Japan
News
05 Jun 2026
Kanazawa University
Patients with stroke undergoing inpatient rehabilitation differ in how sedentary time accumulates and changes over one month.
04 Jun 2026
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
Researchers from Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo analyzed Nankai Trough seafloor displacement data, detecting previously unknown variations in the locking strength between tectonic plates
03 Jun 2026
Tohoku University
A remarkable new method of distinguishing chiral (mirror-image) molecules could eventually detect distortions inside quantum and soft materials, find abnormal protein aggregates linked to disease, and more.
02 Jun 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers at The University of Osaka used a focused laser beam to make in vitro models of cytoskeletal networks that exhibit dynamic cell-like motions. This technique provides spatiotemporal control of the network structure, unlike conventional methods based on self-organization and photochemical reactions. The models could be used to determine the structure–motion relationship of cytoskeletal networks, which has applications for understanding cell division, migration, and adhesion and the creation of protein-based robots and synthetic cells.
02 Jun 2026
Hiroshima University
Researchers map careers as rivers to show how independence evolves over time
02 Jun 2026
Tohoku University
Researchers at Tohoku University used state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication technologies to demonstrate how we could be ready for large-scale spintronic p-computers.
02 Jun 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers from The University of Osaka found that nanomicelle-mediated delivery of five mRNAs involved in angiogenesis, heart cell contraction, immune and hematopoietic stem cell recruitment, and immune response suppression promoted cardiac repair and increased overall survival in a mouse model of myocardial infarction–induced heart failure. These findings suggest that a multifactorial treatment approach effectively addresses the complex nature of heart failure and could aid new treatments in regenerative medicine for cardiovascular disease.
01 Jun 2026
Tohoku University
Researchers at Tohoku University look beyond the life-taking venomous stings of box jellyfish, and focus on life-creating processes in a new comprehensive study of their reproductive traits.
01 Jun 2026
Osaka Metropolitan University
Researchers have developed a new way to generate realistic synthetic training data for agricultural robots by recreating tomato cultivation environments in a virtual world. The approach could help overcome one of the biggest barriers in agricultural robotics: the time and labor required to collect and manually label real-world data under challenging greenhouse conditions such as changing lighting, dense foliage, and fruit occlusion.
28 May 2026
Osaka Metropolitan University
Diet and homocysteine may influence fatigue and motivation
28 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers from The University of Osaka created stable cobalt-based honeycomb structures inside a layered material and observed ferromagnetic-like ordering at low temperatures. By introducing a small amount of cobalt into NaSbO3, the team demonstrated a new platform to study Kitaev materials using abundant 3d transition metals, potentially supporting future cost-effective quantum technologies.
28 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers from The University of Osaka and collaborators proposed the Insect Synergy Circuit (ISC), a new concept for bio-hybrid control that uses AI to interpret internal biological signals from insects. By integrating heartbeat, neural signal features, and body movement data, the team developed a cyborg cockroach system that can estimate environment-associated internal states and guide movement while reducing unnecessary stimulation.
27 May 2026
Kanazawa University
The study reveals that when one macrocyclic molecule captures a guest molecule, this event influences neighboring host molecules and promotes further guest capture.
26 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers from The University of Osaka have found that the rat brain differs from other mammals in the proportion of upper and deep layer neurons in the cortex. This change likely arises from differences in the timing of signaling pathways during early brain development. Importantly, this identified mechanism may have future applications in regenerative medicine for developmental and neurological disorders.
26 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers studied 23 cases of oral cancer with a burrowing growth pattern and found that rare carcinoma cuniculatum has a unique genetic fingerprint. The research found genetic alterations in FAT1, NOTCH1, PIK3CA, and CASP8, suggesting a potential explanation for its slow growth and favorable prognosis. These findings suggest that genetic testing could improve diagnosis and inform treatment decisions in oral cancer.
25 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers from The University of Osaka discovered a mechanism that greatly improves the efficiency of endothermic singlet exciton fission. By combining singlet-fission molecules with quantum dots, the team created hybridized electronic states at the material interface that act as intermediate energy pathways. This allows one absorbed photon to generate two excited states with high efficiency, potentially allowing solar technologies to exceed current efficiency limits.
25 May 2026
The University of Osaka
A researcher at The University of Osaka has proposed a thermodynamic framework for describing hysteresis in solids, a history-dependent phenomenon widely used in memory devices, energy conversion materials, and other technologies. The study shows that hysteresis can, in principle, be described within thermodynamics when the state of a solid is defined not only by conventional variables such as temperature and volume, but also by its atomic configuration. By identifying the time-averaged equilibrium positions of atoms as essential state variables, the work provides a more rigorous theoretical foundation for understanding and developing solid-state materials that rely on hysteresis.
22 May 2026
Hiroshima University
Position of a RELA mutation can shape symptoms, severity and treatment response
21 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers from The University of Osaka found that only a small subset of tumor-killing T cells undergoes extensive expansion during immunotherapy for multiple myeloma. By tracking individual cells, the team showed that the T-cell clones that later became dominant had already begun expanding shortly after the treatment started. The findings also suggest that highly proliferative immune cells show lower levels of exhaustion-related markers, offering new insights into why some patients respond better to immunotherapy.
20 May 2026
Osaka Metropolitan University
In the latest in a series of studies showing how lab-raised fish differ from those raised in more natural environments, researchers found that medaka maintained in more natural settings ovulated earlier than those in the laboratory. These findings highlight the challenges of inferring natural behavior from that observed in the laboratory.
19 May 2026
Ehime University
Deformation texture of δ-AlOOH and its solid solution with phase H at high pressure and temperature
19 May 2026
Osaka Metropolitan University
Invasive plant species affect native insect mating behavior
18 May 2026
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo break down complex hydrological processes for students with a game-based rainfall model
18 May 2026
Osaka Metropolitan University
Researchers have developed an optical fiber that uses laser-induced heating and bubble-driven convection to rapidly concentrate bacteria and nanoparticles in liquid samples. The method collects thousands of targets in 60 seconds with over tenfold higher efficiency than conventional approaches. This approach allows for faster and more sensitive detection in biomedical and environmental applications.
15 May 2026
The University of Osaka
Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a strategy to make aggregates of nanoparticles plastically deform under heating. Anionic groups are introduced onto the surfaces of cellulose nanofibers and paired with cations from an ionic liquid. At high temperatures, the cations diffuse across the interfaces between the nanofibers in the aggregates, enabling the aggregates to expand. This study is the first time nanoparticle aggregates have been thermoformed without loss of nanoparticle shape or crystallites.
15 May 2026
Kanazawa University
An international team led by Associate Professor Kimihiko Nakajima of Kanazawa University has captured a rare look at the early universe. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST *1) and the power of a gravitational lensing (*2) in space, the team achieved a definitive characterization of LAP1-B, an ultra-faint galaxy from 13 billion years ago. Expanding upon initial detections, this new study utilized deep JWST spectroscopy to reveal a record-breaking low oxygen abundance (*3) -- merely 1/240th that of the Sun. This chemically primitive state, coupled with an elevated carbon-to-oxygen ratio and a dominant dark matter halo, suggests that LAP1-B is the long-sought "ancestor" of the mysterious fossil galaxies found near our Milky Way today, providing a historic window into the earliest, most primitive stages of galaxy assembly.
15 May 2026
Hiroshima University
Ultrasonic tracking in Hiroshima Bay shows that male and female black sea bream move differently during the spawning season, offering a novel discovery into the reproductive behavior of a broadcast-spawning sparid fish in the wild.
15 May 2026
Osaka Metropolitan University
Researchers found that FK 23, a lactic acid bacterium-derived material, improved the sperm dysfunction induced by bisphenol A (BPA)—a chemical commonly used in plastic production including food containers—using a rat model.
14 May 2026
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Researchers have cracked the mystery behind billions of supernova explosions around the Perseus constellation using new stellar and supernova models.
14 May 2026
Ehime University
We revealed that the proton channel Hv1/VSOP, previously thought to function at the cell surface in microglia (brain immune cells), also functions on endosomes inside cells and precisely controls the actin cytoskeleton. Using advanced microscopy and electrophysiology (endosome patch-clamp), we found Hv1 acts as a brake on actin elongation. This discovery presents a novel cellular control mechanism where endosomal ion channels manipulate the cell skeleton itself, with implications for understanding neurodegenerative diseases.
Events
11 Nov 2025
The Joint 'PCST Japan Symposium' and '7th JSF Conference' will be held from 11 to 13 November 2025 in Tokyo, Japan organised by Japan Scicom Forum (JSF) and hosted by Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo.
The joint symposium will focus on the strategic development of science communication and public engagement in Asia by highlighting innovative practices and solutions from around the world for engaging diverse audiences in non-Western contexts to create a sustainable ecosystem within the region.
08 Oct 2025
Meet your potential business partners in this Asia's Largest Partnering Event.
08 Jun 2025
The 2025 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits will be held on June 8-12, 2025, JST. All the meetings will be held at RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto, Horikawa Shiokoji, Shimogyo ku , Kyoto 600 8237, Japan.
Held as a five-day at the Rihga Royal Hotel, as well as selected presentations and panel sessions, the Symposium will feature advanced VLSI technology developments, innovative circuit designs, and the applications they enable, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, wearable/implantable biomedical applications, big data, cloud / edge computing, virtual reality (VR) / augmented reality (AR), robotics, and autonomous vehicles.
The weeklong Symposium will continue its reputation as the microelectronics industry’s premiere international conference integrating technology, circuits, and systems with a range and scope unlike any other conferences. In addition to the technical presentations, the Symposium program will feature a demonstration session, evening panel discussions, joint focus sessions, short courses, and workshops.
26 May 2025
Tohoku University Hospital
18 Mar 2025
This Forum will be held on 18 March 2025 in Kobe, Japan, and will be hybrid (on-site and virtual).
26 Aug 2025
ISFMS 2025 is anticipated to attract over 200 participants, including
a diverse international community of researchers, professionals, and
experts in the field of molecular sciences as well as the broader life science community
08 Feb 2025
A symposium that will discuss how to address multifaceted challenges of inequality and promote science for sustainability will take place in person and online on February 8, 2025.
23 Jul 2024
The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Future Earth Japan, will host the Partnerships for Sustainability session (PS-2) at the International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific on 23 July 2024 at 15:30-16:30 (JST/GMT +09:00), Pacifico, Yokohama and via Zoom.
24 Oct 2023
This Forum will take place on 24 October 2023 in Kobe, Japan. It will be held in hybrid format (on-site and virtual).
21 Nov 2023
Japan Scicom Forum brings together communicators, writers, scientists and journalists in Japan. Registration is free and the event will be in English.
11 Oct 2023
Meet your potential business partners in this Partnering Event. Asia's Largest Partnering will be held in both digitally and physically.
23 Dec 2022
This Forum will take place on 23rd December 2022 in Kobe, Japan. It will be held in hybrid format (on-site and on-line).
13 Feb 2022
A joint forum by APN, ADRC, JICA Kansai, and Graduate School of Disaster Resilience and Governance, University of Hyogo
26 Jan 2022
Since 2001, the "nano tech" exhibition is one of largest exhibition in the world held in Tokyo, Japan. In 2022, it will be held in On-site and On-line format as a Hybrid event.
09 Sep 2021
Tohoku University will be hosting the 8th German-Japanese (HeKKSaGOn) University Presidents' Conference from Sept 9-10. The online event includes an Academic Conference on the first day that is open to the general public. See article for details.
09 Sep 2021
Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) will launch a new Master-PhD course on origin-of-life science and astrobiology at Tokyo Institute of Technology. The five-year ELSI course is open for domestic and international students who wish to tackle fundamental questions in natural science such as the origin and evolution of living planets. ELSI will provide financial support (as salary of a research assistant) for all the students, except for ones who are going to be supported by JSPS DC fellowships (Japan) or equivalent fellowships.
12 Oct 2021
The Asia's Largest Partnering “BioJapan” will be held both digitally and physically. Meet your potential business partners in this Partnering Event!
14 Jul 2021
Intelligent Mobility 2021 will offer a platform for industry experts, thought leaders, policy makers, city planners and researchers to discuss the future of mobility, growth opportunities emerging as a result of disruptive innovation, and the potential impact of new business models.
10 Mar 2021
Upcoming side event at the 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum: Partnerships to harmonize science information and knowledge at regional scales for enabling adaptation
26 Mar 2021
Springer Nature and the University of Tokyo to hold SDGs Symposium 2021, “Interdisciplinary science solutions for food, water, climate and ecosystems Sustainable Development Goals”
09 Mar 2021
The SciREX Open Forum’s 10th session will invite Dr. Yoichiro Matsumoto who assumed the position of the 2nd S&T Advisor to Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs as a speaker to talk about what we can see from the pandemic, how S&T Diplomacy should be in the ongoing pandemic, and what actually can be done.
24 Feb 2021
INTERPHEX Week Osaka is Asia's leading exhibition for pharmaceutical industry, consists of 2 exhibitions for pharmaceutical technologies - INTERPHEX OSAKA (Manufacturing & Packaging) and PharmaLab Expo OSAKA (Pharma R&D and Drug Discovery).
09 Dec 2020
The 20th International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference will be held in onsite-online hybrid format.
25 Nov 2020
Asia's Leading Pharma & Bio Tech Show will be held as scheduled from November 25-27, 2020 at Makuhari Messe, Japan. It will be held both on-site and online.
10 Jul 2020
Tohoku University is hosting an online lecture on COVID-19 on July 10. Led by top virologist Hitoshi Oshitani, the panel will share the latest on the pandemic, and discuss how history, culture and religion can help us understand the challenges ahead.
04 Jul 2020
Tohoku University's Graduate School of Education is hosting a three-part webinar series on how the COVID-19 pandemic is transforming education in the Asia-Pacific region. The event is in English and open to everyone. But spots are limited and registration is required.
Details: https://bit.ly/2MT2UFA
14 Oct 2020
Asia's Premier Partnering Event for the Global Biotechnology Industry. This year’s exhibition will be held as originally planned at Pacifico Yokohama. BioJapan partnering is available both physically and virtually. Plus some seminars will be available online.
19 Mar 2020
Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology(ASHBi) holds the annual symposium with twenty-one speakers who are leading human biology including human development, genetics, and evolution.
Researchers
Professor Mikiya Fujii is an expert on materials informatics at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan.
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Group Leader, Frontier Molecules Group, Nanomaterials Field, Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan.
I am a japanese physician-scientist in gastroenterology, especially in neurogastroenterology.
Hokkaido University
Dr. Eisuke Hasegawa is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, where he heads the Animal Ecology Laboratory. His research interests include animal ecology; evolutionary biology; natural selection; sociality; and ethology.
Dr. Yukio Yasui is an Associate Professor at Kagawa University. He has dedicated his research work to ecology, ethology and evolutionary biology studies, with his more recent work on the evolution of sex.
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Dr Naoka Nagamura is senior researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and visiting associate professor at Tokyo University of Science. She researches advanced materials, electrochemistry and photoemission spectroscopy.
Dr. Hiroki Ago is a Distinguished Professor of the Global Innovation Center at Kyushu University. His research focuses on nanomaterials, particularly graphene and related 2D materials, and their applications.
Tohoku University
Prof. Hiroshi Yabu is a Professor and Principal Investigator at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) at Tohoku University. His research interests include self-organization, biomimetics, and bio-inspired materials for energy and low environmental impacts.
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Ken’ichi Nomoto is a visiting senior scientist at Kavli IPMU and Professor Emeritus at The University of Tokyo. He is one of the best experts in the world in astronomy and astrophysics, particularly on stellar evolution and supernovae. He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese government in 2020.
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Jia Liu is the Director of the Center for Data-Driven Discovery and associate professor at CMB Group at Kavli IPMU. Her research integrates data science techniques in the study of large-scale structures of the universe (dark matter, halos, filaments, voids).
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Elisa Ferreira is Assistant Professor at the Kavli IPMU and at the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo. Her research deals with the interface between cosmology, astrophysics, and high energy physics, focusing mostly on dark energy and dark matter.
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Man Wai Cheung is a Project Researcher and the first Chien-Shiung Wu Prize Postdoctoral Fellow at KAVLI Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU). Her research lies in the interplay between algebraic geometry, combinatorics and representation theory.
Hokkaido University
Dr. Akira Kakugo is an Associate Professor at Hokkaido University. He has researched biomolecular motors and swarming of active matters.
Kyoto University
Dr. So Iwata is a Professor at the Graduate School of Medicine Kyoto University and the Group Director of the SACLA Science Research Group, RIKEN SPring-8 Center. He has investigated how specialized membrane channels remove antimicrobial drugs from inside bacterial cells.
Her current research focuses on the synthesis of semiconducting polymers for organic electronics and has published >100 papers in this area of research.
Assistant Professor Izumi Fukunaga grew up in Japan and Malaysia and went to London to study neuroscience. Her research focuses on how sensory circuits in the brain function.
Professor Gail Tripp is a neurobiologist who established the OIST Children’s Research Center to undertake research on the nature, etiology and management of ADHD with English and Japanese speaking children and families.
Assistant Professsor Lauren Sallan is a fish paleobiologist who uses big data — the fossil record — to study how some species win and others lose. Her multiple TED Talks on the evolution of fishes, mass extinction and paleontology have received over 3 million views.
Professor Shinya Maenosono leads his research group at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST). His research in JAIST has focused on two main areas of interest in the field of materials chemistry and nanotechnology. The first area involved wet chemical synthesis of semiconductor nanoparticles with controlled size, shape and composition for energy conversion device applications. The second area has focused on the synthesis and bioapplication development of monometallic and alloyed multimetallic nanoparticles.
Osaka City University
Prof. Shigekawa's research interest includes fabrication of heterointerfaces and advanced hybrid semiconductor devices such as multijunction solar cells and heterojunction bipolar transistors using surface activated bonding and their characterization.
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Ken-ichi Uchida is a group leader in the Spin Caloritronics Group, Research Center for Magnetic and Spintronic Materials under the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Satoshi Ishii is a principal researcher at International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan. He also holds an adjunct associate professorship at University of Tsukuba.
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University
Hiroshi Kageyama is a professor in the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University, Japan.
Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tomohiro Mochizuki is a specially-appointed assistant professor at Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) - Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology
Mayuko Nakagawa is a biochemist at Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) based at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.
Hitoshi Gomi is an Earth scientist at Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) based at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.
Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tony Z. Jia is a researcher at Japan’s Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), based at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research focuses on astrobiology, prebiotic chemistry, and origins of life.
Giants in history
Japanese biochemist Akira Endo (1933 – 2024) discovered the first statin, called mevastatin, which lowered cholesterol levels in the blood by inhibiting a key enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. His work laid the foundation for the development of statins to help patients lower their blood cholesterol levels and reduce their risk of heart disease or stroke.
Ruby Sakae Hirose (1904 – 1960) was a Japanese-American scientist whose research contributed significantly to our understanding of blood clotting, allergies and cancer.
Haisako Koyama (1916 – 1997) was a Japanese solar observer whose dedication to recording sunspots – cooler parts of the sun’s surface that appear dark – produced a sunspot record of historic importance.
Michiaki Takahashi (17 February 1928 – 16 December 2013) was a Japanese virologist who developed the first chickenpox vaccine.
Toshiko Yuasa (11 December 1909 – 1 February 1980) was the first Japanese female physicist whose research on radioactivity shed light on beta decay – the process in which an atom emits a beta particle (electron) and turns into a different element.
Baron Kitasato Shibasaburo (29 January 1856 – 13 June 1931) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist whose work led to a new understanding of preventing and treating tetanus, diphtheria and anthrax.
By isolating soil microorganisms and studying the compounds they produce, Satoshi Omura (born 1935) discovered almost 500 organic compounds with unique properties that were produced by these microorganisms, including many new antibiotics.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Reiji Okazaki (8 October 1930 – 1 August 1975) and Tsuneko (7 June 1933) were a Japanese couple who discovered Okazaki fragments – short sequences of DNA that are synthesized during DNA replication and linked together to form a continuous strand.
In 1915, Koichi Ichikawa along with pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa became the first to prove that chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer.
In 1915, pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa and his research assistant Koichi Ichikawa became the first to prove that chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer.
Ogino Ginko (3 March 1851 – 23 June 1913) was the first registered female doctor to practise modern medicine in Japan.
Michiyo Tsujimura (17 September 1888 – 1 June 1969) was a Japanese agricultural scientist and biochemist recognized for her research of green tea components.
Hitoshi Kihara (1893 – 1986) was one of the most famous Japanese geneticists of the 20th century. One of his most significant contributions was identifying sex chromosomes (X and Y) in flowering plants.
Kono Yasui (16 February 1880 – 24 March 1971) was a Japanese botanist who researched the genetics of poppies, corn and spiderworts and surveyed the plants that had been affected by the nuclear fallout after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Umetaro Suzuki (7 April 1874 – 20 September 1943) was a Japanese scientist best remembered for his research on beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, characterized by limb stiffness, paralysis and pain.
Kikunae Ikeda (8 October 1864 – 3 May 1936) was a Japanese chemist who discovered the fifth basic taste, umami.
Osamu Shimomura (27 August 1928 – 19 October 2018) was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist who dedicated his career to understanding how organisms emitted light.
Motoo Kimura (13 November 1924 – 13 November 1994) was a Japanese theoretical population geneticist who is best remembered for developing the neutral theory of molecular evolution.
Chika Kuroda (24 March 1884 – 8 November 1968) was a Japanese chemist whose research focussed on the structures of natural pigments.
The field of solid-state ionics originated in Europe, but Takehiko Takahashi of Nagoya University in Japan was the first to coin the term ‘solid ionics’ in 1967. ‘Solid-state ionics’ first appeared in 1971 in another of his papers, and was likely a play on ‘solid-state electronics’, another rapidly growing field at the time.
The techniques that make industrial pearl culturing possible were developed over a century ago at the Misaki Marine Biological Station in Japan. The station’s first director, Professor Kakichi Mitsukuri, emphasized to Kokichi Mikimoto in 1890 that stimulating pearl sac formation was important for pearl growth, and they went on to successfully develop methods for culturing pearls.
Japanese physicist Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962) made the world’s first artificial snowflakes. He started his research on snow crystals in the early 1930s at Hokkaido University, where there is an unlimited supply of natural snow in winter. By taking over 3,000 photographs, he established a classification of natural snow crystals and described their relationship with weather conditions.
Minoru Shirota (April 23, 1899 – March 10, 1982) was a Japanese microbiologist who invented the popular fermented drink Yakult.
Japanese chemist Kenichi Fukui (4 October 1918 – 9 January 1998) was the first Asian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Together with Roald Hoffman, he received this honour in 1981 for his independent research into the mechanisms of chemical reactions.
Shinichiro Tomonaga (31 March 1906 – 8 July 1979), together with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, for their contributions to advance the field of quantum electrodynamics. Tomonaga was also a strong proponent of peace, who actively campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoted the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Hideki Yukawa (23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 for predicting the existence of the pi meson subatomic particle. Japan’s first Nobel laureate, Yakawa also expressed his support for nuclear disarmament by signing the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955.
Japanese chemist Takamine Jokichi (3 November 1854 – 22 July 1922) founded the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company, where he isolated a starch-digesting enzyme (named takadiastase) from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae.
Tsuneko (7 June 1933) and Reiji Okazaki (8 October 1930 – 1 August 1975) were a Japanese couple who discovered Okazaki fragments – short sequences of DNA that are synthesized during DNA replication and linked together to form a continuous strand.
A Japanese surgeon, Tetsuzo Akutsu (20 August 1922 – 9 August 2007) built the first artificial heart capable of keeping an animal alive.
Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi developed the first method and tools for measuring carbon dioxide in seawater