meters to be developed by the Liberty Lake, Washington-based manufacturer, Panasonic will take part in a tender...
Baidu Japan offers app to replay recordings on Android devices
November 19, 2012 10:42 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBaidu Japan Inc. said it has released a Japanese-language application that replays voice recordings on devices running on the Android operating system. The new Simeji ver. 5.3 app can replay recordings of up to 15 seconds via e-mail and social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook, according to the Japanese arm of Baidu Inc...
Leica to release Paul Smith-designed camera
November 19, 2012 9:35 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsLeica Camera Japan Co. said it will release on Friday a limited edition version of its Leica X2 compact digital camera designed by British designer Paul Smith. The Japanese subsidiary of Leica Camera AG said 1,500 units of the Leica X2 Edition Paul Smith will be sold worldwide...
France considers broad tax clampdown on web companies
November 18, 2012 8:24 pm | News | CommentsThe French government is discussing how to tax internet companies such as Google and Amazon both at the national and international levels, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Ultra-low noise mixed-signal chip improves performance in Siemens X-ray computed tomography scanner
November 14, 2012 10:13 am | Product Releases | Commentsams announced that it is supplying a highly integrated ASIC which enables a new Siemens photo-detector module for computer tomography (CT) to deliver higher resolution images at lower X-ray dosages. The ams ASIC, which is part of Siemens’ new Stellar CT photo-detector module, captures and digitizes images of a patient’s body.
China to launch new manned spaceship in 2013: Xinhua
November 12, 2012 9:03 am | by Reuters | News | CommentsChina plans to launch its Shenzhou 10 spacecraft in early June 2013, one of the senior officials in charge of the manned space program said on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.The launch marks another step forward in Beijing's ambitions for a bigger presence
Google says search engine, other services cut off in China as ruling party picks new leaders
November 12, 2012 9:01 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle says its search engine and other Internet services have been cut off from much of China just as the country's ruling party picks new leaders. Data posted on Google's website shows its services in China became largely inaccessible beginning around 1 a.m. PST Friday. That would be about 5 p.m. Friday in Beijing.
Marketing services with facial recognition technology
November 9, 2012 12:48 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNEC Corp. said Wednesday it has started providing new services for shop operators to help them analyze customer trends using its facial recognition technology. With the services, retailers will be able to analyze the shopping behavior of different age groups, for example, as the facial images captured by cameras installed at outlets...
Edano cautious about offering more support to TEPCO
November 9, 2012 12:36 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsIndustry minister Yukio Edano on Thursday took a cautious stance on additional financial support by the Japanese government for Tokyo Electric Power Co. to help the utility compensate people affected by the nuclear crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi plant and clean up the mess left by the disaster.
Marubeni to set up major solar plant in central Japan
November 9, 2012 12:28 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMarubeni Corp. has been awarded a contract to build and operate a large solar power plant on reclaimed land straddling the border of Mie and Aichi prefectures, prefecture officials said Friday. Construction is expected to begin next year on a 78-hectare plot of land across the Mie city of Kuwana and town of Kisozaki and the Aichi city of Yatomi.
Samsung launching larger-size smartphone in Japan
November 8, 2012 10:50 am | by Kyodo, The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Japanese unit of Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea said Thursday it will launch a larger-size smartphone in Japan on Nov. 16, a move that will accelerate competition in the market ahead of the year-end shopping season.
New E-reader technology launched in Korea
November 7, 2012 9:54 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNeonode Inc. (NASDAQ:NEON), the optical touch technology company, announced today that the “Crema Touch” e-reader from Netronix/PAGEone, incorporating Neonode MultiSensing Touch Technology, was launched to the Korean consumer market.
South Korea probing falsely certified nuclear parts
November 6, 2012 9:21 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAn official says South Korea's nuclear watchdog is investigating a forgery scandal that is forcing the shutdown of two reactors and sparked fears of unprecedented power shortages this winter. Nuclear Safety and Security Commission spokeswoman Shim Eun-jung said Tuesday her agency is checking forged safety certificates...
Build your own home theater with 'Virtual Sound Ball'
November 5, 2012 2:54 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsA KAIST research team developed a powerful audio rendering technology that reproduces a desired sound field 'more clearly and accurately' to an original sound source by establishing an array system of loudspeakers and software interface...
TEPCO to choose thermal power suppliers
November 5, 2012 11:22 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsTokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday it will issue a tender to choose suppliers of electricity equivalent to 2.6 million kilowatts of thermal power to ensure stable supply in the future. The utility, known as TEPCO, will close the tender in late May next year and announce the results in late July, it said.
China launches WTO case against EU solar subsidies
November 5, 2012 10:37 am | News | CommentsChina has filed a World Trade Organization case challenging subsidies provided by some European Union members to help promote the solar panel industry. The case adds to a flurry of trade disputes that Beijing is locked in with the European Union and the United States.
Decision on Japan nuke plant fault line postponed
November 5, 2012 9:57 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsExperts have postponed a decision on whether a fault line underneath Japan's only operating nuclear plant is active and the facility should be closed. A five-member team commissioned by the Nuclear Regulation Agency inspected the Ohi plant in western Japan last week to check a suspected fault line.
Japan nuclear plant checked for fault line
November 2, 2012 10:02 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapanese nuclear regulators inspected ground structures at the country's only operating nuclear plant to examine if an existing fault line is active. The inspection Friday determines whether the Ohi plant in western Japan should close. Its No. 3 and No. 4 reactors went back online in July...
Microsoft expands Internet, data centers in China
November 1, 2012 8:39 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMicrosoft Corp. is expanding its data-center service and Internet version of its Office software suite into China. The deal announced Thursday calls for Microsoft to work with Beijing-based 21Vianet Group Inc. to sell Office 365 and Windows Azure to companies in the world's most populous country....
Sony reduces loss on sales recovery, restructuring
November 1, 2012 5:04 pm | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSony Corp. reported Thursday a smaller flow of red ink for the fiscal second quarter on a sales recovery and restructuring efforts and stuck to its full year forecast for a return to profit from its worst loss in company history the previous year.
Sakura Internet selects Mellanox InfiniBand for new public cloud infrastructure
October 31, 2012 12:05 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMellanox® Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) (TASE: MLNX), a leading supplier of high-performance, end-to-end interconnect solutions for data center servers and storage systems, today announced that leading Japanese Internet provider Sakura Internet has selected Mellanox InfiniBand technology for its new cloud hosting infrastructure.
Panasonic earnings update
October 31, 2012 10:43 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsPanasonic Corp. said Wednesday it expects to book a group net loss of 765 billion yen for the current business year through March, incurring a hefty loss for the second straight year due to massive restructuring costs amid a continued slump in its mainstay electronics operation.
Fujitsu announces new ARM cortex-based bridge SoC
October 31, 2012 10:26 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFujitsu Semiconductor America today introduced an Interface Bridge SoC that incorporates 10 different interfaces, more than any other similar single device. Designed for advanced Wi-Fi television tuner applications, the new MB86E631 combines a dual-core ARM@ CortexT-A9 processor and multiple interfaces, including...
Hitachi to buy Horizon Nuclear
October 30, 2012 3:57 pm | News | CommentsJapan's Hitachi Ltd. has agreed to buy British atomic power company Horizon Nuclear Power Ltd. from its German owners for 696 million British pounds ($1.12 billion). The companies announced the deal Tuesday, ending months of uncertainty after the 50-50 owners of Horizon...
