It was sold as a medical supply, “Neuquinon” (medicine for congestive heart failure), for the first time in 1974. Although it was widespread in the United States as an antioxidant supplement from early on, it was approved for sale as a food product in 2001. It became a smash hit in Japan from its inception.
Japan is the only CoQ10 producing country with five companies responsible for production: Kaneka (world share about 70%) and Nisshin Pharma, Asahi Kasei Pharma, Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., LTD, and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company INC.

The maximum speed of “Ereca” using Lithium-ion battery power is 370km per hour. It is a five-passenger, eight-wheel-drive car, and motors are encased in each wheel. It is 5.1m in total length, 1.9m in width and about 800 h.p. Fuel consumption is 24km/l in 10.15 running mode.

It is twice or more as good as a passenger car in the same class. It will go 300 km on one battery charge. It can be fully charged in about 5 hours using the power supply at home.

Kokichi was born in Yatsuhama, Gojima-Gun, Bizen-Koku (present day Yatsuhama, Tamano-shi, Okayama Prefecture) in 1757. His father suddenly passed away when he was 7 years old, and Kokichi was made to work in an umbrella shop in his neighborhood. After that, he moved to live in a picture frame shop in Okayama. He mastered his technique there and made a handmade flying device.

One night in the summer of 1785, Kokichi equipped himself with his flying device and jumped from the handrail of the Kyo-Bridge of the Asahi River in Okayama. Witnesses said that he flew 40-50m and fell. This incident caused a great disturbance, so he was exiled from the domain of Okayama.

Kokichi moved to Shizuoka and spent the rest of his life there.
Unfortunately the detailed flight record of Otto Lilienthal hasn’t survived.

In the summer of 1949, Tatsuro Uji, a surgeon in the hospital which is a part of the University of Tokyo, visited Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. The purpose of his visit was to make a request for the development of a device able to take photographs inside the stomach. At that time, there were two methods of diagnosing stomach ailments: by X-ray and by gastroscope. X-rays however, weren’t able to examine the state of the stomach wall and it was not possible to take a photograph of the stomach with the gastroscope. As well, the gastroscope carried the risk of damaging the esophagus.

Mutsuo Sugiura, chief engineer at Olympus received the request and worked with his subordinate Shoji Fukami on the development of a device which could take photographs.

Sugiura came from Shizuoka Prefecture. After learning photography in Tokyo, he went to work for the manufacturer Takachiho Seisakusyo in 1938. Before then, he had carried out research and development of such things as cameras and microscopes.

The biggest challenge was that the inside of the stomach had no source of light. It was  necessary to solve this problem and initially, progress was difficult. But Sugiura believed that, “a photograph can exist as long as there are light, a lens and film.” The research continued. The following year, 1950, the first gastrocamera in the world was completed. It was introduced in November at the Japan Surgical Society with the name “Gastrocamera.”

As a result of this invention, it became possible to make a direct diagnosis of the stomach, contributing greatly to the early detection and treatment of stomach cancer and stomach ulcers. The technology has been applied to the development of both the fiberscope and videoscope.

In 1990, Sugiura was posthumously awarded the Eiji Yoshikawa Cultural Prize together with Uji and Fukami for “exceptional results in the early detection and treatment of stomach cancer and stomach ulcers and for his work which contributed greatly to the development of medicine in the world.” He had passed away in 1986 at the age of 68.

This blade-cutter makes the edge, which has lost its sharpness, slide, folds it and then obtains a new edge. In those days, Mr.Okada who was working for a printing company thought about a way to make his knife last longer and be more useful  rather than the knives and razors which soon became useless.

He got hints from old craftsmen using pieces of glass when cutting, and also from chocolate bars, given by the Occupation Forces which have grooves to make them easy to break into pieces. So he came up with the idea of cutter knives that are able to be folded. Even if it did not sharpen the blade as well as a knife, it was still epoch-making, because a new edge could be obtained just by folding the used one. 

Now it is used in more than 100 countries all over of the world, and the angle and width of the spare blade has become  international standard. Incidentally, “OLFA” which is the brand name of the SNAP-OFF BLADE CUTTER and also the present company name, comes from “the folding edge” (OLHA). But ‘OLHA’ was changed  to ‘OLFA’ because there are countries in the world which do not pronounce H in their languages.

The protein in the human body is composed of 20 kinds of amino acid.
The amino acid is being used in various areas of medical treatment; this is one area of high expectations in the continuing research and development of the substance.

･Pre- and post-surgery nourishment
In each country there have been improvements such as adding electrolyte to amino acid, leading to the spread of high calorie intravenous feeding. As a result, the pre- and post- operative nutrition management has become feasible, with recognized increases in surgical success rates, to the benefit of vast numbers of patients. 

･Treatment of liver failure and nourishment of patient with renal failure
The change of amino acid balance in the blood of patients with liver failure can cause hepatic encephalopathy.
An amino acid preparation has been developed to prevent the onset of the disease by supplying the body with the necessary amino acid to improve efficacy of treatment.
The metabolite of protein cannot be excreted in cases of chronic renal failure, so that limiting protein is needed.
It is now possible to maintain a patient’s nutritional state, preventing the drop of renal function and supplying the necessary amino acids.

･Other use
Glutamine: Treatment of ulcer
Arginine: Immunity reinforcement action
There are many pharmaceuticals in which these amino acids are a raw material: antibiotics, antihypertensive medicines, oral diabetic medicine, antiviral drugs, and so forth.

When a large-sized motorcycle equipped with this system collides with the side of a stopped 4-wheeled vehicle at speeds of 50 kilometer per hour, it takes about 0.015 seconds to analyze the collision by the air bags electronically controlled sensors, after first perceiving the impact through an acceleration sensor.  The expansion of the air bag is completed in about 0.06 seconds, which absorbs the forward kinetic energy of the rider in about 0.15 seconds – preventing the rider from being thrown forward.

Honda worked on reducing the injuries of riders by analyzing the data of those killed or injured in motorcycle traffic accidents. They discovered that 2-wheeled vehicles had a lot of front-end collisions in Japan, the United States and Europe. The most common injuries were caused by the impact from the other party’s vehicle and the road after the rider had been thrown from a 2-wheeled vehicle. They started developing ways to reduce those injuries effectively, identifying the airbag as one way to increase rider safety.

Honda started research in 1990 and began various forms of crash tests in 1996. Moreover, they made use of computer simulation technology and constructed a crash simulator that was able to accurately replicate a collision in order to evaluate rider’s injuries and verify the effect of different environmental conditions.

The dummies used for a 2-wheeled vehicle crash test are different from those used for 4-wheeled vehicle because the measurement data is recorded on a device inside the dummy. Therefore it doesn’t need a measurement cable that can influence the movement of the dummy. Another benefit is that it’s possible to evaluate the injuries sustained over the entire body, specifically the head, the cervix, the chest, the abdomen, and the leg.

It was difficult to adapt the air bag system for 2-wheeled vehicles because the environment is so different; there is neither a seat belt nor a cabin and the movement of the vehicle at the time of collision is hard to predict. It took approximately 20,000 hours in total to process over 400 simulated patterns using a computer and over 100 of  Honda’s large Goldenwing Motorcycle, each costing 3 million yen, were destroyed in collision testing. The idea was to perfect the technology to the point where it could be applied to minimize rider injury in all cases of motorcycle collisions. Development included everything down to the shape of the air bag that most efficiently absorbs a rider’s kinetic energy and therefore took over 15 years to complete.

With this advancement Honda continues to show its dedication to safety after also being the first Japanese car manufacturer to install air bags for passenger cars in 1987.

Since there are no seams made with the WholeGarment, knitted articles are easy and comfortable to wear. All-new structures and sophisticated patterns can be knitted. It has become possible to create styles which were previously only made using woven textiles.

This manufacturing technique has not only made the labor-intensive production process more economical but has created a system  which manages both patternmaking and design in this knowledge-intensive business.

With WholeGarment, the apparel maker can consistently plan and design using virtual samples on PC for the manufacturing process.

Shima Seiki Mfg (島精機製作所). which integrates the production of both hardware and software within its company, from super-precision tool parts to computer programs has always aimed at the development of new technology and has challenged the unknown for the company concept “Ever Onward”.

After the prediction of the Neutrino’s existence by W. Pauli in 1930, the study of particle physics was predicated on the belief that a neutrino does not have mass. However, Jiro Maki,  Shoichi Sakata, Masami Nakagawa demonstrated that the mass of a neutrino is not zero by further developing “Neutrino Oscillation” theory. Whereby, a neutrino may change its ‘flavour’ (kind) due to the fact that neutrinos do have mass.

This phenomenon was demonstrated by observing neutrinos that were released into the atmosphere by the Super-Kamiokande (neutrino observatory) in 1998.
Experiments that observe the vibratory phenomenon via the Super-Kamiokande and KamLAND are currently being conducted in Japan.
The study of neutrino physics is at the cutting edge with exciting prospects for the 21st century and beyond, with Japanese scientists leading the way.

［Reference］ The history of neutrino physics

1930: W.Pauli predicts the existence of the neutrino.

1956: F. Reines and C. Cowan discover an anti-electronic neutrino.

1962: L..Radarman discovers a mu neutrino with an artificial neutrino beam.

1967: Jiro Maki, Masami Nakagawa, and Shoichi Sakata develop the theory of neutrino oscillations.

1987: Masatoshi Koshiba and the Kamiokande study group observe neutrinos that are produced by a supernova explosion for the first time.

1991: Proof that a light neutrino exists in only the third generation at the LEP experiment of CERN.

2000: The existence of the tau neutrino is confirmed by the experiment of the Fermi United States laboratory.

2001: The Canadian SNO study group and the Japanese Super-Kamiokande study group prove the existence of neutrino oscillations by solar neutrino observation.

2002: The Japanese KAMLAND research consortium uses neutrinos produced via a nuclear reactor to further demonstrate the existence of neutrino oscillations.

［Career］Born in 1929 and died May 31 2005
Jiro Maki graduated from Tokyo University of Literature and Science (presently Tsukuba University) and later taught as an assistant professor in the Department of Science at Nagoya University before becoming a physics laboratory professor at the University of Kyoto. He ultimately succeeded Hideki Yukawa as head of the Physics Laboratory Department at the University of Kyoto. Jiro Maki has made a remarkable contribution to the study of elementary particle physics with the prediction of neutrino oscillations being an excellent example. He served as the chairman for the Physical Society of Japan and was commended by winning the Nishina Commemorative ward in 1977.

In 2005, digital camera sales were dominated by Canon (キヤノン), with a market share of 21.7%. SONY (ソニー) came in second with 17.3%, Eastman Kodak (コダック) with 16.9%,
OLYMPUS (オリンパス) in 4th place with 10.8%, and Nikon (ニコン) following with 10.4%. These four Japanese companies accounted for 60.2% of worldwide digital camera sales.

In 2004, the 1st place belonged to Canon, the 2nd to SONY, 3rd to OLYMPUS, 4th to Kodak, and 5th to FUJI FILM. These four Japanese companies monopolized the market.

In 2003, the market was led by SONY with a market share of 23.0%. Second place belonged to Canon with 21.7% of sales. OLYMPUS and FUJI FILM had 15%, and Nikon had 10.9%. These Japanese companies accounted for 85.6% of digital camera sales in that year.

In August 2004, CASIO announced production of the standard slim digital camera with zoom lens. The use of ceramic lens with a high refractive index permitted a decrease in dimensions, allowing the camera to fit in the palm of a hand.

In order to shorten the projection distance Sanyo developed a new large diameter aspheric lens and high-precision aspheric mirror technology. With this technology, even with the projector placed flush against the wall it can project an image of 67inches.

This technology enables the image to be projected the floor or on a table, something the previous models couldn’t do. In order to limit distortion of the image, Sanyo combined a distortion correction mechanism lens with a high-precision aspheric mirror.

The projector is W-374mm X H-196.8mm X D-495mm (14.7 X 7.8 X 19.5inches) The weight is 7.8kg (17.16lb.). The resolution is 1,024X768 pixels. The screen size would be from 60 to 80inch screen. The ratio of aspect is 4:3 for industrial use, however Sanyo is considering to develop the model of 16:9 ratio for home users since this market is expected to grow to 20~30% of its total sales.

Sanyo is going to release this product on December 21st for 630,000 Japanese yen (US$ for $5,700-1Japanese yen=110 US dollar) targeting educational market.

In 1988, Tron computers for U.S. elementary and junior high schools were obstructed, There, Windows OS monopolized the personal computer industry.
Tron extended its software to cellular phones, digital cameras, televisions, printers, car engines and navigation systems, as well as point of sales systems.  Now it is used in 60% of industrial equipment and information appliances. Microsoft eventually compromised with Tron in a joint development of a new OS that was completed in 2003. It had the 60% share in the industry.

There are both wrist and upper arm Omron home blood pressure monitors. The latter is used by 70% of users.  Recently the automatic upper arm type, in which the user simply inserts an arm, has sold well.
In Japan the majority of people over 30 years old have high blood pressure and there are more than thirty million presumed sufferers. There are few easily recognized symptoms of high blood pressure, therefore many of us do not notice this disease. Clinicians say blood pressure should be measured for good health care. In particular, high blood pressure early in the morning can’t easily be monitored at the hospital raising the risk of cerebral or myocardial infarction. Thus you should measure blood pressure for yourself, by all means.
In 2003, the Japanese Society of Hypertension announced “the guideline for setting the conditions of home blood pressure measurement”, and people paid attention to the importance of daily blood pressure measurement. Doctors recognized the importance of continuous measurement at home. People come to understand the importance of measurement at home, so there is a growing demand for monitors.
Omron contributes to preventive medicine under the concept of “home medical care”, and tries to achieve high quality products and services.
1961: The Idea room of the Central R&D laboratory (OMRON Corporation) was founded and healthy engineering was begun to be investigated.
  64: The bio-laboratory was also founded and portable blood pressure monitors were begun to be developed.
  73: The electronic home blood pressure monitor (first type) went on the market. 
  82: Omron entered the overseas market with the electronic home blood pressure monitor.
  91: The digital automatic blood pressure monitor with a fuzzy function went on the market.
2002: The wrist blood pressure monitor with advanced positioning sensor went on the market for the first time in Japan.
  03: OMRON HEALTHCARE Co., Ltd.(オムロン ヘルスケア株式会社) was established. (Secession from OMRON.)
  05: The blood pressure monitor which detected pulse waves went on the market. (The pulse wave is detected at the radial artery of the wrist automatically for the first time in the world.) “Blood Pressure Monitor With Augmentation Index” (HEM-90000AI) <”FujiSankei Business i. 2007/4/7 metabolic syndrome Asking the executive director: Hiroshi Oshita>
  06: The automatic upper arm type blood pressure monitor “detecting morning hypertension” went on the market for the first time. “SpotArm” (HEM-1010)

The TS41 uses both a standard speaker, which sends vibration through the air to the eardrum, and osseous conduction, which sends sound vibration through bone directly to the auditory organ. You just hold the phone to the bony areas around the ear to pick up direct transmission of the signal. People with hearing aids should not place the phone directly on their devices to avoid interference.

The phone will be of particular benefit to many people with hearing impairment and to those who use a mobile phone in noise-filled environments.

For the first time in the world, in June 2002, they developed techniques to use plants such as corn and potatoes in plastics for the small parts of a notebook PC. Subsequently, challenges such as flame retardancy, heat resistance, and high formability, which are required for IT devices including personal computers, were solved by combining vegetable-based plastic and petroleum-based resin and flameproofing technology. This enabled the commercial production that led to the adoption of the new plastic.

Since about 50% of the new plastic is developed from plant-based materials, it reduces consumption of the limited petroleum resources. The companies say that the adoption of the vegetable-based plastic for the notebook PC can reduce CO2 emissions by about 15% in the entire life cycle as compared with petroleum-based resin.

By expanding application of the new plastic, the three companies, Fujitsu Ltd., Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and Toray Industries, Inc., jointly aim at contributing to the reduction of environmental burden and consumption of petroleum resources.

Minebea started to produce miniature ball bearings in 1951. They are 22mm or less and are used in information and communications equipment, such as personal computers, home electrical appliances, and car motors. Minebea has the largest market share of its class in the world.

KITANIHON SEIKI CO., LTD.(北日本精機株式会社) has 70% share of micro bearing sales. It manufactures special small bearings with an internal diameter ranging from several cm to mm. Its original technology was selected by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency as one of “300 small and medium enterprises that are producing energetically in June, 2006.

At the beginning of the Heian era, Kobodaishi (Kukai) travelled to China as an envoy to T’ang court, where he learned how writing brushes were made. He then introduced it to Japan. Kukai himself taught the method to a certain Seisen Sakai of Yamato and made Sakai present it to Emperor Saga. This so-called Nara brush was the start of brush making in Japan. 

There are no less than dozens of kinds of animal hair, including sheep, cat, raccoon, dog, rabbit and weasel, used in making brushes now. Moreover, the suppleness of the hair is quite different depending such factors as on which part of the body the hair or fur grows, when it’s cut or where it’s from. While Chinese brushes are generally produced, mixing a couple types of animal fur, Japanese ones often combine as many as ten kinds of hair. This is because there are only a few animals in Japan suitable for brush making and their harvest is small. The various mixtures of animal hair produce special qualities in each kind of brush, showing the wisdom of the traditional Japanese brush maker still alive.

The Japanese brush is called “Wahitsu”; the Chinese style is called “Tang-hitsu”. Each is made by a separate method as explained above. In addition, the shape of the Japanese brush is more delicate than the Chinese. In the Japanese brush, the working of the pointed hair called “Noge” or “field hair” is especially valued. Wahitsu is made by making the best use of a particular material for easy brush writing and there is a wide variety of types. Therefore, Japanese calligraphers have an array of brush choices to achieve nuances of expression. The calligrapher and professor at Tokyo Gakugei University, Mr.Hideaki Nagano stated that “Japan might be the land of the technical brush.”

The brush is a traditional craft that has supported the Japanese culture, and it is indispensable in watercolor and oil painting, including calligraphy, Nihon-ga and sumi-e styles of Japanese painting. Recently it has come into limelight as a make-up brush, on the strength of its technical superiority and overall quality.  Kumano in Hiroshima Prefecture is famous for producing about 80% of the brushes in Japan; they are known as the Kumano brush. It was the brush manufacturing company, Hakuhodo, that made the Kumano name renowned for brushes not only in Japan but also throughout the world. This make-up brush of the highest quality using finest traditional craftsmanship has legions of fans everywhere, including international actresses and leading make-up artists.

In 1895, Marconi in Italy succeeded in the experimentation on radiotelegraphy for the first time in the world. In 1920, the first radio public broadcasting in the world began in the United States, and five years after that, the first radio broadcasting in Japan started. The wavelength of radio at that time was medium wave (AM) only, as shortwave broadcasting had not started, and ultrashort waves (FM) and microwave (VHF, UHF) were far from practical use.

Hidetsugu Yagi, a professor in the Department of Engineering at Tohoku University, was researching ultrashort waves and in 1925, discovered that electric waves can be strongly received under a certain condition. With the help of Shintaro Uda of Yagi laboratory, he invented the antenna for ultrashort waves.

However, the technology generated little evaluation from the academic society in Japan, but received high acclaim in foreign countries. Radar was developed by using the Yagi Antenna technology in the United States and Europe. Still, Japan didn’t see this importance and even rejected the extension application for a patent, believing there is little practical use and necessity. It is said that this greatly affected the progress of World War II.

It was in 1942, when the Japanese army that occupied Singapore confiscated radar devices and technological notes and found the character “YAGI” written in the notes, that Japan recognized the importance of the Yagi Antenna.

After the war, television broadcasting began in every country. The Yagi Antenna spread all over the world as a television antenna.

In this 21st century, satellite broadcasting has spread together with a change to digital. Yet, Yagi Antenna is being used all over the world as a receiving antenna for television.

He invented a prototype of a semiconductor laser in 1957, invented three major elements of an optical communication system (photodiode– light receiving element, semiconductor laser — light emitting element, and optical fiber), and made the outline of the concept of the optical communication system.

He received the Jack A. Morton Award, the most prestigious award in the electronic engineering field, for the first time received by Japanese.  In 2002, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE. U.S.A.), the world’s largest academic society, founded the “Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal” as the 14th IEEE medal, comparable to the IEEE Edison Medal or the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal. A IEEE Medal is one of the most prestigious awards.

In 1801, Benkichi Ohno was born in Kyoto, the son of a craftsman in work with feathers. At about the age of 20, he studied medicine, physics and chemistry, and astronomy from the Dutch who were resident as traders in Japan. He is thought to have been learning drawing and sculpture as well.

Benkichi travelled to Korea from Tsushima. He went on to learn gunnery, horsemanship, arithmetic and calendar science in Kii (in the present day Wakayama and Mie Prefectures.)

After returning to Kyoto, Benkichi married into the family of his bride, Uta, a daughter of Hachiemon Nakamuraya. He moved to Ohno village, Ishikawa county in Kaga, where his wife’s parents lived. Although his birth name was Benkichi Nakamuraya, he was commonly known as Benkichi Ohno.

A wealthy merchant, Gohyoe Zeniya, gave the young genius access to his house as an advisor. This relationship continued over twenty years.

Having never sought the public eye, Benkichi passed away at age 69 in 1870 (Meiji 3rd.)

Benkichi was famous as a Karakuri Master, that is, an advanced expert in mechanics; and his unique high-precision works have been substantiated by high technology. His work range from many varieties of mechanical puppet (e.g. Tea Serving Puppet, Jumping Frog, and Sanbaso Puppet, etc.) to technological instruments (e.g. pedometers, pistols, an automatic lighting stand, and so forth.)

Benkichi’s writings entitled “Itto Shikyuroku” showed advanced scientific levels and cited a wide range of unpublished drawings of technological instruments, which have been inferred from his existing works. His writing demonstrates that era’s cutting-edge knowledge in physics and chemistry, mechanical engineering, medicine and other fields of science and technology.

Benkichi’s photographic knowledge was particularly advanced. His photos and the documents of his apprentice, Choemon Asakura, demonstrate that Benkichi could have succeeded in inventing Wet-Collodion, or wet-plate, photography two years before the Englishman Frederic Scott Archer’s 1851 claim.

While the Shinkansen possesses superior pickup and braking capabilities, safety is enhanced by the use of ATS (Automatic Train Supervision).

In October 2004, the Shinkansen derailed for the first time during the Niigata Chuetsu earthquake. It was a miracle that no one was injured.

However, his superior didn’t understand him and it ended unpublished as the magazine editor to whom Uchida delivered the contents of his research, leaked it to GHQ and it became the subject of censorship. 

After half a year, Sockly announced his invention. He discovered that when the Americans test-detonated a new atomic bomb, this could be detected because it immediately caused little white dots to appear on a television screen.

However, at the time, the former Japanese army thought that this would cause a deterioration of troop morale and they suppressed the announcement.

In 1897, J. J. Thomson of Britain discovered the electron. At the same time, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen discovered X-rays and Maria Sklodowska-Curie discovered radium. At the time, new discoveries concerning nuclear physics came one after another, and attention was focused on the structure of the atom.

In those days Nagaoka was the first to defend a Saturnian atomic model that looks like Niels Bohr’s atomic model in that the electrons orbit like Saturn’s rings around the nucleus which itself contains a positive electric charge. Nagaoka announced this at the Tokyo society for mathematics and physics in December 1903, and he also announced it the following year in the British academic journal “Philosophical Magazine“.

At the same time, Thomson, who had discovered the electron, was in favour of the “Plum pudding model”. This model described atoms as electropositive balls that had electrons scattered in them, like the raisins in raisin bread. A lot of physicists supported this model even though it was quite different from Bohr’s well-known atomic model.

On the other hand, the model of Nagaoka led to speculation that the electrons turning around the atomic nucleus would slowly lose energy and ultimately collide with the nucleus. For this model to be correct, an explanation had to be found why this was not happening. There was no experimental proof, and moreover, it was not supported, except by some scholars, such as Lodge and Poincare.

However, eight years later, in 1911, Ernest Rutherford announced an experimental test for the atom model of the atomic nucleus in 1911 and after that, Bohr announced a more detailed atom model in 1913, which showed that Nagaoka’s model was closer to reality than the Thomson model.

The model of Nagaoka was announced several years before the announcements by Rutherford and Bohr, and it can be called an extremely advanced model even though it was not properly evaluated because it came too early.

Tokuji Hayakawa

Tokuji Hayakawa was born in Tokyo in 1893. Due to difficult domestic circumstances, he was adopted by the Sato family. It was not until he grew up, however, that he learned of this. He left primary school after second grade due to his family’s poverty, and was apprenticed to a maker of metallic ornaments. He worked diligently there to improve both his skill in metalwork and understanding of the trade, earning the trust of his master.

Though the buckle had been used since ancient times for such accessories as armor and shoes, it started to be used on belts for boys’ trousers in the 15th century and came to be used in women’s clothes in the 19th century. It took two forms: practical and decorated.  When Tokuji launched his buckle in 1912 (Meiji 45 and Taishou 1,) demand in Japan for the buckle increased with the spread of Western-style fashions.

Tokuji and other artisans, however, had not yet had a chance to wear Western-style clothes and belts.

Tokuji happened to notice a silent film actor whose belt had come undone. 
This inspired him to spend time after work inventing a new belt that could be fastened to any length.

As a result, he developed a buckle that used a roller to fasten a belt without puncturing it. His master admired his inventiveness and recommended that Tokuji apply for a patent. He suggested the name “Tokubijo” adopting one character of Tokuji.

The first order for the Tokubijo buckle was huge — 33gross (one gross = 12 dozen) or 4,752 in total. Because of the pressures to deliver his product on time, Tokuji decided to go independent. He borrowed most of the capital independently and launched his own shop in September, 1912. He introduced industrial presses, hired workmen and delivered new orders with no interruption. He was able to promptly retire his debt. He continued to improve his manufacturing process and expand his business into a bigger plant.

In 1913, he acquired the patent of an innovative water faucet, and in 1915, he developed the prototype of the sharp automatic pencil still sold today.
Afterwards he demonstrated managerial genius, expanding his enterprise into electronics manufacturing of world-famous radios, tape-recorders and televisions. He was active in social welfare programs. He died in 1980 at the age of 86.

It is U.S.A. that technology export is the number one in the world in Japan, and buy most it.
Especially, the technology of Japan is indispensable in the IT field. By the condition can speak Japanese to become a top engineer in the United tates recently.

Musashi sank on October 24, 1944 at Operation Sho-Go.

Yamato was sunk by over 100 U.S. attacking aircrafts on April 7, 1945 at Operation Ten-Go.

It is recorded that on August 24, 1853 (Kaei 6) some retainers from the Saga domain who were in charge of the guard over Nagasaki port visited the officers’ room in the Russian flagship Pallada and observed there the model steam locomotive which kept running on the endless circular rail. It was about 25cm long and used alcohol as fuel. This was perhaps the first Japanese observation of a model steam locomotive introduced by a foreign fleet (Kurofune). The Europeans showed off the locomotive to impress the Japanese, whom they considered uncivilized, to gain advantage in their diplomatic negotiations. Perry, the American who came Uraga to open Japan, also did the same.

In those days the Saga domain had organized the pre-eminent modern technical research institute in Japan, The Saga domain Smelter. Todayu Motojima, who became a leader of the project, and Kisuke Nakamura, who concentrated on Western learning in the smelter, observed the locomotive on August 24, the day it was first publicly displayed; immediately they offered production of a model steam car and ship to Masanao Nabeshima, lord of the Saga domain.
Lord Nabeshima gave his consent. The Russian fleet reportedly displayed the model only and then returned it to Russia. To develop a Japanese prototype without the benefit of a working model, the Saga domain Smelter ordered Kanji Ishiguro, a Dutch-studies scholar summoned from Tangotanabe, to translate relevant foreign materials, Kisuke Nakamura to design the structure. To build the model, they recruited Hisashige Tanaka from Kurume, nicknamed “Karakuri Giemon” or “Giemon the Machine,” for his expertise in construction.

On August 1, 1855 (Ansei 2), the completed running model was shown to Lord Nabeshima. Everybody gazed in admiration at the locomotive equipped with luggage running like a living thing. On that day a Saga retainer, Shigenobu Ohkuma was present at the announcement of the success of the project. It inspired him to become a committed proponent of the railroad construction after the Meiji Restoration.

This “model steam car” had a boiler of fuel alcohol on its body frame with smokestack and safety valve. The steam generated by the boiler was led to a cylinder between the wheels driving the piston movement. This was in turn converted into rotary movement through the rod and the crank and transmitted to the driving wheels. Today this seems very simple model but the Japanese engineers completely grasped what was to them a new technology and reproduced it with the highest accuracy. In 1856 (Ansei 3) the foreign-style lathe (the Maudslay-type treadle lathe) was imported to Japan for the first time. But it is thought the Saga domain Smelter evidently developed by itself a machine that matched the standard of the foreign one. This model is not only a landmark in railway history but also provides invaluable evidence to understand construction technology of that time. The engineering feat of Saga’s model steam car can still be seen today in the Saga Prefectural Museum.

In September 1937, the navy showed a demand document to develop 12 trial type fighters for warships to MITSUBISHI and Nakajima Aircraft Industries.
MITSUBISHI’s Horikoshi was nominated as the design specialist and development began. Due to the China Incident, naval demands became so high that Horikoshi and other engineers commented, “It is like asking for the moon.”

Nakajima Aircraft Industries gave up development halfway through (because of its involvement with an army fighter), so only MITSUBISHI tackled the project. In April 1939, trial aircraft No.1 flew at Kakamigahara army airfield in Gifu Prefecture for the first time, and was adopted officially for production in July of 1940. MITSUBISHI met the harsh demands perfectly, though they were considered impossible at the beginning. The demands were: thorough weight saving, long flying range, installation of a 20mm machine gun (heavy power at that time), high turning abilities, an effective, rigid falling system, and so on. These specifications were superior to the first class fighters at that time, so the Zero fighter became the best in the world.

Mr.Chennault, the head of the Flying Tigers flight squadron, was the guidance teacher in China at the time and reported to the U.S. Information Bureau, “New and powerful fighters called Zero fighters made a shocking debut.” The air fight power between the U.S., U.K., Netherlands and Australia at the beginning of the war was no more. The U.S. Forces were so fearful that it declared, “Avoid a cumulonimbus and a Zero fighter.”

Regarding the production of Zero fighters at the beginning of the war in the south, persons related the U.S. Forces said in surprise, “When did Japan make these many hundreds, or a thousand of wonderful fighters?”