 Europe and Japan will work together on a strategy to make the Internet safer for children and teenagers. The new strategy was announced by Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes on Wednesday. On Thursday, she met with Tatsuo Kawabata, Japanese minister for Internal affairs and Communications to discuss how the European Union and Japan could collaborate on such plans.
 The computer programming language Ruby, invented by a Japanese, has been approved by the International Organization for Standardization as a global standard, the government's Information-technology Promotion Agency said Monday. Ruby, conceived by software engineer Yukihiro Matsumoto in 1993, is a scripting language that executes tasks for software and runs on Unix, Dos, Windows and Mac operating systems.
 It's not TV so it's Nottv. The smartphone broadcaster aims to air shows with live commenting and send magazines and games to handsets. A subsidiary of NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Sunday 1st April began offering the first TV channels aimed exclusively at users of smartphone and tablet computers. Mmbi inc.'s Nottv service offers access to three channels of programming for ¥420 a month in the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas and other locations.
 Non-traditional methods of controlling games are all the rage in Japan these days. Sega made headlines last year with "Toirettsu" or "Toylet," a game that drunken male patrons can play in the men’s room, since it's entirely controlled via one's urine stream. Meanwhile, a just-unveiled project by researchers at The University of Electro-Communications near Tokyo will soon have players using their tongues on the Kinect.
Interactive Poster Kisses You Back! 04/02/2012
 If you've ever been to Tokyo or any other large Japanese city, you'll have noticed the huge variety of billboards plastering the urban landscape, often featuring the month's most popular idol. Now researchers at Keio University are working on a system that will allow passers-by to interact with said posters via an ultrasound sensor setup.
Knifeless Nose-Jobs Made in Japan 04/01/2012
 Beauty experts have developed a way for women to get the effects of plastic surgery without going under the knife - but the resulting bizarre facial contraptions involved are only for the seriously motivated. Among the amusing range developed in Japan is the Hana Tsun nose straightener - billed as a 'nasal support beauty clip' which has two silicone prongs that are inserted into the nostrils.
 Just when you thought there was no more commercial land left on which to build in Downtown Tokyo, here comes Japan Prime Realty Investment Corp. with an announcement of a planned 47 story, 2.13 million square-foot office complex on a little more than 2.5 acres.  Waterproof Japanese Phones coming to Europe 03/07/2012
 Japanese women are so fond of their phones, they even use them in the shower, say manufacturers. This makes waterproofing a must -- also good against rainstorms and accidents while texting on the toilet. Panasonic and Fujitsu are touting their waterproof and dust-proof phones as they seek to charm the overseas market at the world's biggest mobile phone show in Barcelona this week.
 Drivers may soon be able to order food using their car navigation systems en route to restaurants with drive-thru service. A group of 26 private-sector firms, including McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) (2702), and the government-backed Highway Industry Development Organization will test a service that makes use of so-called intelligent transport systems.
 As Japan continues to rebuild after last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami, one company has developed an ingenious new method to protect homes from the shaking—let them ride it out on a cushion of air. The technology is already being implemented all across Japan – at 88 sites, to be exact (based on company data as of 06/2011). Air Danshin Systems Inc. was originally established in 2005 to market and sell the technology, which was invented by a man named Youichi Sakamoto.
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