While most ATMs in Tokyo are located in convenience stores, in train stations, or on important street corners, Tokyo’s first fully operational Bitcoin ATM is located in The Pink Cow, a Cal-Mex restaurant and bar in the middle of Roppongi. The bar is a popular expat hangout in the city, and is a gathering place for artists and musicians. More recently, the restaurant has been home to frequent gatherings of Bitcoin fans in Tokyo, and incidentally became the first restaurant in Japan to accept Bitcoins.

The Japanese government will promote the use of robots to start a new industrial revolution and double the size of the robotics market in the manufacturing sector by 2020. It plans to include measures to promote the robotics industry in its draft of its new growth strategy. The government says robotics technology will be used to improve the productivity and profitability of Japanese businesses.

A select group of soccer fans have enjoyed watching a World Cup match on an ultra high-definition television at a public viewing event in Tokyo. The set uses 8K Super Hi-Vision technologies being developed mainly by NHK. It was used to broadcast live a game between Japan and Cote d'Ivoire on Sunday. About 150 people attended the event.

The world’s first living donor lung transplant using part of a donor’s right lung to replace a recipient’s left lung was successfully completed at Kyoto University Hospital, the hospital said Wednesday. The entire left lung of a female patient who developed an intractable lung disease was removed, and replaced by the lower lobe of her husband’s right lung. 

ANA, One of the major Japanese airlines, has announced that they are finally going to start offering in-flight Wi-Fi access, provided by OnAir of Switzerland, on March 1. First, they will introduce the service for a few of their Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 767-300 aircraft, which usually fly to Europe, the U.S. and some Asian counties. 

This is an interactive optic fiber cloth. It is made of side-emitting diffusive optic fibers so computer controlled light patterns can be displayed on it, and by attaching light receivers as well as light emitters, optical signals can be input using infrared light.

oyota has again dethroned General Motors as the world's top-selling automaker.  The Japanese company sold 9.7 million cars and trucks worldwide in 2012, although it's still counting. GM sold 9.29 million.  Both companies saw higher sales, but Toyota's growth was far larger as it rolled out new versions of popular models like the Camry. GM executives promised sales growth this year, especially in the U.S. 

Junichiro Asami gave up a stable job to join a group of Japanese entrepreneurs building businesses based on 3D printing, showing the sort of pioneering spirit Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes can revitalize a calcified economy. Whether these entrepreneurs can lay the foundations for a new era in Japanese products though may depend on whether Abe can tear down barriers in a wider business culture that shuns risk and supports the status quo.

Sony Corp., which popularized portable music players with the Walkman, is seeking a U.S. patent for “SmartWig” hairpieces that could help navigate roads, check blood pressure or flip through slides in a presentation. The wig would communicate wirelessly with another device and include tactile feedback, Sony said in the filing with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Depending on the model, the hairpiece may include a camera, laser pointer or global positioning system sensor, it said.

With the world's elderly population growing rapidly, scientists are suggesting that robots could take on some of the burden of providing care, support and - most surprisingly - companionship. A boy born today in Britain is expected to live on average to the age of 89, a girl to 92. Worldwide 1.5 billion people over the age of 65 are expected to be around in 2050.