This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please allow the acquisition of cookies in order to display the video For more than a decade, since its grand opening in 2014, Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Fujisawa SST) has embodied a bold vision for life-centered Presently some 2,000 people live in 566 smart town dwellings Designed as a model for the cities of the future and well-being into every aspect of daily life Fujisawa SST creates an efficient resident-focused environment that sets a new standard for sustainable residential development At the heart of Fujisawa SST is co-creation where stakeholders actively shape the town’s evolution From advanced mobility systems and sustainable solutions to wellness infrastructure the town continuously refines how cutting-edge technology supports community values This dynamic approach has made Fujisawa SST a real-world testing ground for future urban solutions allowing it to scale innovations that enhance residents’ lives and serve as a blueprint for cities worldwide Fujisawa SST has successfully achieved its initial goals fostering an expanding ecosystem of co-creation initiatives The town has met its original environmental targets by reducing CO2 emissions by 70% (compared to 1990 levels) and household water consumption by 30% (compared to the 2006 standard of household equipment) while also achieving a renewable energy utilization rate of over 30% as part of its energy goals as part of its safety and security objectives it has secured lifeline infrastructure for three days in case of emergencies Co-creation activities such as community building and business incubation have also expanded with over 100 demonstration experiments and marketing initiatives and 10 successful business ventures emerging from the project As a result, Fujisawa SST has earned high recognition as one of Japan’s leading real-world smart towns. It has received numerous domestic and international awards, and to date, has welcomed more than 41,000 visitors from 60 countries on study tours our approach wasn’t just about closing down a former factory site—it was about creating a new town and finding a fresh way to contribute to the local community,” explains Fujisawa SST Project Leader “By incorporating environmental initiatives and cutting-edge technology demonstrations we’ve attracted visitors not only from across Japan but from around the world It’s exciting to see our vision for a sustainable and innovative town being recognized and appreciated.” As Fujisawa SST enters its next phase of development environmental sustainability remains a top priority the town aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% compared to 2020 levels with over 60% of its renewable energy self-consumption rate striving towards the goal of producing and consuming energy at home the town is continuously evolving its energy infrastructure and adopting next-generation energy storage technologies and energy saving solutions One promising initiative in this transition is the deployment of Glass-based Perovskite Photovoltaic which tested in a model home up to March of 2025 This next-generation photovoltaic offers not only high efficiency allowing for customization according to specific requirements enabling power generation in places where conventional solar cells cannot be installed and making them ideal for urban environments This so-called “energy-generating glass” aims to harmonize urban aesthetics with renewable energy generation contributing to CO2 reduction and power resilience Panasonic seeks to expand practical applications and drive the future of sustainable cityscapes Another pillar of the town’s sustainability vision is the Circular Town Project which focuses on optimizing resource use and minimizing waste Its goal is to analyze material flows within the community and identify ways to improve recycling efficiency and reduce raw materials consumption excess renewable energy generated by homes can be shared with town facilities local businesses and residents can actively participate in reuse initiatives fostering a circular economy that prioritizes sustainability all single-family homes are equipped with a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) ensuring power and hot water supply through solar power and ENE-FARM (energy farming) systems in emergencies Energy usage data collected via integrated HEMS in detached homes will not only help visualize the town’s environmental goals but also allow analysis of data tied to household demographics This data-driven approach enables Fujisawa SST to evolve dynamically more resilient urban environment tailored to the needs of its residents Fujisawa SST was designed with resilience at its core integrating advanced infrastructure and smart technologies to ensure stability in emergencies The town’s disaster-resistant features include underground power and communication lines and decentralized energy systems that maintain reliable operations even during crises Buildings incorporate passive design elements that enhance structural integrity while optimizing energy efficiency Fujisawa SST looks ahead to leveraging digital twin simulations to enhance disaster response strategies Such real-time virtual models can allow authorities to simulate emergency scenarios interactive drills and training sessions will ensure the community stays well-prepared and ready to respond effectively in times of crisis Energy security is a key pillar of the town’s resilience strategy The expansion of emergency energy storage solutions including community power banks that store excess solar energy will ensure a stable power supply during outages AI-equipped drones will also be deployed for continuous risk management Fujisawa SST is designed to remain self-sufficient The town will sustain three days of uninterrupted essential services and maintain a seven-day stockpile of food and water By prioritizing self-sufficiency and proactive crisis management Fujisawa SST sets a new standard for disaster-resilient smart cities Fujisawa SST is dedicated to enhancing residents’ well-being by integrating smart solutions that promote health “fostering life skills from ages 0 to 100 and beyond.” The Park Wellstate Shonan senior residence features AI-assisted healthcare monitoring to assist a resident’s daily routines while ensuring safety and independence the Wellness Square serves as a multi-functional hub combining serviced housing for seniors with pharmacy creating an intergenerational space that fosters health Active lifestyles and recreation also play a vital role in Fujisawa SST’s vision The Mizuno Sports Plaza offers interactive wellness programs and community sports initiatives encouraging residents of all ages to stay active while building social connections social and cultural engagement are central to the town’s identity bringing together residents and external collaborators Programs like the Fujisawa Town Parent Project empower locals to organize events that welcome neighboring communities and deepen their connection to the town Fujisawa SST plans to pilot low-speed electric transport for short distances and drone-assisted delivery services Fujisawa SST continues to set new standards for community well-being in the cities of tomorrow As Fujisawa SST celebrates its 10th anniversary it stands as a global model for sustainable city planning the town has demonstrated how smart technologies and resilient infrastructure can create a thriving With ambitious targets for carbon neutrality Fujisawa SST continues to push the boundaries of what a smart city can achieve the next phase of Fujisawa SST’s evolution will focus on scaling its innovative urban solutions beyond its current boundaries By refining its smart city model and collaborating with new partners the town aims to establish a replicable framework for sustainable urban development that can inspire communities worldwide “With the opening of a residence for active seniors and a sports facility on October 1 we have completed the first chapter of Fujisawa SST’s development,” says Harumi Tanaka we have restructured into the Fujisawa SST Consortium welcoming new companies and organizations to further drive innovation.” Tanaka’s group is focusing on enhancing the community experience by integrating new perspectives such as resource circulation and well-being and Health and Connection as our core themes we are evolving our town services—including energy and community—to expand and enrich Fujisawa SST for the future.” Panasonic in Numbers: Small and Remote-Controllable Mobilities Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town Pioneering the Future at Tsunashima Sustainable Smart Town Suita Sustainable Smart Town Press Kits Picture by 2022 Getty ImagesBy Hayes CreechEverything changed for the Japan women's curling team in 2018 when Great Britain's Eve Muirhead missed a tricky shot for bronze in PyeongChang but winning a first Olympic medal took things to an entirely new level Led by skip Fujisawa Satsuki, the core four team members that make up Team Fujisawa are back at Beijing 2022 and are currently in third place with a 5-3 record and on the verge of another semi-final qualification already-qualified Switzerland stand in their way a team that denied them a World Championship title in 2016 we break down the top things you need to know about Japan's Team Fujisawa The Olympic Winter Games are just a TICKET away 🏂❄️🎿 Sign-up to get a reminder of when the next tickets go live and all the latest news of your favourite national Olympic teams and athletes trying to qualify during the play-offs against their fiercest Japanese rivals Fortius Team Fujisawa needed three wins in a row to keep their Olympic dream alive But now I feel as if the spider’s thread has come down," Yoshida Chinami said comparing the final moments of the fifth match and third consecutive victory to a famous Japanese novel which is used as a metaphor to say that heaven offers help in times of adversity and the attention they garnered back home in Japan during the 2018 Winter Olympics a phrase they used throughout the competition in PyeongChang was chosen by Japanese publisher Jiyukokuminsha as one of the best words to sum up the year All of the team members hail from Hokkaido and were heard using the phrase 'sodane' which translates to "that's right" or "I agree" The selection of buzzword of the year was also affirmation and acknowledgment of the team's excellent communication on the ice Fujisawa grew up watching her parents play the sport and by the time she was five years old she had already joined the Tokoro Curling Club She and her sister Shiori won back-to-back Pacific-Asia Junior Championships in 2008 and 2009 The sisters grew up curling in Kitami City and started in 1998 and memorably won bronze together at PyeongChang 2018 which is comfortably the largest of any curling athlete Suzuki started curling in elementary school in Tokoro when she was seven years old she comes from the same town as her team-mates ExclusiveA Brilliant Curling Story | Five Rings FilmsLed by skip Rhona Martin, five unassuming women from Scotland unite for a shot at Olympic curling glory – and end up capturing the hearts of a nation in the process. LAS VEGAS, NV – Masumi Fujisawa has been appointed as Aruze Gaming Global (AG2)’s Chief Innovation Officer. Fujisawa recently became a full-time employee of AG2 to drive innovation and growth. Fujisawa has delivered top-ranking slot titles that push creative and technical boundaries. With over 15 years of experience leading R&D and technological innovation, Fujisawa has a proven track record in developing groundbreaking gaming content, driving global R&D initiatives, and fostering a culture of excellence. He holds 155 gaming-related patents worldwide. His success is a testament to his personal expertise and the talents of the creative and technical teams that he oversees. “Rainbow Gaming and Empire Shared Services Philippines (ESSPI) have been essential to our success,” said Fujisawa. “Their talent and dedication have made it possible to create groundbreaking slot experiences that captivate players.” “Fujisawa and his teams continue to redefine industry excellence, signaling an exciting future for AG2,” said Frank Feng, AG2 President. “AG2 remains committed to delivering world-class gaming experiences that push the industry forward.” The 2025-26 GSOC season begins with the Masters, Sept. 23-28, in London, Ontario. © 2000-2025 The Curling Group. All rights reserved. Aruze Gaming Global has tapped Masumi Fujisawa as the company’s Chief Innovation Officer. Fujisawa has more than 15 years of experience in R&D and technology innovation. He holds 155 gaming-related patents worldwide. “Rainbow Gaming and Empire Shared Services Philippines have been essential to our success,” Fujisawa said in a statement. “Their talent and dedication have made it possible to create groundbreaking slot experiences that captivate players.” Under Fujisawa’s leadership, Rainbow Gaming launched slot experiences and helped strengthen AG2 as a global leader in the gaming industry. Fujisawa and his teams have earned multiple nominations across the European Casino Awards, EKG Slot Awards and Global Gaming Awards – America. “Fujisawa and his teams continue to redefine industry excellence, signaling an exciting future for AG2,” AG2 President Frank Feng said. “AG2 remains committed to delivering world-class gaming experiences that push the industry forward.” Rege Behe is lead contributor to CDC Gaming. He can be reached at rbehe@cdcgaming.com. Please follow @RegeBehe_exPTR on Twitter. Please fill out the form to send a message to the CDC Gaming Reports team. Alternatively, you can send an email to the address on the footer of each page. When the Fujisawa Satsuki rink claimed the silver medal at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, it looked like the beginning of a bright future for Japanese curling. After securing bronze at Pyeongchang 2018, making the Olympic final in 2022 and then winning the Japan Curling Championships back to back consolidated them as the nation’s best team and one of the best in the world. But the 2024 national competition provided a shock, as Team Fujisawa, undefeated in the first round-robin stage, failed to make the play-offs after the Championship round, providing Ueno Miyu and her hard-working squad a route to the gold medal that year. Then in 2025, it was Yoshimura Sayaka’s chance to win her third national title, with Fujisawa finishing third. Three different victors in three years showed the sheer competitiveness in Japanese women’s curling and that no one should expect a result to go their way. In the past four years, six different skips have made the final — the others being Kitazawa Ikue, Kanai Asuka and in the past two editions, Nihira Miku. To win the gold medal means you have to be playing at a high level, and this is what Yoshimura showed throughout the 2025 competition. Only one defeat came during the tournament — a 7-6 defeat in the Championship round-robin to Fujisawa — before they defeated Nihira in an extra-end by 8-7. View this post on Instagram A post shared by TEAM JAPAN (@teamjapanjoc) Most importantly — per the country’s qualification rules — it ensured Team Yoshimura will participate in the Olympic trials later this year As Ueno won the 2024 edition and Fujisawa is the highest-ranked team they will also compete for that spot at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games “Winning the third Japanese title was a very important match that led me to the Olympics,” said Yoshimura then we wouldn’t have a chance to go to the Olympics. “We didn’t get a spot [beforehand] for the Olympic trials That final saw Nihira score two in the final end to take it to a tiebreaker which Yoshimura admits “we didn’t know what was going to happen until the end” we were focusing on our performance. but we were also returning good shots in the game and we didn’t know who was going to win and we believed that we were going to win. “We were able to connect to a really good point until the end and we went all the way to the extra end; but in the end all the tension was gone. I felt very relieved.” It marked Yoshimura’s first title in four years when they last defeated Fujisawa 7-6 with a dramatic score of two in the last end of the game they represented Japan at the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship 2021 where they finished 11th out of 14 teams It was a learning experience for the now-33-year-old who had been part of Ogasawara Ayumi’s rink to finish sixth in the world on home soil in Sapporo back in 2015 Yoshimura admitted there was “a lot of stress” at the 2021 World Championship which was held with COVID-19 restrictions in place going as far as saying they were “lots of regrets” from the tournament And this year’s world championship must be one where Japan deliver if they hope to automatically qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. With just the top eight National Olympic Committees – including Italy – booking their spot, based on their results of the 2024 and 2025 tournaments. They currently sit 11th in the rankings and need to be close to the play-offs this year to stand a chance. View this post on Instagram A post shared by World Curling 🥌 (@worldcurling) Failing that, Japan would have another opportunity to make the Games — with two countries progressing via the Olympic Qualification Event in late 2025 — the last chance to achieve that Olympic dream. There is a degree of pressure on the team, but the confidence is apparent from Yoshimura, who seems more assured than she was four years ago and with the freedom to enjoy the competition outside of the ice rink, without the constraints of a bubble system. “This time, I feel like I’ve become stronger,” she said. “We are eager to learn and eager for a challenge. View this post on Instagram A post shared by フォルティウス（TeamYoshimura） (@fortius_sapporo) “As a representative of Japan I want to win qualification to participate in the Olympics and not only to win the qualification “Every team is going to participate in the world championship before the Olympics every team is going to do their best to participate in the world championship. we have the opportunity to experience the world at the world championships — I want to show that we can fight. “All the teams who are going to the world championship will be good teams especially because it’s a year before the Olympics. “We’re expecting that we will be having good tough games as well and we also want to show the world we have good performances as well.” Part of that rise to the top is a strong bond between teammates after describing every member of the team individually comes to the conclusion that “we’re all funny” and act like a family off the ice too seeing each other more often than their real families That familiarity has been a true difference-maker too — with Onodera Kaho and Ohmiya Anna teaming with the skip every year since they joined Ogasawara’s rink for the 2014-2015 season Kotani Yuna joined the trio in 2022 and even skipped the team the following year when Yoshimura was on maternity leave A cohesive unit has produced results this season including victories at the ADVICS Cup and the Karuizawa International they defeated Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg twice — the second time in the final — after thrashing Switzerland’s four-time world champion Silvana Tirinzoni Raising the standard at home has built the belief of Team Yoshimura heading to Korea She attributes this quality back home to the number of teams on the World Curling Tour who spend a lot of the season training in Canada in between tournaments four Japanese teams have participated in the Grand Slam of Curling just one or two teams would be flying the nation’s flag at these events. The world rankings reflect this too more than any other country including Canada “It’s a country that has grown rapidly in the last few years. “The fact that the top five teams have been able to compete for a long time is one of the reasons why they have become stronger “One thing I can say is that the top five teams in the Japanese women’s team are competing at a very high level.” Now Yoshimura will focus on righting the wrongs of 2021 that first world title that has eluded Japan since its beginnings in the sport If they can successfully push their way into a top-eight spot we can expect an exciting showdown between Fujisawa Ueno and Yoshimura at the Olympic trials for the honour of representing their country on the biggest stage And to predict who will win that tournament considering the competitiveness of the nation’s curling Sign up for the World Curling Newsletter and receive monthly updates directly to your inbox Home / News / Yoshimura’s Redemption: Japanese champions eye Olympic qualification While the smart city literature extensively discusses the human-centric approach to smart city governance This study examines the practical applications of this approach and considers the remaining challenges using the case of the Sustainable Smart Town of Fujisawa highlighting the achievements and limitations of human-centric governance in this context a practical approach to human-centric governance emerged to overcome bureaucratic barriers to implementing smart city initiatives This includes formulating smart city policies tailored to the urban context and introducing institutional reforms in the local government; these allow the city to engage with multiple stakeholders and prioritise citizens' needs such as the limited competence of the local smart city department to drive a citywide initiative and limited governmental digitalisation while public opinion is collected by certain advanced digital tools there is no mechanism for stakeholder dialog or direct citizen participation in decision-making processes; this lack of engagement prevents the city from adequately addressing citizens' needs Addressing these limitations is vital for achieving a human-centric approach in local smart city initiatives Photo by Deepak Ramesha Copyright © GlobalPolicyJournal 2025. All rights reserved Japan's national curling championships will be staged in a big city for the first time next month with Yokohama hosting as part of efforts to raise the sport's profile and broaden its fanbase Curling is popular in areas of Japan with colder climates but has not made similar inroads in other parts of the country 2-9 event in Yokohama has nevertheless "attracted more attention than we expected," Japan Curling Association senior official Satoshi Sakamaki said "We want to spread the fun of curling across the country." opened last April and will seat some 2,000 spectators around 10 times more than previous venues that hosted the championships The nationals will also serve as a team selection event for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo "I've never been this excited about the national championships," said Loco Solare skip Satsuki Fujisawa a two-time Olympic medalist and one of Japan's top curlers As part of the governing body's promotional program a curling clinic was held in Yokohama last June allowing local elementary school students to interact with star curlers such as Fujisawa The association has also appointed Manatsu Akimoto a former member of the popular all-girl idol group Nogizaka46 as an ambassador to generate interest among a younger demographic so I'm starting to step things up," Fujisawa said Curling: Young Japanese men's team aims for Olympic medal in 2026 To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox, subscribe here. Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription. Please check your inbox for a confirmation email. If you wish to change your message, press 'Cancel' to go back and edit. Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible. The Honda Aoyama Building, Honda’s Tokyo headquarters completed in 1985, will be reconstructed in the spring of 2025. A new headquarters building will be constructed on the same site, to be completed in fiscal 2030. Honda grew in step with Japan’s rapid economic growth, and its history has been shaped by the vision of its founder Soichiro Honda, and Takeo Fujisawa, a key figure in management who supported Soichiro from the earliest days. A company newsletter in 1960, when the the Tokyo Yaesu Head Office Building, Honda’s first company-owned building, was completed, provided an interesting insight: “Hundreds of thousands of people gather and disperse around Tokyo Station every day. From its ski-slope-like platforms, only a small fraction of the surging crowd comes to our building. Yet, each and every one of them comes to our building with big dreams. The time will come when this small building will no longer be able to hold their big dreams. When that happens, we will build a new building.” In fact, Honda’s headquarters has continued to grow, changing location and form as the company’s dreams have expanded. In 1974, Honda moved from its Tokyo Yaesu building to Harajuku. In 1985, the new Aoyama Building, Honda’s new headquarters, was completed to house its ever-expanding dreams. Since then, the Aoyama Building has served as a symbol of Honda for 39 years to the present. While it has been visited by dignitaries from around the world, including Britain’s Prince Charles and former Princess Diana Frances Spencer, it has also provided a space that combines diversity and familiarity, where anyone can easily visit. The construction project for the Aoyama Building was carried out in the in-house spirit of “All-Honda,” gathering members of the Honda Group as well as the design and construction teams in one planning office. In the process, company founder Soichiro Honda, enthusiastically conveyed a message to the engineers, that the building should be the most advanced in 20 years. Designing the Aoyama Building was guided by three basic philosophies that can be considered the foundations of modern architecture: safety, energy conservation, and flexibility. Revolutionary at the time, these philosophies were incorporated based on Honda’s own manufacturing philosophy. In particular, as Japan is a disaster-prone country, disaster mitigation was a top priority. Soichiro’s desire to make the headquarters building the safest building in the world was persistently conveyed to the project’s engineers. A space where people can feel safe to visit or pass through creates a sense of relief and prevents panic. Honda has always pursued safety through manufacturing, and this was a philosophy that it felt obliged to realize in the building’s design. The design of the evacuation exits to ensure the safety of the employees was the subject of many iterations of planning and verification. Soichiro, taking into account the human tendency to flee to the four corners of a building in the event of a disaster, adopted a structure that allows access to the evacuation stairs from the balconies of each floor. He was emphatic that government standards were only the minimum, and design must not interfere with safety. Design that allows people to evacuate safely without the help of machines: this approach can be seen as the challenge to incorporate Honda’s safety philosophy into the building. The balcony was designed to prevent windows from falling and fire from spreading, which is expected in skyscrapers in the event of a disaster. Professor Nobuo Fukuwa of Nagoya University’s Disaster Mitigation Research Center evaluated the building in later years, saying that the ground was so strong that no piles were needed and that it had achieved a high level of earthquake resistance. In addition, the Canadian cypress barrels on the B3 level of the Aoyama Building is another facility that represents Honda’s spirit of hospitality to its employees and local residents. The water, also known as “Soichiro’s water,” stored in two large 35-ton Canadian cypress barrels has been provided free of charge to visitors to the Aoyama Building since its completion, and has also served as drinking water in times of disaster. The barrels are said to be inspired by the water purification system used by a French restaurant nearby when head office was located in Harajuku. The same water purification system as the French restaurant was initially planned for the Aoyama Building, but it was decided to use a Canadian cypress barrels instead, because wooden barrels, the mainstream in the U.S., purified water and eliminated the calcium odor, making the water mellower. In accordance with its basic philosophy of “No production without safety,” Honda had introduced a system to evaluate and commend all kinds of safe operations for a large number of workers, led by the contractor Hazama Gumi (now Hazama Ando Corporation), whose company policy was “Safety takes priority over everything else.” As such, safety in the Aoyama Building had been considered throughout to such an extent that experts had considered it unique in the depth of its safety design. Data for FY2017 showed a reduction of approximately 20% in CO₂ emissions when compared to the best business offices in Tokyo. Since FY2000, the average value of major office buildings in Japan has been on a downward trend, not only because of social promotion of energy conservation and the renewal of facilities to a degree, but also because reductions in energy consumption have been promoted since 2010. Of note is the Aoyama Building’s unique ceiling lighting. The lighting, which is not in conventional lines but square-shaped units, achieves a uniform light environment. The illuminance of lighting in the building was determined based on medical and physiological data, reexamining the illuminance of typically overly bright office lighting in Japan. This was not only a consideration for employees and work productivity based on ergonomics, but also a major factor in energy conservation. The architectural designers were constantly told by Honda’s staff to design the building “like a Civic.” The Civic CVCC, which was a huge hit when it launched in 1973, had tires positioned at the corners and a solid footing, looked compact yet it was spacious inside, easy to drive, and offered excellent performance. It was also the first car in the world to comply with the Muskie Act (the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1970), one of the strictest emission regulations, which at the time was criticized as impossible to achieve by automobile manufacturers around the world. This pursuit of safety, comfort, and environmental performance was applied to the building’s architecture. Among the energy conservation measures, the design team focused most on a natural air-cooling system*² that utilized natural energy. This was developed through trial and error in cooperation with engineers in the fluid dynamics field at Honda R&D. *2 Cooling load treatment is required for zones in a building that are exposed to outside air and sunlight, such as near windows and walls, because of their high air conditioning load and large temperature fluctuations. This system incorporates outside air cooling into the cooling treatment to achieve high energy savings. The adoption of this air-cooling technology had a great impact on the engineers of the time. They were excited, saying, “Other skyscrapers use water cooling [chilled water circulating], but the Aoyama Building uses air cooling [outside air].” Although basic research on this technology had been conducted in Japan, there were no examples of its implementation yet. Regarding flexibility, the third basic philosophy, the theme was to realize a sustainable architecture that could respond to organizational and technological changes, as well as social and environmental transitions. To this end, the idea of long-term use was adopted, where the building was not made to be perfect, but to leave room for future development. Symbolic of this flexibility was the FCC (Flat Cable Conductor) under-carpet wiring system, covering the largest floor area in Japan. This technology allows power to be supplied anywhere within the building, thus allowing flexible office equipment placement. In other words, it allows flexibility in layout changes and has transformed the interior of conventional offices. This technology was later updated to the wiring system used in OA floors that had become popular. The One Big Office concept is also applied to the boardroom, which is a large, flat room with no individual offices. This symbolizes the spirit of Waigaya*³ that Honda values, where all executives, including the president, can gather for lively discussions at any time. *³ Waigaya refers to Honda’s unique culture of open-hearted discussions about dreams and the ideal state of work, regardless of age or position. The engineers of that time look back and say that the factory was filled with the idea of everyone thinking, and making, together. Soichiro’s desire not to maintain this spirit in the Aoyama Building is reflected in the rewarding of improvement proposals, the idea contest after working hours at the factory, and not making the carpet in the head office floor more luxurious than at the factory. Takeo Fujisawa reflected on his interactions with the architectural designers when the Aoyama Building was first designed. As many as 700 Honda engineers were said to be involved in the Aoyama Building construction project. Takeo Fujisawa’s will and Soichiro Honda’s philosophy. Although the two founders had very different personalities, their last major project, to pass the baton to the next generation, was today’s Aoyama Building. To carry on the philosophy of the founders in the Aoyama Building, which changes its form with the times and with Honda’s new dreams. This is the next major task for Honda. Russia’s Destruction of Ukraine’s Environment has National and International – and Personal – Consequences by Anna Conkling THE FRONT Memories of ‘Phantom Utopias’ Are Paving the Way for Fascism Around the Globe by Tim Brinkhof History Bites Fighting Fires: A Win in Wisconsin and Cory Booker’s Stem-Winder Encourage Democracy Marchers by R.C. Baker SOUNDS OF THE CITY So Angry You Could … Sing? by Mary Lyn Maiscott SOUNDS OF THE CITY Rocking the House for Tibet House by Katherine Turman BOOKS Long Before ‘The Godfather,’ Mario Puzo Put the Unspeakable Into Print by M.J. Moore FILM Review: A ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ Update Swoons Amid Riviera Vacation Porn by Michael Atkinson Theater In ‘Just in Time,’ Jonathan Groff Shines as Bobby Darin by Elizabeth Zimmer Onlyfans In 2025, this romping fluidity feels startlingly wise, but back during the year of Richard Nixon’s resignation it must’ve triggered heart attacks. (We don’t really know if Fujisawa’s movie was ever publicly shown in Japan back then, or how extensively.) Certainly, pride of place would’ve been reserved for this crazy splat of cultural prophecy in Amos Vogel’s seminal book, Film as a Subversive Art, if in fact that historic volume hadn’t already gone to press that same year. Michael Atkinson has been writing for the Village Voice since 1994. His latest book is the new edition of his BFI tract on David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. NOTE: The advertising disclaimer below does not apply to this article, nor any originating from the Village Voice editorial department, which does not accept paid links. Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting the Village Voice and our advertisers. Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors ExclusiveA Brilliant Curling Story | Five Rings FilmsLed by skip Rhona Martin five unassuming women from Scotland unite for a shot at Olympic curling glory – and end up capturing the hearts of a nation in the process Picture by Justin SetterfieldBy Evelyn WattaWe all sometimes need reminders to get by in life: a sticky note or maybe a message on your phone The 2018 Olympic bronze medallist had a message written on her hand to fire her up during the Games: it read, "I’m a good curler. I have confidence. Let’s have fun." It turned out to be a good coping method to sweep away the tension on the rink Fujisawa’s note was caught by photographers on Monday (February 14) as her team went ahead to beat China 10-2 in their round-robin match The gold medal match between Japan and Team GB is scheduled on Sunday (20 February) at 09:05 Beijing time (1:05 GMT) Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Tokyo Although summer is usually the season for fireworks in Japan, this Shonan festival breaks away from tradition with a captivating fireworks show in October. The 30-minute fireworks show is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday October 19. You can expect approximately 1,800 rockets of colourful bursts, launched against the dark silhouette of the nearby Enoshima Island. The nighttime seascape makes for the perfect backdrop for this explosive showcase. To catch the show, park yourself at the Katase Nishihama beach on the mainland. facebook twitter pinterest instagram About us TORONTO — Team Momoha Tabata came from behind to defeat Team Satsuki Fujisawa 7-5 in a matchup of Japanese clubs during Draw 4 action Wednesday morning at the AMJ Players’ Championship. Tabata scored two points in the seventh end to tie it and stole a pair in the eighth as Fujisawa crashed on a guard to earn her first win in the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season. Third Miku Nihira calls the game for the Sapporo-based squad, now 1-1 in the tournament, with Tabata throwing the last rocks. Fujisawa, from Kitami, dropped to a 0-2 record. Team Sayaka Yoshimura, also from Sapporo, improved to 1-1 with an 8-4 victory over two-time reigning world women’s champions Team Rachel Homan of Canada. Yoshimura opened with the hammer and scored a critical count of four points in the second that had Homan (1-1) chasing the rest of the game. Watch early draws from the AMJ Players' Championship on Sportsnet+Watch early draws from the final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season on Sportsnet+ this week. Daily draw play begins Tuesday morning. In men’s play, Team John Epping earned a 7-5 win over Team Mike McEwen in an all-Canadian men’s matchup. Epping climbed to a 2-0 record while McEwen is now level at 1-1. World champs Team Bruce Mouat from Scotland moved up to a 2-0 record with a 5-1 win over Team Korey Dropkin (0-2) of the United States. Mouat captured a second gold medal in three years at the World Men’s Curling Championship after defeating Switzerland 5-4 during Sunday’s final in Moose Jaw, Sask. Six teams made the trek to Toronto straight from the event, with Team Mouat making an early appearance here Monday night to face Team Homan in a charity skins game in the first Rio Mare Battle of the Sexes presented by The Curling Group. Mouat won $10,000 for Charlie Boy’s Cancer Fundraiser with Homan earning $2,000 for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. A portion of ticket sales from the sold-out game will also be donated to their charities. AMJ Players' Championship on SportsnetThe world's best curling teams clash in the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season at the AMJ Players' Championship in Toronto. Watch live coverage Thursday to Sunday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+. The AMJ Players’ Championship is the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, featuring the top 12 men’s teams and top 12 women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening. Six teams qualify for the playoffs in both divisions, with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. … If necessary, one tiebreaker draw is slated for Saturday morning. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday. Both finals are slated for Sunday. Gushue defeats Dunstone at Players’ Championship to snap GSOC losing streakEinarson aiming to finish whirlwind season strong at AMJ Players’ ChampionshipCOMMENTS When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines Should you violate our submissions guidelines we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time — Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa advanced to the playoffs in the KIOTI National following a 5-4 victory over Canada’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes during Draw 13 Friday morning Fujisawa held the hammer in the final end and connected on an open hit to secure the win and qualify for the quarterfinals with a 3-1 record was eliminated from playoff contention at 1-3 Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg is all tuned up for the playoffs after defeating Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 9-5 scoring four in the sixth end and stealing two in the seventh to take an unblemished 4-0 record into the quarterfinals KIOTI NATIONAL: DRAW SCHEDULE / RESULTS | STANDINGS | BROADCAST SCHEDULE Team John Shuster of the United States punched a playoff ticket with an 8-5 extra-end victory over Winnipeg’s Team Matt Dunstone who entered the tournament as the 16th and final seed moved on with a 3-1 record while Dunstone was eliminated at 1-3 It’s the first time Team Shuster has qualified for the playoffs in a Grand Slam of Curling event since the 2019 Tour Challenge Norway’s Team Magnus Ramsfjell ended on a high note by defeating Scotland’s Team James Craik 6-4 Round-robin play continues with Draw 14 at noon p.m Live streaming of every game is available on free preview via HomeTeam The KIOTI National is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world … The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday The 2025-26 GSOC season begins with the Masters From Tubes To Turns, Jai Glindeman's Surfing is a Treat to Behold Gerry Lopez Goes Deep With Justin Jay On The Plug Podcast Spot Guide: Rincon Queen, of the Coast NewsAll News Events Big Wave News World Surf League Environmental Industry Wave PoolsPosts List Winners of SURFER's Emerging Brands Grant Announced New Water Quality Regulations in New York Won’t Necessarily Make Water Any Cleaner Japan","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.surfer.com/news/vans-and-joel-tudor-to-debut-duct-tape-surf-festival-in-fujisawa-japan"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.surfer.com/news/vans-and-joel-tudor-to-debut-duct-tape-surf-festival-in-fujisawa-japan"},"headline":"Vans and Joel Tudor to Debut Duct Tape Surf Festival in Fujisawa LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website The celebrated longboarding surf festival will honor creativity and innovation with four days of world-class surfing Hosted in one of the most prolific surf locales of Tokyo the Vans Duct Tape festival will be spearheaded by professional surfer and contest director Joel Tudor and will showcase 32 of the best longboarding talents from around the world the Vans Duct Tape Festival will gather a unique community of surfers to engage with the local surf community in collaborative ways the classic Duct Tape longboarding invitational presents a men’s and women’s competition honoring equal prize purses across each division Renown surf names such as Ryan Burch,Harrison Roach Sierra Lerback and recent Duct Tape NY winner Kelis Kaleopa’a will be competing The Vans Duct Tape longboard series debuted in 2010 as an original longboarding competition concept created by Joel Tudor and expanded in 2017 into a classic surf festival atmosphere the internationally-celebrated Vans Duct Tape Series grounds its purpose in bringing together an international collective of people inspired by surfing and to celebrate progression and creativity in surf culture by engaging communities around the world that thrive by the sea Follow @vanssurf for updates on the 2019 Vans Duct Tape Festival in Fujisawa Vans Duct Tape Invitational at Kugenama Beach (3-day competition window) Vans® authentic collections are sold in 84 countries through a network of subsidiaries Vans® has over 2,000 retail locations globally including owned The Vans® brand promotes creative self-expression in youth culture across action sports music and street culture and delivers progressive platforms such as the Vans Park Series and Vans’ cultural hub and international music venue vans.com/surf youtube.com/vans facebook.com/vans twitter.com/vanssurf Ryūkō-ji Temple is located atop a hill overlooking Enoshima Island referring to the local legend of a dragon whose body formed the terrain In the Middle Ages, from the Kamakura period (1185–1333) to the Muromachi period (1336–1573), the site served as major execution grounds. It is particularly famous for the Tatsunokuchi Hōnan incident in which Buddhist saint Nichiren was nearly beheaded here in 1260 but spared when an orb of light came flying from Enoshima and distracted the executioner Notable executions done at Tatsunokuchi include those of To Seichu as well as the rebel samurai Hōjō Tokiyuki Historical records also mention numerous executions and "head identifications" done in Katase and Koshigoe A memorial for public executions that dates back to the 14th century this sarcophagus has been described as "the greatest masterpiece of Merovingian sculpture north of the Alps." 36 prisoners were executed using this device The caskets in this graveyard have not been opened—they have always been open A monument to an Irish secret society thought to be responsible for a string of violent attacks in Pennsylvania coal mines The site of Stockholm's last public execution Six paintings reminding you that death is integral part of everyday life Thanks for visiting ! The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. GUELPH, Ont. — Team Satsuki Fujisawa of Japan advanced to the WFG Masters women's quarterfinals after stealing the winning point in an extra end to edge Winnipeg's Team Kaitlyn Lawes 5-4 during Saturday's tiebreakers. Fujisawa will face Team Eun-jung Kim later Saturday. The South Korean club held the No. 2 pick in Friday night's playoff draft and selected the winner of the tiebreaker between Fujisawa and Lawes for the quarterfinals. Team Momoha Tabata of Japan also advanced out of the tiebreakers with a 6-4 victory over Ottawa's Team Danielle Inglis. Tabata takes on Team Anna Hasselborg as the Swedish squad selected the Tabata/Inglis winner with the No. 1 pick in the draft. The other women's quarterfinal matchups see Sweden's Team Isabella Wranå play Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., and Ottawa's Team Rachel Homan facing Team Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland. Homan chose Tirinzoni with the third pick in the draft and Wranå was left with Einarson. WFG Masters on SportsnetThe Grand Slam of Curling season continues with the WFG Masters. Watch live coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ from Thursday, Jan. 16, through to the finals on Sunday, Jan. 19. Meanwhile, Switzerland's Team Yanick Schwaller and Team Korey Dropkin of the United States won their tiebreakers to reach the men's quarterfinals. Schwaller downed Italy's Team Joël Retornaz 8-1 and Dropkin defeated Team John Epping of Sudbury, Ont., 8-5. Calgary's Team Brad Jacobs selected Team Marc Muskatewitz of Germany with the first pick in the draft. Winnipeg's Team Matt Dunstone held the second pick and will play Dropkin. Scotland's Team Ross Whyte picked third and chose Sweden's Team Niklas Edin with Scotland's Team Bruce Mouat meeting Schwaller. The men's quarterfinals begin playoff action at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT followed by the women's quarterfinals at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT. The men's and women's semifinals are on tap at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Jacobs, Dunstone and Whyte select opponents for WFG Masters quarterfinalsKim, Hasselborg take perfect records into WFG Masters playoffsCOMMENTS When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time. NISKU, Alta. — Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa held on for a 4-3 victory over Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller to start in the win column Tuesday at the Co-op Canadian Open. After giving up a steal to open the scoring in the second, Fujisawa recovered with a deuce in the third and stole back-to-back single points in the fifth and sixth ends. Schwaller settled for a single in the seventh, but that handed the hammer back to Fujisawa for the final frame. Fujisawa cut the damage down to a single steal in the eighth to secure the win. Elsewhere in Draw 2, Team Stefania Constantini of Italy earned a 7-3 victory against Winnipeg’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes. Third Selena Njegovan is skipping the Canadian club with Lawes away on maternity leave. Team Seung-youn Ha downed Team Eun-ji Gim 10-3 in a wild one between South Korean clubs. Ha scored four in the first and Gim charged with a count of three in the second. That was all the offence Gim could generate though. Ha came right back scoring three in the third to re-establish a four-point advantage and then rolled away with single steals in three consecutive ends. Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni took two points in the eighth end to edge Japan’s Team Ikue Kitazawa 6-4. Round-robin play continues at the Silent Ice Center with Draw 3 at 5 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. MT. Coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at 2 p.m. ET / noon MT. The Co-op Canadian Open is the second Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday. Gushue downs Carruthers to begin Co-op Canadian OpenBrendan Bottcher on early days of new-look Team GushueCOMMENTS From the air it looks like any other modern housing estate with circles and rows of white houses grouped neatly around a central plaza A closer look reveals that every house has solar panels on its roof the abundance of trees and the absence of utility poles Welcome to Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town This futuristic complex is the result of a major Panasonic initiative aimed at creating entire communities that are eco-friendly This builds on the company's decades of experience developing and manufacturing home appliances its innovations in overall home automation located around 50kms south of Tokyo near the town of the same name is the first of three such communities to get off the ground in Japan Reflecting Panasonic's focus on sustainability and the re-use of resources it was built on the site of a disused former manufacturing facility Construction commenced in 2012 and the first residents moved in during 2014 The Fujisawa SST has five main concepts that set it apart from regular new housing developments The first of these is its prioritization of the efficient use of energy The community aims as far as possible to produce its own energy; extensive use is made of solar power and other natural energy sources It actively engages and motivates its residents to waste as little of it as possible; all of them have access to apps that display their consumption levels and provide tips on how to reduce these A special electrical storage facility is capable of supplying the entire community with three days of emergency power when required A second focus is on the safety and security of residents this means gated communities with physical barriers to entry Panasonic has created in Fujisawa what it calls a "Virtual Gated Town"; the environment remains open and accessible to outside visitors but there is only a small number of entrances and these are monitored by security cameras Individual properties are equipped with a security system allowing remote monitoring of the inside and outside of homes Mobility is a further service offered to residents of the Fujisawa SST community Electric vehicles and bicycles are available for rent 24 x 7; users simply touch a special card on any available vehicle for authorization and to track their period of usage is to promote mobility and allow those without their own vehicle to be more active while reducing the community's CO2 emissions to a minimum Part of the Wellness Square community facility While much use is made of technology to enhance the quality of life and convenience of its residents the Fujisawa SST additionally focuses on their "wellness." This includes the promotion of interaction between members of the community the encouragement of inter-generational living A centrally-located community center called "Wellness Square" provides residents with healthcare a daycare facility and educational offerings Individual homes are equipped with a variety of discrete health monitoring devices The final area of focus is community creation Panasonic believes an additional key feature of the Sustainable Smart Towns is the nurturing of the kinds of connections between people that sustained communities in the past The layout of streets and facilities is designed to encourage interaction among residents and a smart "community platform" accessible by smartphones tablets or TVs provides one-stop access to information on all community facilities It also provides a "bulletin board" allowing residents to express opinions or make suggestions for improvements in the community - and provides connectivity and support in the case of a natural disaster The development of Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town is a major undertaking and Panasonic has enlisted the support of the local government business partners and local residents in its creation The business partners include utility companies and leading firms in the fields of real estate development all of whom subscribe to Panasonic's vision of creating a multi-generational "100-Year Community" is for the developers and organizers to stay close to the emerging community and to provide its residents with new value Panasonic is working on the creation of two additional Sustainable Smart Towns in Japan It plans to apply the lessons it learns along the way to support regional and urban development initiatives elsewhere in the country The company is also looking at the possibility of creating similar communities overseas ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson cruised past Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa and into the semifinals of the KIOTI National. Einarson scored five points in the second and capped things off with a steal of four in the seventh during a decisive 12-3 rout in Saturday’s quarterfinals at the Mary Brown’s Centre. Brittany Tran is filling in this week for Team Einarson second Shannon Birchard, who is recovering from a knee injury. Einarson will take on top-seeded Team Anna Hasselborg. The Swedish squad stayed undefeated with a 7-6 extra-end victory over Team Christina Black of Halifax. Black, who earned an invitation to the event as the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2 winner, qualified for the playoffs earlier Saturday with a 9-5 win over South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim in a morning tiebreaker. Despite the fatigue, Black took Hasselborg to the distance and scored three tying points in the eighth end to force the extra. Kioti National on SportsnetThe Grand Slam of Curling season continues with the Kioti National. Watch live coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ from Thursday through to Sunday's finals. The other semifinal sees South Korea’s Team Eun-jung Kim facing Canada’s Team Rachel Homan. Kim clipped Team Seung-youn Ha 6-3 in a clash between South Korean clubs while Homan escaped with a steal in an extra end to edge Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura 7-6. Ha upended Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni 9-2 in the tiebreakers. Playoff coverage continues with the men’s quarterfinals at 4 p.m. NT / 2:30 p.m. ET (Sportsnet / Sportsnet+). Canada’s Team Mike McEwen meets Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz, Team Brad Gushue and Team Brad Jacobs clash in an all-Canadian matchup, Scotland’s Team Ross Whyte plays Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz and Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat goes up against Team John Shuster of the United States. The men’s and women’s semifinals are scheduled for 8 p.m. NT / 6:30 p.m. ET (Sportsnet 360 / Sportsnet+). Both finals are on tap Sunday. Tran enjoying opportunity playing with Einarson at Kioti NationalBottcher embracing full Team Gushue experience at Kioti National in St. John’sCOMMENTS Prep/Personal: A three-year letter winner for Davis High School...Was named Eastern Athletic League Defensive Player of the Year and an EAL All-League and All-Tournament selection as a senior...Helped Davis HS to a 2012 EAL League Championship Post-Season Tournament appearance...Part of the Davis HS squad that set program records for goals in a season (133)...Made three defensive saves as a junior and added six defensive saves three goals and six assists as a senior...Daughter of Glenn and Rita Fujisawa CHARLOTTETOWN — Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa kicked off the HearingLife Tour Challenge with an 8-5 victory over Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg on Tuesday morning at the Bell Aliant Centre The HearingLife Tour Challenge is the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season and features triple knockout brackets where teams must win three games before they lose three to qualify for the playoffs Fujisawa opened with the hammer and converted to score a deuce Hasselborg was forced to draw to the button for a single in the second A couple of missed opportunities from both skips led to singles back and forth in three and four as Fujisawa held a 3-2 lead into the break Hasselborg tied it up in the fifth with a steal as Fujisawa was light and tight on her draw and clipped another rock Fujisawa bounced back to score two in the sixth but she wrecked on her own guard in the seventh and gave Hasselborg a free draw for two in the seventh to tie it up again 5-5 Fujisawa didn’t need to throw her last in the eighth though and potted a pair of points as Hasselborg was unable to get shot rock to set up a potential steal Team Hasselborg alternate Johanna Heldin is subbing for second Agnes Knochenhauer who is away attending her sister’s wedding HEARINGLIFE TOUR CHALLENGE: ONLINE STREAMING | TIER 1 RESULTS AND BRACKETS | TIER 2 RESULTS AND BRACKETS Team Bruce Mouat defeated Team Cameron Bryce 6-2 in an all-Scottish matchup Mouat has won six Grand Slam titles including all four majors with just the HearingLife Tour Challenge left to cross off from the list Defending men’s champions and top seed Team Joël Retornaz of Italy doubled up on Team Korey Dropkin of the United States 6-3 Team Dropkin is playing short-handed as second Mark Fenner is out due to a hip injury Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin beat Canada’s Team Reid Carruthers 7-5 Three more triple knockout draws are on tap Tuesday with Draw 2 at 11:30 a.m please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer Kanagawa — About 1,000 lanterns have been set up around Enoshima Island for the 17th annual Enoshima Lanterns illumination event in Fujisawa Spatial design studio Velveta Design has taken the event to another level since it began staging Enoshima Lanterns four years ago The company has set up installations in some locations in Enoshima Shrine The company has been involved in illumination events nationwide including in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo and Zenkoji temple in Nagano City The light and sound systems set up for Enoshima Lanterns 2024 are meant to “create a picture scroll with lights.” Enoshima Shrine has roots going back to 552 and has long been dedicated to the worship of three sister deities The illuminations at the red torii gate and Zuishinmon gatehouse tell the story of the island’s origin The intricate light installations that illuminate the huge structures and trees will leave visitors spellbound a shrine dedicated to one of the three deities and located at the top of the stone steps is the site of a stunning light show with the theme of “fulfillment in love.” Light projections of morning glories can be seen at the shrine the flowers with their tangled vines are meant to express a wish for you to meet your significant other Lanterns have been set up at various locations around the island including the Iwaya caves and along pathways The fantastic sights that emerge from the darkness are captivating The light installation has become more elaborate over the years Shonan Fujisawa Revitalization Consortium is the organizer of Enoshima Lanterns which is an event that allows visitors to experience the island during the cool evening “I loved looking at the lights while walking around and I took some pictures while taking in the cool air,” said a woman in her 40s from Chigasaki The event is scheduled to continue through Aug The event will be canceled if the weather is bad but an admission fee is required to access the caves and some other parts of the island Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun 2023) – Flanked on stage by three iconic products that helped to establish Honda as one of the most innovative companies in America – the Honda 50 motorcycle (Super Cub) the Honda Civic CVCC and the HondaJet – Honda co-founder Takeo Fujisawa was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony last night at The Fillmore Detroit Chairman Seiji Kuraishi accepted the honor on behalf of Fujisawa’s family “The spirit and vision of Takeo Fujisawa continues to guide Honda,” said Kuraishi “Our business in America may have started with the Super Cub motorcycle but due to his vision it continues with new types of mobility Fujisawa joins Honda founder Soichiro Honda who was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1989 the first Japanese automotive executive so honored Fujisawa originally aspired to become a teacher but instead worked as a salesman for a steel products company and then for a lumber company when he met Soichiro Honda in August 1949 about one year after the founding of Honda Motor Co. It was right after the launch of the Dream D-Type considered to be Honda’s first full-fledged motorcycle product While the two men were equipped with different personalities and skill sets Honda and Fujisawa hit it off almost immediately and began deep discussions about their approach to business and dreams for the future Quickly developing a trusting relationship they established a shared vision for the future of the company with Fujisawa joining Honda Motor in October 1949 Honda retained responsibility for product design and technology development and manufacturing operations inventing many innovative vehicles including Super Cub Fujisawa backed him up as his right hand with responsibility for the business side of the company and keen ability to chart unique paths to growth proved the perfect match to Soichiro Honda’s engineering acumen and vision for mobility Fujisawa had an enormous impact on Honda’s business globally and in the U.S. where he played the key role in the approach to the American market Fujisawa made several lasting and impactful business decisions that are still relevant today: and by then the senior managing director of Honda Fujisawa made the challenging decision to establish American Honda as Honda’s first subsidiary outside Japan motorcycle industry sold no more than 60,000 units annually — mostly larger bikes One member of the team recommended expansion in Asia the “land of the automobile,” was too difficult a target for Honda To take up the challenge of the American market may be the most difficult thing to do but it’s a critical step in expanding the export of our products.” Without Fujisawa’s leadership Honda would not be the success story in the United States that it is today Fujisawa adopted many innovative sales and marketing strategies in Japan and the U.S This included the decision to start motorcycle sales by establishing Honda’s own dealer network Despite suggestions that Honda should follow the approach of other Japanese companies and rely on a trading company to launch U.S Honda forged relationships with many smaller dealers even those with no history in the motorcycle industry and successfully expanded business from the West Coast across America Honda was the best-selling motorcycle brand in America Fujisawa conceived the idea with two objectives: to give Honda engineers the freedom to create new value without being constrained by the ups and downs of daily business and to protect Honda’s ability to sustain this innovation in the future when they could no longer rely on the genius of Soichiro Honda The new R&D company ushered in an era of incredible technological and product innovation and entering new business areas including the automobile and aviation industries Honda R&D’s focus on research and creating new value in mobility continues to this day Fujisawa helped foster is alive and well today and will continue as a driving force for Honda in business The commitment to act as a good corporate citizen is as important now as it has always been as Honda continue to pursue The Power of Dreams and use technology to help move people and society forward Honda started operations in the United States with American Honda Motor Co. Honda employs over 30,000 associates in America engaged in the development sales and service support of Honda and Acura automobiles Honda powersports products and the HondaJet advanced light jet Based on its longstanding commitment to build products close to the customer suppliers to produce a diverse range of Honda products Honda has built automobiles in America for over 40 years more than two-thirds of all U.S.-sold Honda and Acura automobiles were produced in America Honda also conducts research and development activities at 21 facilities in America where we fully design develop and engineer many of the products the company manufactures in America Learn more with Honda’s Digital FactBook Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information Kanagawa Prefecture--Barman Yasutoshi Watanabe wasn’t entirely idle during the COVID-19 pandemic: He spent a lot of time perfecting the perfect pickle The fruits of his labor were recognized at “Tsukemono Guranpuri 2024” (Pickle Grand Prix 2024) held in April by the Tokyo-based All Japan Tsukemono Federation of Cooperatives The winning pickle was Watanabe’s “Shonan daikon no Kugenuma gyosho-zuke” (Shonan daikon radish pickled in Kugenuma fish sauce) It won the grand prize in the individual category It is made by sun-drying the skin of local daikon radish pickling its leaves in salt to remove the bitterness The finishing flourish is marinating it in fish sauce made from locally caught sardines The soothing umami and the textures of crunchy skin and crisp leaves were judged to be particularly pleasing to the palate Watanabe works at a bar called Yassai Mossai near Shonandai Station in Fujisawa the 36-year-old staff member began picking apart the pickle menu Since the bar had to close in line with a shutdown request by prefectural authorities during the pandemic Watanabe decided to use the time to improve his skills The bar was known for its menu featuring an array of local vegetables due to the policy of its owner Keiki Morita Yet the dishes offered were mainly garlic based or with a spicy sauce as in typical bar fare had always loved the pickles his grandmother used to serve as snacks at home They included pickled “takuan” daikon radish eggplant and Chinese cabbage as well as the local specialty “ika ninjin” (carrot pickled with dried squid) Recalling the salty-sweet flavor of those pickles and their pleasing aroma of fermentation Watanabe thought they would definitely go well with the drinks served at the bar This led him to create original pickles and enter a contest to try his skill His pickles won prizes two years in a row and his third try earned him the coveted best in Japan title Watanabe’s pickle earned high marks for using up the skin and leaves left over from the bar’s popular dish of “deep-fried daikon” and blending “the blessings of the sea and the land.” Watanabe hopes through his pickles to spread the appeal of farm and marine produce from Fujisawa to consumers around Japan “I meet so many committed producers,” he said I will put my heart into drawing out the best of the ingredients through cooking people have been calling l nonstop to place orders But Watanabe is severely limited in the amount he can produce so the pickle is served only at the bar for 520 yen “The bar may be a bit out of the way for some people but I hope all my customers will enjoy it while having a good time chatting with us,” he says Hugely popular at the bar are not only alcohol drinks but also craft cola and ginger ale which Watanabe makes using vegetable stock and spices GOHAN LAB/ Finely sliced and pickled small turnip: Thickness of the turnip slices determines the exquisite texture GOHAN LAB/ Daikon radish simmered with sliced pork: Browning in pan will enhance its sweetness and aroma GOHAN LAB/ Sake lees soup with daikon radish and beef: Kansai seasonal delicacy just the thing to warm you up in winter GOHAN LAB/ Hot pot with salted Japanese amberjack and daikon radish: Wait a little before enjoying the multilayered delicious flavors GOHAN LAB/ ‘Oden’ hotpot with miso sauce: Different take on Tokai region favorite boasts rich GOHAN LAB/ Sauteed chicken with balsamic sauce: Simmer down sour sauce to give it a deep Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission — The dream has become a reality for Chinami Yoshida After Team Satsuki Fujisawa became the first Japanese club to win a Grand Slam of Curling title at the 2023 Canadian Open the vice skip’s wish was to see other Japanese teams playing in the series that goal has come to fruition with Japanese teams skipped by Sayaka Yoshimura Ikue Kitazawa and Miku Nihira also competing in the Co-op Canadian Open women’s division this week at the Silent Ice Center While Yoshimura has played in the series before and finished runner-up in the 2019 Masters Kitazawa and Nihira are making their top-tier debuts “We’re so excited to play in this Grand Slam because there are four Japanese women’s teams,” Yoshida said “My dreams come true praying that many Japanese teams are playing in Grand Slams.” Their paths crossed as Team Fujisawa faced Team Kitazawa during Draw 11 action Thursday Fujisawa fended off Kitazawa 10-6 to stay undefeated at 3-0 and qualify for the playoffs Kitazawa (0-3) is at the opposite end of the table and has been eliminated from contention “This competition is also very important for us to qualify for our Japanese curling championship,” Yoshida said While it might seem funny that they flew all the way over here just to face each other playing in the Grand Slams on arena ice will also help toward their national championship “That’s very good because the Japanese curling championship will be held on arena ice for the first time for Japanese curling in its history,” Yoshida said “So the Grand Slam is a good practice place to play on arena ice and not curling club ice so again that’s why I’m so happy to win this game on arena ice.” Yoshida has noticed interest in the Grand Slam of Curling is increasing back home “Lots of Japanese fans watch our games so I’m so like high tension to play in the Grand Slams,” she said with a smile Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni took two in the eighth end to edge Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini 6-4 South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim defeated Canada’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes 8-4 Third Selena Njegovan has moved up to skip the Winnipeg club with Kaitlyn Lawes on maternity leave Lawes gave birth to her second daughter Ella this past Friday Team Lawes stole four in the second end after Gim’s last shot rolled deep That was all the offence for Team Lawes though Gim recovered with a count of three in the third and then turned the tables stealing a pair of points in four followed by three consecutive singles in ends five South Korea’s Team Seung-youn Ha beat Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 7-4 Online streaming for every game is available in free preview at thegrandslamofcurling.com. Modeling of Viral Replication and Pathogenesis Volume 3 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fviro.2023.1192184 Animal models are essential for basic and clinical research on virus diseases Humanized mice (mice reconstituted with human hematopoietic cells) have been effectively used for various virus studies as small animal models Studies on human-tropic HIV-1 have also been performed using different humanized mouse models Various humanized mice have been generated using distinct mouse strains and engraftment methods These different techniques affect the reconstitution of human hematopoietic cells in individual mice we describe the details of the generation method of humanized mice severely immunodeficient mice (NSG mice) transplanted with human CD133-positive cells via intra-bone marrow injection (IBMI) It has been shown that the CD133-positive cells are highly capable to generate CD34-positive cells in vivo and IBMI is an excellent methodology for lymphoid and myeloid cell repopulation In humanized mice transplanted with CD133-positive cells into the bone marrow human lymphocytes were increased 3 months after the transplantation and a steady increase in CD4-positive cells was observed until 6–8 months after the transplantation In order to test the utility of our system CXCR4-tropic and CCR5-tropic HIV-1 clones were intraperitoneally inoculated into the resultant humanized mice 6–8 months after the transplantation Upon inoculation at the same dose of viruses the plasma viral load in CCR5-tropic HIV-1-inoculated mice peaked earlier than that in CXCR4-tropic HIV-1-inoculated mice (2–3 weeks vs 5–10 weeks post-inoculation) While a rapid decrease in CD4-positive cells was observed at the peak or prior to the peak of viremia for CXCR4-tropic HIV-1-inoculated mice CD4-positive cells were gradually decreased in CCR5-tropic HIV-1-inoculated mice a Nef-deleted R5-tropic HIV-1 exhibited retarded growth kinetics in the inoculated mice compared to the parental virus (around 8 weeks vs 2–3 weeks post-inoculation) which appears to reflect the decrease in replication potential in primary cells in addition to the humanized mice reported so far our humanized mice generated by transplanting CD133-positive cells with the IBMI method would be an appropriate prototype model for understanding HIV-1 biology in vivo Animal models are essential to understand the nature of viral infectious diseases including viral replication and pathogenesis in individuals (1–7) Accumulating the knowledge/data gained from these model studies has led to progress in basic research on the biology of viruses and clinical research including the development of vaccines and antivirals 1) Severely immunodeficient mouse strains: non-obese diabetic (NOD) 2) CD34+ or CD133+ HSCs: derived from umbilical cord blood (UCB) or fetal liver 3) HSCs transplantation methods: transplantation into the livers of newborns or intravenous injection into adult mice we show that huNSG/IBMI-CD133 is an appropriate model for HIV-1 infection equally useful as previously reported non-BLT humanized mouse models stable CCR5 (R5) -tropic HIV-1 replication and CD4+ cell number can be maintained over a period of about 1 year from transplantation a rapid CD4+ cell depletion was observed in individuals R5-tropic Nef-negative HIV-1 exhibited a lower replication potential than that of parental R5-tropic HIV-1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and similar retarded growth kinetics for Nef-negative HIV-1 was observed in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 Our huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 would be one of the prototypes of non-BLT humanized mice such as the introduction of human cytokine and/or human leukocyte antigen is required to develop a more suitable model that mimics HIV-1-infected human individuals The outline to generate huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 is shown in Figure 2. All animal experiments were performed in accordance with the guidelines established by the animal research committee of Tokushima University. All huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 used in this study are listed in Table 1 Figure 2 Schedule for the HIV-1 infection experiments using huNSGs/IBMI-CD133. NSG mice were irradiated with X-ray one day before the HSC-transplantation. CD133+ cells prepared from UCB were transplanted into NSG mice using the IBMI method (21, 22, 35). The detailed procedures of the IBMI method are shown in Figure 3 and the Supplemental Movie The resultant mice were designated huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 At 6 to 8 months after the transplantation virus samples were infected into huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 To monitor the reconstitution of human hematopoietic cells and the HIV-1 growth kinetics peripheral blood samples were periodically collected Table 1 HuNSGs/IBMI-CD133 used for HIV-1 infection in this study Around 100–150 mL of UCB with CPDA (citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine) was diluted with PBS (-) containing 2 mM EDTA up to 200 mL After incubation for 15 min at room temperature the diluted UCB samples were centrifuged at 500 × g for 15 min at 20°C (slow acceleration and deceleration) Buffy coat samples were collected in one tube PBS (-) containing 2 mM EDTA was added to make a total volume of 30 mL and the samples were layered on 20 mL of Ficoll-Paque PLUS (GE Healthcare After centrifugation at 500 × g for 40 min at 20°C (slow acceleration and deceleration) a layer containing mononuclear cells was collected PBS (-) containing 2 mM EDTA was added to make a total volume of 50 mL and centrifuged at 400 × g for 10 min at 20°C (slow acceleration and deceleration) The mononuclear cells were washed twice by the addition of 30 mL of PBS (-) containing 2 mM EDTA and centrifugation at 200 × g for 10 min at 20°C The cells (around 15–30 × 107) were resuspended in 500 μL of CELLBANKER 1 (ZENOGEN PHARMA the cells could be stored for at least 6 months to 1 year Subsequent preparation of CD133+ cells was performed on the day of transplantation into mice The stored mononuclear cells were immediately thawed in a water bath at 37°C and transferred to a conical tube Around 10 mL of the thawing medium [RPMI-1640 containing 20% heat-inactivated (hi) FBS 100 U/mL Heparin Sodium MOCHIDA (MOCHIDA PHARMACEUTICAL Japan) and 100 U/mL DNase I (FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Japan)] was slowly added to the mononuclear cells After centrifugation at 500 × g for 5 min at 4°C RPMI-1640 containing 2% hi FBS was added to the mononuclear cells and then centrifuged at 500 × g for 5 min at 4°C to wash the cells The mononuclear cells were resuspended in 350 μL of PBS (-) and CD133+ cells were isolated from the mononuclear cells using a CD133 MicroBead Kit (Miltenyi Biotec Germany) in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction The mice were administered an anesthetic antagonist (antisedan Since the teeth of mice transplanted with huCD133+ cells often grow longer preventing proper feeding caution should be taken to observe their teeth and cut them if necessary B) Shaving of the leg hairs of anesthetized mice (C) Disinfection of the shaved leg with 70% ethanol E) Puncture of the bone marrow with a needle followed by the transplantation of CD133+ cells with a MS-50 micro syringe (Ito Corporation (F) Treatment of the legs with iodine solution See the Supplemental movie for further details As indicated in Figure 2, peripheral blood samples of huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 were periodically collected from the tail vein into EDTA-treated hematocrit glass capillary tubes (Marienfeld Superior, Lauda-Königshofen, Germany). When necessary, samples were treated with β-propiolactone and ultraviolet irradiation to inactivate viruses, as previously described (41) 10 μL of whole blood samples were mixed with 1 uL each of 1M Tris-HCl (pH 7.50) and 10% β-Propiolactone and then exposed to UV light (spectral power 254nm and PE/Cy7 anti-human CD19 [HIB19] (Biolegend Whole blood samples (10 μL) were mixed with 50 μL of PBS containing 3% hi FBS and appropriate antibodies (0.5 μL each) and incubated at room temperature for 30 min To determine absolute cell numbers in the blood samples AccuCount Ultra Rainbow Fluorescent Particles (ACRFP-100-3 USA) were used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction erythrocytes in the samples were lysed by treating with RBC lysis buffer (144 mM NH4Cl and 17 mM Tris [pH 7.65]) for at least 5 min at room temperature The stained cells were analyzed using BD FACSVerse and FACSuite software (Becton Dickinson A human monolayer cell line 293T (46) and a luciferase reporter cell line TZM-bl (47, 48) were maintained in Eagles’s minimal essential medium (EMEM) containing 10% hi FBS A human lymphocyte cell line MT4/CCR5 (MT4 cells stably expressing CCR5) was maintained in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% hi FBS and 200 μg/mL hygromycin (Merck Human PBMCs were purchased from Cellular Technology Ltd Cryopreserved PBMCs were thawed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction and used for virus replication assays Infected PBMCs were cultured in the presence of IL-2 throughout the experiment Viral growth was monitored by RT activity in the culture supernatants stable T cell numbers and B-cell-to-T-cell ratio were maintained in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 for a long time (6–8 months after the transplantation) Figure 4 Analysis on the development of human hematopoietic cells in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133. The percentage of human hematopoietic cells in peripheral blood samples was assessed by flow cytometry analysis on months 3 (n=14–15), 4 (n=13–15), 5 (n=13–15), and 6–8 (n=11–14) post-transplantation. Mouse groups transplanted with CD133+ cells derived from different UCB are shown in Table 1 (A) Sequential gating to identify various cell populations (B) The percentage of human leukocytes (huCD45) in the SSC-A/FSC-A subset T cells (CD3)/B cells (CD19) in the huCD45-positive cell population and (C) CD4+ and CD8+ cells within the human CD3-positive cell populations are presented with the averages and standard errors Significance relative to the 3-month samples was determined by Welch’s t test it is reasonably assumed that this decrease was not due to a spontaneous decrease in CD4+ cells in infected huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 These results show that HIV-1 replicates and persists well for a long time in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 Figure 5 Analyses of viral replication and CD4+ cell counts in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 infected with X4-tropic NL4-3. HuNSGs/IBMI-CD133, 6–8 months after the transplantation, were anesthetized and intraperitoneally inoculated with NL4-3 (see Table 1 for summary) Peripheral blood samples were collected periodically as indicated in the graphs Virus replication in plasma samples was assessed by real-time RT-PCR analysis and absolute CD4+ cell numbers in the blood samples were determined by flow cytometry analysis (A) The actual number of HIV-1 RNA copies and the absolute number of CD4+ cells in each individual (B) Comparison of the logarithm of the RNA copy number and the absolute number of CD4+ cells among virus-inoculated mice Figure 6 Analyses of viral replication and CD4+ cell counts in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 infected with R5-tropic NL-A4Y1. HuNSGs/IBMI-CD133, 6–8 months after the transplantation, were anesthetized and intraperitoneally inoculated with NL-A4Y1 (see Table 1 for summary) Virus replication in the plasma samples was assessed by real-time RT-PCR analysis and absolute CD4+ cell numbers in the blood samples were determined by flow cytometry analysis (C) Comparison of the logarithm of the RNA copy number and the absolute number of CD4+ cells between X4-tropic NL4-3- and R5-tropic NL-A4Y1-inoculated mice HuNSGs/IBMI-CD133 also may be useful for investigating the activity/function of the four accessory proteins of HIV-1 in vivo Figure 7 Growth kinetics of R5-tropic NL-A4Y1 and its Nef-negative mutant (NL-A4Y1ΔNef) clones Viruses were prepared from 293T cells transfected with the indicated clones MT4/R5 cells (105) and stimulated PBMCs (106) with IL-2/PHA-L were spin-infected with equal amounts of viruses (2.0 x 105 and 2.5 x 104 RT units Virus replication was monitored by RT production in the culture supernatants Different preparations of PBMCs were used for the experiments representative data from two independent experiments are shown Figure 8 Analyses of viral replication and CD4+ cell counts in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 infected with R5-tropic NL-A4Y1ΔNef. HuNSGs/IBMI-CD133, 6–8 months after the transplantation, were anesthetized and intraperitoneally inoculated with NL-A4Y1ΔNef (see Table 1 for summary) (C) Comparison of the logarithm of the RNA copy number and the absolute number of CD4+ cells between R5-tropic NL-A4Y1- and its mutant NL-A4Y1ΔNef-inoculated mice we did not observe the induction of HIV-1-specific IgG antibodies in huNSGs/IBMI-CD133 (data not shown) This may be due to differences in the immune response (the lack of CD4 helper function and B cell maturation) the timing of infection after transplantation (4–5 months vs 6–8 months) and/or individuals used for the experiments it also requires the improvement of HIV-1-specific immune response through these modifications (our unpublished data) The generation of non-BLT humanized mice that induce sufficient immune responses and mimic HIV-1-infected humans allows us to study cell-cell interactions in lymphoid tissues and virus-host interactions Such studies would surely contribute to a deeper understanding of HIV-1 replication in vivo and of its pathogenesis The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors The animal study was reviewed and approved by The animal research committee of Tokushima University TO and S-IL guided the generation of humanized mice and MN) analyzed and discussed the results All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version This work was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 21K07042 to MN and by a grant from the Takeda Science Foundation to TaK We thank Yayoi Shono (Tokushima University) for experimental assistance We also thank Kazuko Yoshida (Tokushima University) and Fumie Nishina (Kansai Medical University) for editorial and administrative assistance The TZM-bl cells were obtained through the NIH AIDS Reagent Program We appreciate the Support Center for Advanced Medical Sciences Tokushima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences for experimental facilities and technical assistance The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be constructed as a potential conflict of interest and MN declared that they were editorial board members of Frontiers This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fviro.2023.1192184/full#supplementary-material Rodent-adapted filoviruses and the molecular basis of pathogenesis PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Jun-Ichi Fujisawa, ZnVqaXNhd2FAaGlyYWthdGEua211LmFjLmpw; Akio Adachi, YWRhY2hpQHRva3VzaGltYS11LmFjLmpw; Masako Nomaguchi, bm9tYWd1Y2hpQHRva3VzaGltYS11LmFjLmpw Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish will be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame at its awards ceremony at The Fillmore Detroit on July 20. Fujisawa will join Honda founder Soichiro Honda who was inducted in 1989 as the first Japanese automotive executive honored by the Automotive Hall of Fame considered to be Honda’s first full-fledged motorcycle product. While the two men were equipped with different personalities and skill sets Honda and Fujisawa hit it off almost immediately and began deep discussions about their approach to business and dreams for the future. they established a shared vision for the future of the company with Fujisawa joining Honda Motor in October 1949. As a president of the company and keen ability to chart unique paths to growth proved the perfect match to Soichiro Honda's engineering acumen and vision for mobility Fujisawa had an enormous impact on Honda's business globally and in the U.S. where he played the key role in the approach to the American market. Fujisawa made several lasting and impactful business decisions that are still relevant today: Starting Honda Business in the U.S.In 1959 Fujisawa made the challenging decision to establish American Honda as Honda's first subsidiary outside Japan. At the time motorcycle industry sold no more than 60,000 units annually — mostly larger bikes. One member of the team recommended expansion in Asia were already in use. He suggested that America the "land of the automobile," was too difficult a target for Honda Fujisawa had another idea. "On second thought but it's a critical step in expanding the export of our products." Without Fujisawa's leadership Dealer NetworkFujisawa adopted many innovative sales and marketing strategies in Japan and the U.S This included the decision to start motorcycle sales by establishing Honda's own dealer network and successfully expanded business from the West Coast across America. By the mid-1960s Establishing Separate R&D CompanyIn 1960 was created as a separate company. Fujisawa conceived the idea with two objectives: to give Honda engineers the freedom to create new value without being constrained by the ups and downs of daily business and to protect Honda's ability to sustain this innovation in the future when they could no longer rely on the genius of Soichiro Honda The new R&D company ushered in an era of incredible technological and product innovation and entering new business areas including the automobile and aviation industries Honda R&D's focus on research and creating new value in mobility continues to this day. More information about Takeo Fujisawa will be provided at the time of his formal induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame in July 2023 National Report Japan Coast Guard officials and surfers are working together to crack down on clam poachers along the Shonan coast here The priority is protecting the “Shonan Hamaguri,” a branded specialty product in the popular summer vacation spot a surfer on the shore at Tsujido Beach in Fujisawa strolled through a crowd with two clams in his hands A plainclothes officer with the Shonan Coast Guard Station questioned the surfer as he was about to put the clams in a bag He admitted to having gathered the clams himself and he said he thought it would be OK if nobody knew what he was doing Clamming in this area constitutes poaching.The Shonan Coast Guard Station plans to refer the surfer to prosecutors by the end of August on suspicion of violating the Fishery Law Poachers face a maximum fine of 1 million yen ($6,900) head of the steering committee of the Fujisawa branch of the Shonan Fishery Cooperative Association (JF Shonan) complained about the rampant clam poaching “We have been working so hard to raise them.” quality sand beneath the shallows leading to Enoshima island The molluscs are characterized by their meatiness rich savor and the thick stock they produce but the JF Shonan Fujisawa branch began releasing clam fry in 2001 to restore the resources The efforts led the Shonan Hamaguri to be recognized as a Kanagawa Brand product by the prefectural government in 2017 The officials again released 110,000 clam fry They said the fry take four to five years to grow to about 7 cm The clam’s market price is about 350 yen each notices and flags along the shore of Tsujido Beach said: “Clamming is a crime “All surfers nowadays know that you would be fined for clamming,” said a surfer in her 40s many surfers would dig sand with their legs beneath the water and put clam into their wetsuits.” Hayama said some volunteer surfers have been on the watch in recent years for poachers that clam poaching has been rising again since coronavirus-related restrictions on people’s movements were lifted They took action last year against 14 men and women on suspicion of violating the Fishery Law or other regulations by gathering clams and other marine products when they move so much they sometimes hit human legs in the shallows “We hope to work more closely with the coast guard and other parties to defend our clam,” Hayama said Domestically produced clams have become quite rare in recent years Environment Ministry officials said clams previously inhabited broad areas from Aomori Prefecture in the northeast to Kyushu in the southwest but their habitats worsened amid tidal mud flat reclamations and other developments starting in the 1980s Fisheries ministry statistics show the annual clam catch dropped from 30,000 tons in 1963 to only 867 tons in 2006 clams were downgraded to a category called “other shellfishes,” for which no species-specific statistics are available The Environment Ministry designated the clam a “vulnerable” species meaning it faces a high risk of extinction are trying to preserve domestically produced clams VOX POPULI: Praying for the return of clams and clammers in southern Kyushu Clam scam delivers economic blow to Kumamoto ‘Jewel of Shonan’ stops visitors in their tracks at Enoshima island There is a lot that Maya Fujisawa Keuling and Martha Kuwahara have in common with the 11-year-old Keuling boasting a handicap index of 2.5 and Kuwahara play a lot of tournament golf and root hard for reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama And this year marks the first time in two tries they made it to the national finals of Drive Keuling was 5 months old when the Tohoku Earthquake devastated her native land – and almost caused Matsuyama to miss playing in his first Masters in 2011 due to the damage that event caused Keuling moved with her family to the States shortly thereafter “I was almost 7 years old when I found a set of golf clubs in our garage,” she said “I did not know anything about the game at the time but was curious Then I started playing it and found that I really liked it.” the fifth-grader likes it so much that she plays a competitive schedule that includes 30 tournaments a year – and that has her at Augusta National as part of the Girls 10-11 division but maybe putting on the 18th green excites me the most,” she said I want to win for myself but also for the people at the Oakland Hills There is a lot Kuwahara is looking forward to on her first visit to Augusta National where she will be vying for a win in the Girls 14-15 division “And I hope to see Hideki play a practice round Monday I started following him after he won the Masters last year and really like his game especially the power he generates in his lower body and his lag putting.” But she moved to Japan when she was 2 years old with her family “I came back to the States when I was 6 years old,” she said Kuwahara did not know anything about golf at that time either “But I started playing when I was 10 years old “He liked bringing me to the range when I was a little girl to watch him and my older brother hit balls and I really enjoyed the social aspect of the sports the way people were laughing and having fun when they played to get good – and to get her handicap index down below one maintains a rigorous tournament and practice schedule “I play in 16 or 17 events a year,” said Kuwahara who considers putting the strongest part of her game after school and then after I finish my homework.” Man instrumental in bringing Honda motorcycles to the US honored in Detroit Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen Cycle World may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site Copyright © 2025 Cycle World. An Octane Media, LLC Publication Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser CHARLOTTETOWN — Winnipeg’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes got back in the win column to cap a roller-coaster run through the triple knockout stage of the HearingLife Tour Challenge to clinch the final playoff spot in the women’s division Lawes scored two in the seventh and stole one in the eighth to fend off Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni 5-3 during Friday’s C-qualifiers at the Bell Aliant Centre The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season features triple knockout — with A B and C Event brackets — where teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the quarterfinals. Lawes also earned a 4-3 decision over Tirinzoni on Wednesday to jump out to a 2-0 start in the tournament and have three chances to advance to the playoffs The team needed all three after losing 7-4 to South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim during Thursday’s A-qualifiers and 5-4 to Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli Both games went down to the wire and Team Lawes continued to hold steady to clinch a playoff berth in a Grand Slam for the first time since last year’s HearingLife Tour Challenge where the club went to the final “It feels really good,” Lawes said “It’s been a little while since we’ve qualified at a Slam I felt like we were playing really well and even the games we lost we were tied and just unfortunately we didn’t have the hammer coming home I’m really proud of the girls for hanging in there and just battling with these top teams.” Lawes opened with the hammer but was limited to a single in the second Pätz was able to peel out Lawes’ rock in the third to score a deuce and take a 2-1 lead After Lawes was forced to another single in the fourth she froze out any chance for Team Tirinzoni to score a multiple count in the sixth as Pätz drew for just one point to make it 3-2 Lawes tapped for a deuce in the seventh to go up by one and sat a rock just outside the button next to one of Tirinzoni’s stones in the eighth Team Tirinzoni’s last rock over-curled and out came the measuring stick that awarded Lawes a stolen point and a sigh of relief “We were super patient and we just kept trying to find a way,” Lawes said we had a lot of fun on the ice and made some big shots when we needed.” Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa and Team Eun-jung Kim of South Korea also advanced out of the C-qualifiers Fujisawa defeated Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States 8-4 and Kim beat Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 10-3 Third Cory Thiesse skipped the American club as Tabitha and her sister Tara Peterson are on maternity leave Vicky Persinger and Aileen Geving were in the lineup at third and second Lawes takes on Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini Kim faces Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan Fujisawa plays Gim and Einarson clashes with Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Noon AT / 11 a.m Gim and Constantini qualified undefeated at 3-0 through the A-side Thursday while Homan Einarson and Wranå advanced through the B brackets earlier Friday The men’s C-qualifiers kick off Saturday’s slate at 8:30 a.m Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe clashing with Scotland’s Team James Craik and Winnipeg’s Team Matt Dunstone going up against Team John Shuster of the United States Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat and Team Ross Whyte plus Team Brad Jacobs of Calgary await the winners with Saskatoon’s Team Mike McEwen against Team Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland set for the late afternoon quarterfinals Sign In Subscribe Now Become a free member today and receive top local stories right to your inbox Team Tabata came out on top in a showdown between two Japanese squads in the Red Deer Curling Classic's women's final defeated Team Fujisawa 7-4 in an extra end on Monday "We have Japan Curling Championships coming up and I think we might meet in the finals there I think it was great that were able to play in the finals here," Tabata told the Advocate through a translator app on her phone Team Tabata had to go through two other Japanese teams before meeting Team Fujisawa in the final Tabata led her team to a victory over Team Yoshimura 4-3 — Team Tabata then defeated Team Kitazawa 11-3 in the semi-final second Yumi Suzuki and third Chinami Yoshida defeated Team MacMillan of Canada 6-5 in the semifinal en route to the final Team Dunstone defeated Team Epping 6-0 "We got better with every game," Dunstone said of his team's performance through the Red Deer Curling Classic "We had one little hiccup through the event and caught a few breaks and took advantage of them." Dunstone bested Team Dropkin 7-4. Team Epping second Tanner Horgan and Third Jake Horgan beat Team Calvert 5-2 in the quarterfinal and Team McDonald 5-4 in the semifinal Team Dunstone is currently ranked seventh in the world Dunstone said his team has had a solid start to the season "It's been a big improvement over last year at this point We're definitely continuing to trend in the right direction We're a pretty confident group right now and (the Red Deer Curling Classic victory) is obviously going to add to that." for its third Gram Slam event of the season The Red Deer Curling Classic began on Friday Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines After a difficult 2019, Akihiro “Superjap” Fujisawa is hoping to make a big splash in 2020 He won’t have to wait long for an opportunity, as he’ll face Thai knockout artist Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit in a mixed martial arts contest at ONE: NO SURRENDER Ⅱ on Friday The 40-year-old Fujisawa is a Tokyo native who emerged as a star in Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series and shortly after beating Sandeep Gurungvand at the developmental league’s inaugural show in March 2018 he graduated and earned a main roster spot in ONE Championship “Superjap” initially compiled a spotless mixed martial arts record of 5-0-1 along with a 100 percent finishing rate but things went sour beginning in April 2019 the Yorky MMA product is staying positive and plans to use the lessons he learned in those defeats “It was simply a frustrating experience,” he says It’s no use crying over what has happened already I think the year 2019 was a year of learning.” but he has already racked up a 10-5 record in mixed martial arts after going an impressive 72-17 in Muay Thai Fujisawa knows he’ll be facing a talented opponent but he is also confident in his own abilities so I think he is good at striking,” the Japanese veteran says I think I have more skills in my toolbox than him “He might have a longer career in Muay Thai but I’ve had a longer career in mixed martial arts I began my martial arts training from mixed martial arts Fujisawa will also have the support of a new head coach – former ONE athlete Nicholas Lee He actually began training under Lee right before his last fight at ONE: MASTERS OF FATE in November but the late switch did not give him much time to nail down a new game plan so I was not able to perform as I wanted,” Fujisawa admits “Superjap” has officially changed his affiliation to Lee’s Bangkok gym That move has given him an ideal environment to prepare for his upcoming battle “I received advice [from Lee] that I need to fix my weak points and practice daily He makes detailed and concrete strategies,” the Japanese fighter says “If I want to win where all the top athletes from the world gather I need to upgrade myself mentally and physically My coach pointed out what I could not discover by myself and we worked together to correct that I want to put into practice what I worked on last year.” the COVID-19 pandemic forced gyms to close in Thailand But Fujisawa was still able to maintain his fitness I didn’t eat anything extra and lost weight It was ideal for conditioning my body,” he explains and I also did bodyweight training and shadowboxing so [when I returned to the gym] I didn’t notice that much of a change “It was good to take the time to review my strengths and weaknesses I re-examined what I was not able to notice in my daily routine at the gym Fujisawa believes he will showcase a better version of himself on the global stage this Friday “I want to win in an impressive way so that I can carry on my journey to cheer up the world,” he says many people are stressed out due to the pandemic Read more: Pongsiri Mitsatit Primed To Bounce Back Against Fujisawa Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks flavour and size of this melon creates a ‘wow’ experience for consumers,” states Vivian Wang from Dole® in China This company continuously wants to surprise its Chinese customers and the quincy melon Fujisawa RZ is a perfect way to do that Distinctive products help Dole to move ‘Freshly Forward from Foundation to Future’ – which is Rijk Zwaan’s theme at this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica High-quality fresh fruits and vegetablesDole Dole has become one of the world’s best-known multinational groups producing and marketing high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables The company has established modern processing and distribution centres in over ten cities in China Fujisawa matches the upgraded customer needsRijk Zwaan’s quincy melon Fujisawa is helping Dole to move ‘freshly forward’ Marketing Director at Dole China: “We have been monitoring this quincy melon for more than three years the flavour and the size of the melon match with the ‘upgraded’ needs of Chinese customers a melon with attractive netting and orange flesh is quite unique in this market we can surprise our customers and create a ‘wow’ taste experience.” Complete marketing concept including TikTok and Little Red BookDue to these unique characteristics Dole decided to develop a complete marketing concept for Fujisawa we are marketing this quincy melon as ‘Red Flesh’ We are focusing on the mid- and high-end consumers we are engaging popular key opinion leaders or ‘KOLs’ on trendy social media channels including Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Little Red Book.” Scaling up to achieve year-round supplyAccording to the marketing director the sales expectations for this melon – which has been bred especially for the Asian market – are so promising that there are already plans to expand the project We will work with Rijk Zwaan to find reliable growers in different locations to achieve a year-round supply.” Privileged to access the latest breeding developmentsFujisawa is just one exciting aspect of Dole’s ‘fresh future’ The fresh produce specialist is continuously looking for other distinctive fruits and vegetables to help the company remain the market leader by providing consumers with unique experiences “We are particularly exploring distinctive varieties of fruits and vegetables and bringing completely brand-new experiences such as mini or snacking-sized fruits and vegetables to Chinese consumers we are privileged to access the latest developments in breeding these desirable products For more information:Rijk ZwaanEmail: [email protected] www.rijkzwaan.com 都乐中国 www.dole.cn FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 FreshPlaza.com Akihiro “Superjap” Fujisawa‘s back was up against the wall he put his career back on track and authored a signature performance The Japanese athlete knocked out Muay Thai specialist Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit with only seconds remaining in the first round of their mixed martial arts battle at ONE: NO SURRENDER II in Bangkok Both fighters were methodical when the 59.5-kilogram catchweight bout began as each man gauged the timing and distance of their opponent Mitsatit tried unleashing the dangerous strikes from his stand-up repertoire but Fujisawa soon grabbed his rival’s leg and hit a takedown and then he passed to mount and side control But “The Smiling Assassin” remained calm and got back to his feet and connected with a left hook that floored the Tiger Muay Thai representative The Japanese star tried to close the show by standing in Mitsatit’s guard and raining down punches but the Thai remained calm once again and scrambled back to his feet As soon as “The Smiling Assassin” was upright which connected on his opponent’s chin and instantly ended his night with five seconds remaining in the opening stanza The victory snaps Fujisawa’s three-bout skid the Japanese star maintains his perfect 100 percent finishing rate and moves his professional mixed martial arts record to 6-3-1 Read more: ONE: NO SURRENDER II – Live Results And Highlights For Saemapetch Vs. Rodlek