| May 18 | Little progress in Fukushima radiation cleanup |
 An NHK survey has found that little progress is being made to clean up radioactive material in areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (NHK  ) |
| May 18 | Super high-definition film screened at Cannes |
| A film produced with NHK's cutting edge ultra-high resolution video system has been screened at the renowned Cannes Film Festival in France. (NHK) |
| May 17 | Head of Monju reactor operator quits over inspection flaws |
 Japan Atomic Energy Agency President Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned on Friday to take responsibility for a number of inspection flaws at the agency's Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 17 | Japan police better prepared to fight cyberattacks |
 Japan's National Police Agency on Thursday launched a new center comprising about 20 staff members as part of efforts to better fight cyberattacks. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 15 | Regulator to suspend Monju N-reactor's restart work |
 The Nuclear Regulation Authority decided Wednesday to order the operator of the Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor to suspend preparations for resuming operations at the facility in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 15 | 1,800 deaths estimated on Tokyo Isles in Nankai Trough quake |
 A 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough south of Japan's main island would cause up to 1,774 deaths on the Izu and Ogasawara island chains off Tokyo, the metropolitan government's Disaster Prevention Council estimated Tuesday. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 14 | 9 women register as donors with Japan's 1st egg bank |
 Nine women have registered with Japan's first "ovum bank" to donate their eggs to help infertile women, paving the way for fertility treatment to begin within the year at the earliest, a private group involved in the matter said Monday.
(Kyodo ) |
| May 14 | Melting ice cap draws China, Japan to seek Arctic riches |
 Japan, China and South Korea are seeking to expand their influence in the Arctic as melting ice caused by global warming offers potentially lucrative access to resources and shipping shortcuts in the region. (Bloomberg ) |
| May 13 | Japan mulls removing goshawk from list of rare species |
 The Japanese Environment Ministry is considering removing the goshawk from the list of rare domestic species of wild fauna and flora under the law on conservation of endangered species, reflecting the steady recovery in the population of the bird, informed sources said Monday. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 13 | Monju N-reactor to be ordered to stop work to restart |
 Japanese nuclear regulators plan to instruct the operator of the Monju fast-breeder reactor to suspend its preparations for resuming the facility's operations, informed sources said Monday. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 13 | How Fukushima contamination may have spread via waterways |
 A new study offers fresh insights into how radioactive contamination from the Fukushima nuclear disaster may have spread through Japan's interconnected waterways, reaching some freshwater fish hundreds of kilometers away. (Wall Street Journal ) |
| May 13 | Microbes recover rare metals from waste |
 A new technology has been developed that uses microbe-filled capsules to cheaply and quickly recover rare earth metals contained in industrial wastewater. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 09 | 'Exascale' computer to be developed |
 The science ministry will likely decide to launch development next fiscal year of an exascale supercomputer that would be 100 times faster than RIKEN's K, currently the nation's fastest computer, sources said. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 09 | Rubella infections further spread in Japan |
 Rubella, or German measles, is spreading rapidly in Japan.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases says 5,442 people were diagnosed with rubella from January to April this year. (NHK ) |
| May 09 | Space laundering projects speeded up |
 Satellites used for broadcasting, telecommunications and Global Positioning Systems are essential for modern-day living. However, an increasing amount of space debris, such as satellites that have ceased to function and pieces of them that have broken off, are threatening the operations of other working satellites. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 07 | Japanese submersible finds possible signs of legendary Atlantis off Brazil |
 A large mass of granite has been found on the seabed off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, suggesting a continent may have existed in the Atlantic Ocean, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and the Brazilian government announced. (Japan Times ) |
| May 07 | Japan reinforces measures against H7N9 bird flu |
 Japan's health ministry has designated the H7N9 strain of bird flu as an infectious disease to be watched under two relevant laws. (NHK ) |
| May 07 | 'Worse than AIDS' - sex 'superbug' discovered in Japan called disaster in waiting |
 Doctors are warning that a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea could be more deadly than AIDS, and are urging members of US Congress to spend $54 million for the development of a drug that would fight it. (rt.com ) |
| May 06 | Contaminated water transfer to end early in June |
 Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, plans to complete the transfer of radioactive water from leaking underground storage pools to tanks above ground at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant early in June. (NHK ) |
| May 05 | Japanese researchers cause rain for 2nd straight year |
 A group of Japanese researchers have successfully produced artificial rain for two years in a row, in February 2012 and March 2013, proving the effectiveness of the spraying of liquid carbonic acid onto the bottom of clouds from aircraft. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 03 | Japan's nuclear plan unsettles U.S. |
 Japan is preparing to start up a massive nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant over the objections of the Obama administration, which fears the move may stoke a broader race for nuclear technologies and even weapons in North Asia and the Middle East. (Wall Street Journal ) |
| May 02 | Scientists retrieve temperature data from Japan Trench observatory |
 With the successful retrieval of a string of instruments from deep beneath the seafloor, an international team of scientists has completed an unprecedented series of operations to obtain crucial temperature measurements of the fault that caused the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. (sciencedaily.com ) |
| May 01 | Leaks, rats and radioactivity |
 Honestly, if the consequences weren't potentially so dire, the ongoing struggles to clean up the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northern Japan would be the stuff of comedy. (Time ) |
| May 01 | Monju fast-breeder reactor undergoes safety inspection |
 Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority began a regular safety inspection Monday of the prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor Monju following a series of discoveries of sloppy equipment checks by the operator. (Kyodo ) |
| May 01 | Japan to introduce disaster prevention ICT system in Indonesia |
| Japan and Indonesia have reached an agreement to collaborate in introducing a Japanese information and communications technology system for disaster prevention in the Southeast Asian country, Japanese communications minister Yoshitaka Shindo said Tuesday. (Jiji Press) |
| Apr 27 | Endangered seabird spotted off Hachijojima |
 The black-footed albatross, a large seabird designated as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, has started nesting on an unhabited island near Hachijojima, Tokyo, in the Izu Islands chain, according to a report by a citizens group. (Yomiuri ) |
| Apr 26 | Japan on alert after H7N9 bird flu spreads to Taiwan |
 Japan on Thursday urged renewed vigilance against a spread of H7N9 bird flu after Taiwan reported a case of the deadly strain, the world's first outside mainland China. (inquirer.net ) |
| Apr 26 | Endangered gorilla gives birth again at Ueno Zoo |
 Western lowland gorilla Momoko gave birth Wednesday at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, officials at the facility said Thursday. (Japan Times ) |
| Apr 25 | Japan team reproduces muscular dystrophy condition with iPS cells |
 A Japanese research team said Wednesday it has reproduced the pathological condition of muscular dystrophy by using induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells. (Jiji Press ) |
| Apr 25 | China's pollution blamed for Japan's dying trees |
 A mysterious pestilence has befallen Yakushima's primaeval forests, leaving behind the bleached, skeletal remains of dead trees that now dot the dark green mountainsides. (Sydney Morning Herald ) |
| Apr 24 | Japan to introduce countermeasures against H7N9 |
 A health ministry panel on Wednesday compiled countermeasures against the H7N9 strain of bird flu in the face of the rapid spread of the virus in China. (Kyodo ) |
| Apr 24 | Possible radioactive traces found from North Korea nuclear test |
 Radioactive gases that could have come from North Korea's nuclear test in February have unexpectedly been detected, a global monitoring body said on Tuesday, possibly providing the first "smoking gun" evidence of the explosion. (The West ) |
| Apr 23 | Fukushima nuclear plant shutdown may take Japan longer than predicted 40 years, warns U.N. agency |
 A U.N. nuclear watchdog team said Japan may need longer than the projected 40 years to decommission its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant and urged its operator to improve plant stability. (cbsnews.com ) |
| Apr 23 | Dead rats halt Fukushima cooling system |
 The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant briefly switched off a spent fuel cooling system on Monday after it found dead rats near a transformer. (NHK ) |
| Apr 23 | U.S. officials concerned about Japan's plan to reprocess nuclear fuel |
 Some U.S. government officials and experts have strong concerns about Japan's plan to operate a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori to retract plutonium while most of the nation's reactors remain shut down, a member of the government's Japan Atomic Energy Commission said Monday. (rdmag.com ) |
| Apr 23 | Pair of newborn crested ibises die |
 Two crested ibis chicks born to captivity-raised birds released into the wild on Sado Island were confirmed dead Monday, the Environment Ministry said. (Japan Times ) |
| Apr 22 | More than 100 infected with H7N9 bird flu in China |
 In China 6 more people have been infected with the H-7-N-9 strain of bird flu virus. (NHK ) |
| Apr 21 | WHO: China bird flu not spreading easily in humans |
 There's no evidence a new bird flu strain is spreading easily among people in China even though there may be sporadic cases of the virus spreading to people who have close contacts with patients, the World Health Organization says. (Washington Post ) |
| Apr 20 | Experts: H7N9 bird flu could develop into pandemic |
 Japanese health officials say the bird flu virus spreading in China could develop into a worldwide pandemic. (NHK ) |
| Apr 19 | Japan shaken anew by 7.2 magnitude earthquake, no tsunami warning released |
 Japan has been shaken anew by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, located in Kuril Islands off the country's northern part. (ibtimes.com ) |
| Apr 19 | Rocking the baby does work, say scientists studying crying youngsters' heart rates |
 Scientists in Japan have found that the heart rate of crying babies slows down when they are in put in the arms of their mothers and carried about - but not if the mother remains still, the study found. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk ) |
| Apr 19 | Oi Nuclear Reactors to Meet New Regulations: Operator |
 Kansai Electric Power Co. said in a report Thursday that the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, the only two operating reactors in Japan, are certain to meet new nuclear plant regulations that will take effect in July. (Jiji Press ) |
| Apr 18 | Ship carrying nuclear fuel leaves France for Japan |
 A ship loaded with nuclear fuel has left a French port for Japan, carrying the first delivery since the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (NHK ) |
| Apr 18 | Experts identify killer of leukemia-causing cells |
 Japanese researchers say they have successfully killed cells blamed for causing a type of leukemia common in adults. They say the discovery brings a complete cure for the disease closer. (NHK ) |
| Apr 18 | Ogasawara threatened by non-native lizard |
 Experts are concerned about a non-indigenous lizard found on one of the Ogasawara Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage site. (NHK ) |
| Apr 18 | 'Hobbits' may have had Java Man roots |
 The "hobbit" hominid whose fossilized bones were found on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 is likely to have evolved from the Java Man, a better-known early human, a Japanese research team said Wednesday. (Yomiuri ) |
| Apr 17 | Northeast Japan jolted by magnitude 5.8 quake, no tsunami warning |
 An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 jolted northeastern Japan on Wednesday but no tsunami warning was issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. (Reuters ) |
| Apr 17 | Miyake Island rocked by over a dozen quakes |
 More than a dozen earthquakes, one of them magnitude 6.2, rocked a volcanic island south of Tokyo Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. (Channel NewsAsia ) |
| Apr 17 | Did China steal Japan's high-speed train? |
 One China defender recently claimed his countryman's "bandit innovators" could be good for the world. That was small consolation for the Japanese, who say that China pirated their world-famous bullet train technology. (Fortune ) |
| Apr 17 | Court rejects shutdown of Oi N-reactors |
 Osaka District Court rejected a lawsuit on Tuesday that called for an injunction to stop operations at the No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press ) |