7 billionth baby in Fukushima

7 billionth baby in Fukushima

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Tomoko Watanabe, 20, holds her son, who was born on Oct. 31, 2011, as one of the ''7 billionth babies,'' at a hospital in the city of Fukushima. The U.N. Population Fund estimates that the world's population exceeded 7 billion that day. Watanabe said she will raise her son in Fukushima despite relatively high radiation levels due to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

World population tops 7 billion

World population tops 7 billion

TOKYO, Japan - Kiyoko Ikegami, head of the U.N. Population Fund's Tokyo office, holds a certificate for a baby who was born on Oct. 31, 2011, as ''one of the 7 billionth babies'' during a press conference held the same day in Tokyo. The New York-based UNFPA estimates that the world's population exceeded 7 billion on Oct. 31, 2011.

Tokyo Monorail celebrates 1.5 billionth passenger

Tokyo Monorail celebrates 1.5 billionth passenger

TOKYO, Japan - Masatoshi Kawahara (C), a graduate school student from Sapporo, Hokkaido, is given memorial goods at Hamamatsucho station Jan. 24 as he became the 1.5 billionth passenger of the Tokyo Monorail service linking central Tokyo and Haneda airport, about 42 years after the monorail opened in the year of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. (Kyodo

NEC claims discovery of "carbon nanobrush"

NEC claims discovery of "carbon nanobrush"

Sumio Iijima, a senior research fellow with NEC Corp., attends a press conference in Tokyo on June 30, 2016. The company said it has discovered a new carbon material with a diameter of 100 nanometers (nano is a billionth) that has high electrical conductivity. The new substance, named "carbon nanobrush" by NEC, could be used for rapid electric vehicle charging and for the production of artificial muscle for robots. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

NEC claims discovery of "carbon nanobrush"

NEC claims discovery of "carbon nanobrush"

Sumio Iijima, a senior research fellow with NEC Corp., attends a press conference in Tokyo on June 30, 2016. The company said it has discovered a new carbon material with a diameter of 100 nanometers (nano is a billionth) that has high electrical conductivity. The new substance, named "carbon nanobrush" by NEC, could be used for rapid electric vehicle charging and for the production of artificial muscle for robots. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

NEC claims discovery of "carbon nanobrush"

NEC claims discovery of "carbon nanobrush"

Sumio Iijima, a senior research fellow with NEC Corp., wears a model of a nano carbon material on his head in jest during a press conference in Tokyo on June 30, 2016. The company said it has discovered a new carbon material with a diameter of 100 nanometers (nano is a billionth) that has high electrical conductivity. The new substance, named "carbon nanobrush" by NEC, could be used for rapid electric vehicle charging and for the production of artificial muscle for robots. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tokyo Monorail celebrates 1.5 billionth passenger

Tokyo Monorail celebrates 1.5 billionth passenger

TOKYO, Japan - Masatoshi Kawahara (C), a graduate school student from Sapporo, Hokkaido, is given memorial goods at Hamamatsucho station Jan. 24 as he became the 1.5 billionth passenger of the Tokyo Monorail service linking central Tokyo and Haneda airport, about 42 years after the monorail opened in the year of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. (Kyodo

7 billionth baby in Fukushima

7 billionth baby in Fukushima

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Tomoko Watanabe, 20, holds her son, who was born on Oct. 31, 2011, as one of the ''7 billionth babies,'' at a hospital in the city of Fukushima. The U.N. Population Fund estimates that the world's population exceeded 7 billion that day. Watanabe said she will raise her son in Fukushima despite relatively high radiation levels due to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. (Kyodo)

World population tops 7 billion

World population tops 7 billion

TOKYO, Japan - Kiyoko Ikegami, head of the U.N. Population Fund's Tokyo office, holds a certificate for a baby who was born on Oct. 31, 2011, as ''one of the 7 billionth babies'' during a press conference held the same day in Tokyo. The New York-based UNFPA estimates that the world's population exceeded 7 billion on Oct. 31, 2011. (Kyodo)

Narita airport users reach 1.1 billion

Narita airport users reach 1.1 billion

Akihiko Tamura (L), president of Narita International Airport Corp., gives a commemorative plate to Takahide Kondo (2nd from L) for being the 1.1 billionth user of the airport near Tokyo on Nov. 21, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Narita airport welcomes its billionth passenger

Narita airport welcomes its billionth passenger

Makoto Natsume (L), president and CEO of Narita International Airport Corp., shakes hands with Susanne Sanaei while presenting her with a badminton-like racket to celebrate her being the airport's billionth passenger, on July 28, 2017. The airport near Tokyo opened in May 1978. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese firm makes world's smallest diamond ring

Japanese firm makes world's smallest diamond ring

TOKYO, Japan - Hitachi High-Technologies Corp. has produced a micro diamond ring (in handout photo), which can only be seen under microscope and is believed to be the world's smallest, by utilizing technology normally used to produce semiconductors. The ring, with a 0.02 millimeter diameter, bears a five billionth of a carat diamond. It was created by Yasushi Kuroda, an employee of the company's subsidiary Hitachi Science Systems Ltd., to illustrate that the company's equipment can be used to make micro machines. (Kyodo)