Latest news with #Kyoto
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Japan plans to expand nuclear risk payouts for towns, critics call it a ‘bribe'
Japan 's ruling coalition has agreed to expand financial support for communities near nuclear plants, drawing fierce criticism from environmental groups who describe the move as a 'bribe' aimed at buying consent from cash-strapped rural areas. Under the proposal, backed this week by senior officials in the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito, subsidies would be extended beyond the current 10km radius to include municipalities up to 30km from nuclear facilities. The government is also considering legal changes to promote economic development in areas close to nuclear plants that would also bring in more money for local authorities. A portion of the subsidies would be earmarked for evacuation planning in case of accidents – but critics argue the scheme is less about safety and more about co-opting vulnerable local authorities. 'It is effectively a bribe to these communities because years of government policies have drained the countryside of employment and forced people to move to the cities,' said Aileen Mioko Smith, an environmental campaigner with Kyoto-based Green Action Japan. 01:01 Japan's researchers develop ocean-friendly plastic Japan's researchers develop ocean-friendly plastic 'With the rural population decreasing and ageing, these communities are desperate for funds,' she told This Week in Asia. 'Local authorities are becoming more and more dependent on funds from the government for their budgets and that is what the government is offering them.'
CNA
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
Wings, comets and lions: Inside Chanel's new high jewellery collection reveal in Kyoto
"Winging it" took on new meaning for me when I came face to face with Reach For The Stars, Chanel's newest high jewellery collection unveiled at the Meiji Kotokan Hall of the Kyoto National Museum in Japan. Stunning as the sizeable 109-piece collection imagined from three key elements – the comet, the wings and the lion – was, I found myself particularly drawn to the newly introduced wings motif. Largely, it was the novelty of it. After all, it is the first time this wing-shaped motif is making an appearance as a key theme. Before this, Chanel's high jewellery selection used to only revolve around the two other motifs that Gabrielle Chanel held close to her heart. The comet held special significance for the fiercely superstitious fashion icon, who one suspects wished upon the star more often than she would care to admit. And because she was born under the Leo astrological sign, the mademoiselle believed wholeheartedly in the lion's protective instinct towards its wearer. What's enchanting is the allusion to these wings. Patrice Leguereau, the late director of Chanel's jewellery creation studio, took inspiration from an extract by the fashion visionary: 'If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.' THE WINGS And just like that, Chanel "grew" wings. Not just any old wings though but mythical looking ones that look like they leapt right out of a fantastical Greek legend. To my mind, the wing-inspired repertoire is comparable to a beautiful picture book of fabled tales. To inject life into the collection, Leguereau created jewellery pieces 'illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond' that perfectly captures 'the magical moment between day and night when high jewellery sparkles on the skin'. The star of the wings repertoire is, no doubt, the Wings of Chanel necklace that features an astonishing 19.55-carat cushion-cut Padparadscha sapphire – one of the most expensive and rarest sapphires in the world. 'Padparadscha means lotus flower in the rising sun,' explained Dorothee Saintville, Chanel's international product marketing director of Watches and Fine Jewellery. 'It is very poetic. The white petals of the lotus flower reflect the rays of the rising sun and the flower becomes iridescent. That is the idea of the golden hour behind the collection.' The exceptional pink-orange hue of the gemstone headlines Leguereau's sunset theme. The flamboyant necklace features a detachable pendant that can also be worn as a bracelet and the matching ring topped by an 8.15-carat D-flawless oval-cut diamond is designed as a set. Both the Pretty Wings Sapphire and the Pink Hour sets come in pink gold and pink sapphires to depict the magical hour of dusk. While the reds that come by way of spessartite garnets in the Sunny Days set and the rubies in the Wild At Heart set are stellar examples of a flaming sky. Of note is the set of five brooches aptly named Five Wings. This one-off set, which took three years to complete, is a collaborative effort between Leguereau and prominent Kyoto-based lacquer artisan Yoshio Okada. While this is not the first time the house has tapped Okada's expertise – they have previously worked together on the Artistic Feather jewellery set and a precious coromandel box – this is by far the most impressive showcase. 'Urushi or Japanese lacquer is the most refined lacquer,' Saintville said. Prized no less than precious gemstones, urushi has been exemplary of Japanese refinement for centuries. Okada's Midas gestures are akin to snapshots of wings in mid-flight. THE COMET Drawing attention to the comets on one of the brooches, Saintville highlighted: 'The comet is like a thread between the three [motifs]. The comet is always present. Even if the wing is present as a major element, you still have the comet. The same for the lion.' Since Madame Chanel designed Bijoux de Diamants, her one and only high jewellery collection from 1932 and based on a single theme of the comet, the star-shaped symbol has remained the crown jewel inspiring every single collection that followed since. Reimagined in a 'lengthened' format for the collection, the newly interpretated comet has somehow managed to become 'even more radiant' thanks to an American red-carpet sensibility that influenced Leguereau's vision for this high jewellery collection. It has to be said that this sensibility is a reaction to Madame Chanel's stint in Hollywood. In the 1930s, she was invited to design movie star Gloria Swanson's costumes for the movie Tonight Or Never. There, she acquired a taste for diamond cascades, impressive cocktail rings and striking necklaces. Reminiscent of Chanel's OG comet from 1932, the new Dreams Come True necklace is a dress code all its own. It is designed to look like the plunging neckline of a couture dress crafted in white gold, black-coated gold and a cascade of diamonds as Chanel herself would have described it. And of course, the showstopper is the sparkling 6.06-carat diamond that sits atop the comet that cinches the beguiling necklace. THE LION Also, same but different is the lion motif. 'Patrice used to interpret [the lion] with sculptural lines that is very powerful but this time, it's very airy, celestial and it also has wings. This is a new interpretation,' shared Saintville. The lion motif was first found on the buttons of Madame Chanel's tweed jacket – she believed that they would watch over her. The lion has since gone on to inspire everything from perfumes, fine jewellery and even high jewellery. The Embrace Your Destiny necklace is characterised by two fiercely protective, wing-tip lions that are said to act as guardians to its wearing. Each lion bears the weight of a 5.6-carat pear-shaped diamond. The mademoiselle would have felt absolutely safe under their watch. Intrigued by the storybook fantasy the motifs offer and the possibilities they bring? The collection encourages one and all to look up to the skies and reach for the stars. "The collection is an open invitation to dream, to shine," Saintville teased.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists unite with AI to record dreams
Dreaming is a fascinating state where creativity runs wild, crafting vivid, cinematic scenes that can feel as real as everyday life—until you wake up and they vanish into memory or disappear from your recollection altogether. But what if there were a way to capture, record, and playback your dreams in the real world? At ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, a group of scientists unveiled a complex system that uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and AI to 'record' people's dreams and play them back in a rough, estimated form. The experiment focused on closely observing the brain's electrical and blood flow activity in a select group of volunteers as they slept. To achieve this, researchers combined an electroencephalogram (EEG) with an fMRI machine, allowing participants to spend several nights sleeping while their brain activity was recorded. During the REM stage of sleep—when brain activity surges and dreams unfold—participants were gently awakened and asked to recount their dreams. This process was repeated hundreds of times, creating a rich database that linked distinct brain-scan patterns to specific dream imagery. Using this carefully constructed database, scientists employed deep learning algorithms to attempt to reconstruct visual content while the volunteers slept. During the tests, the system achieved approximately 60% accuracy, rising to over 70% on more specific categories like people or objects. Professor Yukiyasu Kamitani stated, 'We were able to reveal dream content from brain activity during sleep, which was consistent with the subjects' verbal reports.' The idea of watching your dreams play out like a vintage film is undeniably captivating, but the implications for neuroscience and mental health are equally remarkable. In the future, this innovative approach could be harnessed to explore emotional and cognitive patterns in various mental health conditions, providing a non-verbal and impartial glimpse into the subconscious. As the technology advances, it holds the potential to deepen our understanding of both human consciousness and the subconscious mind. However, while the technology is still in its early stages, the results it produces are often blurry and indistinct. Key elements such as colour, motion, narrative structure, and emotion remain largely elusive for now. Currently, dreams can only be captured in retrospect, after the subject has awakened, rather than in real-time. Dr. Mark Stokes points out that "all of this would have to be done within individual subjects," meaning that a universal classifier capable of interpreting anyone's dreams is not feasible. In essence, a dream-reading machine is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Nonetheless, this experiment represents a significant leap forward in the field of "oneirography," which involves the recording and documentation of dreams. As advancements in fMRI, EEG, and AI continue, the boundary between our internal mental experiences and external observation is starting to blur. "Scientists unite with AI to record dreams" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Is Capcom Sharpening It's Sword
During a hands-off presentation at Summer Games Fest, Onimusha: Way of the Sword quietly emerged as one of the most exciting things on the horizon. Capcom let the game speak for itself. And what it said, loud and clear, is that they're not just reviving Onimusha to ride nostalgia. They're rebuilding it from the hilt up. It's been nearly two decades since Onimusha felt like a pillar of Capcom's portfolio. But with recent remasters and with Way of the Sword on the horizon, the studio is treating the return like an event. This isn't a low-stakes spin-off; this is a full-scale entry with real bite, and a very clear creative vision behind it. It wears its influences proudly, particularly from samurai cinema and modern action design, but it never feels derivative. Set in a stylized version of feudal Kyoto, the game follows Miyamoto Musashi, not the philosophical swordsman of legend, but a younger warrior modeled visually and vocally after Toshiro Mifune, a legendary Japanese actor and producere known for his work in the samurai film genre. That casting choice does a lot of lifting. It grounds the game in a very specific cinematic era. The kind built on black-and-white duels and sharp of course, isn't just slicing up bandits. The supernatural elements are baked in early. He wears the Oni gauntlet on his arm, a cursed artifact that lets him absorb the souls of his enemies. Where most modern action games would streamline this into an auto-pickup system, Way of the Sword makes it an active mechanic. Enemies spill red, blue, and yellow orbs on death. Experience, skills, and health respectively. and Musashi has to manually draw them in. If he doesn't, they fade, or worse, get stolen by other enemies that'll power them up. That twist adds a real-time tension to every skirmish. It's good to see that this mechanic hasn't been lost to the modernization of the series. Combat reaches a new level with the return of the Issen. Veterans of the series know the name well. These are instant-kill counters that trigger on perfect timing and look really cool. Capcom has taken them from a subtle flourish to a centerpiece. Time slows, the camera tightens, and Musashi chains together one-hit kills that feel straight out of a Kurosawa dream sequence. And the best part is how expressive it all feels. We only got a glimpse, but another teased boss, Byakue, looked like a full-on nightmare—a towering, skinless beast covered in talismans and dripping with corruption. The fight was cut short, but the visual alone said enough. This game isn't afraid to get weird, and it knows how to build dread without over-explaining it. The supernatural elements in Way of the Sword extend beyond combat. Musashi can use Oni Visions to reveal hidden paths, phantoms, and clues. In one sequence, he watched a funeral procession turn to ash mid-step, revealing his path. In another vision, he uncovered the moments of a warrior whose soul had been twisted by regret after dispatching members of his village. These Dark Mass fragments add layers of context and melancholy, fleshing out a world that already feels haunted. The structure seems semi-linear from the look of things. You're following a main path, but it looks like there will be optional routes, side objectives, and if its like the previous entries, there should be alternate dialogue options that will offer room to explore. This isn't an open world, and it doesn't want to be. But it's also not a corridor. Instead, it feels like a tightly wound experience with thoughtful room to Way of the Sword is stunning. The art direction is doing the heavy lifting, but the animation work sells the rest. Musashi's stance looks like it shifts subtly depending on the enemy he faces. Even his idle moments feel charged with intent. Enemy design is equally sharp. What's maybe most exciting is how confident this all feels. Capcom isn't second-guessing what Onimusha should be. They've found it again. Not by recreating the past, but by distilling what made it work and making it sing in a new key. It's brutal, beautiful, and unafraid to let silence speak when it matters. There's still plenty we haven't seen. The full scope of the story, the size of the map, how far the mechanics evolve. But if the rest of Way of the Sword keeps this pace, Capcom isn't just reviving a franchise, they're reminding everyone why it mattered in the first place.
National Post
a day ago
- Automotive
- National Post
New Murata Automotive-Compliant Chip Ferrite Beads Deliver Wide Band Noise Suppression of High-Frequency (5.9GHz) C-V2X
Article content The new BLM15VM series is ideal for automotive powertrains and safety applications. It supports high frequencies. 1000Ω (Typ.) @5.9GHz. With its compact 0402-inch size (1.0×0.5mm) can operate at temperatures ranging from -55 to 150°C. And it is compliant with AEC-Q200. Article content KYOTO, Japan — Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6981) (ISIN: JP3914400001) continues to push the envelope in automotive noise suppression technology with another industry first. By leveraging proprietary material technology and optimized structural design, the company's new BLM15VM series of automotive-compliant chip ferrite beads deliver wide-band noise suppression of high-frequency (5.9GHz) 5G vehicle-to-everything (5G-V2X) applications that exhibit high impedance. Mass production is scheduled to begin in July 2025. Article content Article content In recent years, the use of high-frequency wireless communication in the automotive sector has increased. It is primarily used for content distribution for navigation, audio and other infotainment systems. Improving sensitivity and noise suppression in these advanced high-frequency communication systems becomes mission critical to support the connected car for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and eventually autonomous driving. Article content RF inductors typically used for noise suppression in sub-6GHz communication have a narrow frequency band at high impedance, making it necessary to select components that match the noise frequency band. With its broad high-frequency band at high impedance, the BLM15VM series allows easy noise suppression across multiple frequency bands using just one product. Even at 5.9GHz, the chip ferrite beads within the series will typically attain impedance values of 1000Ω. Article content By enabling error-free high-frequency communication, which is crucial for autonomous driving, the BLM15VM series significantly improves reception sensitivity in V2X communication in the 5.9GHz bands for autonomous driving and stable operation of dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) based control systems, operating in the 5.8GHz band, for improved road safety. Additionally, since Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, the communication standards for wireless LAN, also use the sub-6GHz band, this product can improve sensitivity and suppress noise in consumer communication devices. Article content The AEC-Q200-compliant BLM15VM series of chip ferrite beads from Murata supports operating temperatures between -55 to 150°C and is supplied in a compact 0402-inch size (1.0×0.5mm). Murata is committed to expanding its lineup to meet market needs. Article content Editor's Notes Article content According to the Company's research. This is the world's first product that removes noise in high-frequency communication (including Sub6 bands) for C-V2X, as of June 18, 2025. Article content About Murata Article content Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of ceramic-based passive electronic components & solutions, communication modules and power supply modules. Murata is committed to the development of advanced electronic materials and leading edge, multi-functional, high-density modules. The company has employees and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
