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World's longest pearl necklace

OSAKA, Japan - A 222-meter-long pearl necklace, recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's longest, is displayed at Hanshin Department Store in Osaka on April 11, 2013. The necklace of around 28,000 pearls weighs about 20 kilograms.

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Chocolate cherry blossom

TOKYO, Japan - A cherry blossom artwork made of chocolate is unveiled to the media in Tokyo on Dec. 19, 2012. Students from the University of Tokyo and Tokyo University of the Arts as well as an artist took part in the project to make the work, about 1.20 meters in diameter and weighing around 85 kilograms, using KitKat, a chocolate product made by Nestle Japan Ltd., to encourage students preparing for entrance examinations. The work will be exhibited at Cafe Nescafe Harajuku in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward from Dec. 20 through Jan. 8.

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Huge New Year's bowl tea ceremony held in Nara

NARA, Japan - A woman is helped by another next to her to drink ''maccha'' green tea from a huge tea bowl in the year's first gathering of the traditional ''Ochamori'' tea ceremony, believed to date back to the 13th century, at Saidaiji Temple in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Jan. 15. Several bowls measuring 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter and weighing 5 to 7 kilograms were used in the ceremony about 20 people took part in.

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Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry unveils gold pony to fete royal birth

TOKYO, Japan - Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry K.K. on Sept. 20 unveils to the public a pony made with about 30 kilograms of pure gold to commemorate the birth of Prince Hisahito, who was born Sept. 6 to Princess Kiko and Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito. The pony, whose market price is worth 150 million yen, will be sold if there is an order after being displayed at the company's main store in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, and outlets in Nagoya, Fukuoka and Osaka.

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Rugby ball-shaped squashes harvested in Higashiosaka

OSAKA, Japan - Kosuke Matsubara holds up rugby ball-shaped squashes at his field in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture. Matsubara started to cultivate the vegetables about 10 years ago as a way to help advertise his hometown, where the annual national high school rugby championship tournament is held. The squashes are around 20-30 centimeters high and weigh 2-3 kilograms.

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Omron to sell lifelike cat robots

OSAKA, Japan - A model shows off cat robots, made by Omron Corp., that will go on the market from Nov. 20. The robots, called ''Necoro,'' can stretch their backs, lie down and purr. They are the same size as real cats and each weigh 1.6 kilograms. The robots contain various sensors which among other things allow them to memorize the frequency of human voices, so that they will face their owners when the owners call out the pet robots' names. Omron plans to sell 5,000 Necoro robots for about 185,000 yen each.

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Double Giken's wire-suspended robot hand system

Double Giken (Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture) has developed a wire-suspended robot hand system called the Flying Carry System (photo). By stretching and loosening four wire cables stretched in the air, the system can move as if it were flying. The position of the winches is controlled by finely adjusting the winding of the winches. The robot hand is capable of handling a wide range of shapes and materials of objects with its original technology and can hold them firmly. The robot hand has a wide range of applications, and President Wada says, "We would like to collaborate with companies in different fields to build a suitable system. Since it can be powered via wires, it can operate longer than flying robots (drones). The payload is about 20 kilograms. (Photo taken on December 13, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

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Hokuriku Electric Power's "Assist Arm" robot for power distribution work

Hokuriku Electric Power Company has completed the development of the "Assist Arm" (photo), a robot for power distribution work, and has begun deploying it. The robot will assist in the construction work, which used to be done by two people in a high-altitude work truck, enabling the work to be done by one person. This is the first time such a robot has been used in Japan. The company plans to adopt 10 more robots, including those of group companies, by the end of fiscal year 2019. The robots will be used for the most frequent part of the power distribution work, the wire separator work. In the past, high-voltage wires were cut and the cut wires were connected to each other with a temporary equipment called a wire separator by lifting a stick-shaped tool weighing about 10 kilograms. The robot will be able to cut wires and grab objects with an arm that can move in six axes with a single control grip, saving labor. Photo taken on November 20, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

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Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry unveils gold pony to fete royal birth

TOKYO, Japan - Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry K.K. on Sept. 20 unveils to the public a pony made with about 30 kilograms of pure gold to commemorate the birth of Prince Hisahito, who was born Sept. 6 to Princess Kiko and Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito. The pony, whose market price is worth 150 million yen, will be sold if there is an order after being displayed at the company's main store in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, and outlets in Nagoya, Fukuoka and Osaka. (Kyodo)

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Omron to sell lifelike cat robots

OSAKA, Japan - A model shows off cat robots, made by Omron Corp., that will go on the market from Nov. 20. The robots, called ''Necoro,'' can stretch their backs, lie down and purr. They are the same size as real cats and each weigh 1.6 kilograms. The robots contain various sensors which among other things allow them to memorize the frequency of human voices, so that they will face their owners when the owners call out the pet robots' names. Omron plans to sell 5,000 Necoro robots for about 185,000 yen each.

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Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry unveils gold pony to fete royal birth

TOKYO, Japan - Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry K.K. on Sept. 20 unveils to the public a pony made with about 30 kilograms of pure gold to commemorate the birth of Prince Hisahito, who was born Sept. 6 to Princess Kiko and Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito. The pony, whose market price is worth 150 million yen, will be sold if there is an order after being displayed at the company's main store in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, and outlets in Nagoya, Fukuoka and Osaka. (Kyodo)

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Huge New Year's bowl tea ceremony held in Nara

NARA, Japan - A woman is helped by another next to her to drink ''maccha'' green tea from a huge tea bowl in the year's first gathering of the traditional ''Ochamori'' tea ceremony, believed to date back to the 13th century, at Saidaiji Temple in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Jan. 15. Several bowls measuring 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter and weighing 5 to 7 kilograms were used in the ceremony about 20 people took part in. (Kyodo)

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Rugby ball-shaped squashes harvested in Higashiosaka

OSAKA, Japan - Kosuke Matsubara holds up rugby ball-shaped squashes at his field in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture. Matsubara started to cultivate the vegetables about 10 years ago as a way to help advertise his hometown, where the annual national high school rugby championship tournament is held. The squashes are around 20-30 centimeters high and weigh 2-3 kilograms. (Kyodo)