A mass Buddhist funeral for about 100 Aibo “pet dog” devices has taken place in Japan, cementing a growing trend in the technology-obsessed country. The ceremony for the Sony machines was presided over by an android called Parlo. “We can still recall his or her figure and smile vividly,” Parlo told mourners who had gathered

Square-shaped watermelon shipments began Wednesday in a western Japan city where the product has become widely known for its rarity and is attracting interest even from overseas. The watermelons shipped from Zentsuji on Japan’s Shikoku main island are not edible and purchased generally as ornaments at such places as department stores and fruit shops. Their

When you have finished your meal, you can eat your chopsticks. A group in Kumamoto Prefecture promoting the wider use of tatami has developed “edible chopsticks” with the flavour of rush grass, a material used in the making of traditional Japanese mats, in cooperation with a confectionery maker. The Kumamoto IGSA and Tatami Conference plans to begin

Hanawa Hokiichi, Japan’s revered blind scholar and Buddhist monk of the Edo-era, was born on this date a full 271 years ago. A Google Doodle appearing in the country Friday shows the savant seated next to a kneeling student, with dreams of books floating above his head — alluding to his reputation as a font