Orkney Trials for Tidal Energy
Kawasaki Heavy Industries will test its tidal-power generation technology in the Orkney Islands, the Scotsman reported on 21 October.
There are hopes that this may pave the way for future collaboration between Japan and Scotland on renewable energy systems.
First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Japan is one of the great industrial nations of the world and I am encouraged that it shares Scotland’s vision of building on a strong engineering heritage to harness our natural resources and generate clean, renewable power that can reduce harmful emissions and tackle global climate change”.
Mersey Honour for PoW Survivors
A Liverpool memorial gives cause for reflection, and perhaps some optimism, as the only public tribute to thousands of men, women and children who survived captivity in Japanese prisoner of war camps with their notoriously callous regimes, reported The Guardian on 12 October.
In 1945, more than 37,500 members of the military and over 2,000 civilians— all former captives—returned to Britain. At least 20,000 of them first saw friends and family at Pier Head in the eight weeks during which transport ships arrived there. Many of the returnees had taken their last step from the UK at the famous river frontage on the Mersey up to five years earlier.
A score of the returnees and their families, including several great-grandchildren, were expected to join local people on 15 October to celebrate the unveiling of the granite memorial which has been paid for by public subscription.
Sword of Surrender Returns after 65 Years
A former soldier’s last wish, to have a sword of surrender returned to the family of its previous owner, has been fulfilled after an extensive hunt in Japan, the Mainichi Shimbun reported on 1 October.
Lt Col William Weightman received the sword from Maj Gen Shozaburo Iino on 15 December, 1945, when Allied forces took the northern tip of Sumatra island, now Aceh.
But as he lay on his deathbed in North Yorkshire, Weightman instructed a friend to complete a final mission on his behalf: find the Iino’s family and return the sword to them.
Weightman died aged 83 in February 2009, and all the information he had was given to Japan’s consulate in Edinburgh. After about 18 months, the consulate tracked down Iino’s 91-year-old daughter Mitsu Yamanaka, and grandson Jun, who live in Tokyo, and they gratefully accepted the sword.
Talks on Defence, Eurofighter
Secretary of State for Defense Philip Hammond met his counterpart Yasuo Ichikawa in Tokyo and agreed to boost bilateral defense cooperation in light of the new security environment, reported the Asahi Shimbun on 31 October.
Hammond also pitched the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is among three candidates for Japan’s next key fighter aircraft to be chosen in December. Hammond told Ichikawa that he is confident in the performance of the jet, of which BAE Systems is a major stakeholder.
Human Cell Line Licenced
Yokohama City University has granted Horizon Discovery Ltd. a worldwide exclusive licence to distribute the genetically modified human cell lines that model diseases, developed by Professor Noritaka Adachi and his team using gene targeting techniques, reported the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun on 2 September.
The cell lines would be useful in providing insight into the pathogenetic mechanism of a disease and to accelerate drug discovery.
Nadeshiko to Play Arsenal Ladies
Japan’s women’s football world champions will play a charity match in Tokyo against Arsenal Ladies on 30 November to aid earthquake reconstruction efforts, reported the Nikkan Sports on 15 October. Four Arsenal members were in the England squad at the World Cup in Germany, where they beat eventual champion Japan 2-1 in a group stage match.
