The next generation farmhand in Japan's aging rural heartland may be a drone. For several months, developers and farmers in northeast Japan have been testing a new drone that can hover above paddy fields and perform backbreaking tasks in a fraction of the time it takes for elderly farmers. "This is unprecedented high technology," said Isamu Sakakibara, a 69-year-old rice farmer in the Tome area, a region that has supplied rice to Tokyo since the 17th century. Developers of the new agricultural drone say it offers high-tech relief for rural communities facing a shortage of labor as young people leave for the cities. "As we face a shortage of next-generation farmers, it's our mission to come up with new ideas to raise productivity and farmers' income through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies such as drones," said Mr. Sakakibara, who is also the head of JA Miyagi Tome, the local agricultural cooperative. The drone can apply pesticides and fertilizer to a rice field in about 15 minutes – a job that takes more than an hour by hand and requires farmers to lug around heavy tanks.

Japanese farmers are testing a new drone that can hover above paddy fields and perform backbreaking tasks in a fraction of the time it takes a labourer. The drone applies pesticides and fertilizer to a rice field in 15 minutes - a job that takes more than an hour by hand and requires farmers to lug around heavy tanks. Developers of the new agricultural drone say it offers high-tech relief for rural communities facing a shortage of labour as young people leave for the cities. They plan to release the $36,000 (£28,000) Nile-T18, which farmers can control through an iPad app, next year. Japanese farmers are testing a new drone that can hover above paddy fields and perform backbreaking tasks in a fraction of the time it takes a labourer.

Keidanren has tapped Hitachi Ltd. Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi as its next chief, the nation's top business lobby said Tuesday. The appointment was approved earlier in the day at a meeting of the body's board of councilors. Nakanishi, 71, will be formally appointed at Keidanren's general meeting on May 31, the lobby said, replacing 74-year-old Sadayuki Sakakibara, senior adviser at Toray Industries Inc. The move marks the first time an executive from Hitachi, a major industrial machinery manufacturer, will assume Keidanren's top post. Sakakibara had said he would pick his successor from current or former vice chairs, who are from strongly performing manufacturers.

PARIS – The government on Monday filed a candidacy for the city of Osaka to host the 2025 World Exposition with the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris. France has already submitted the bid of Paris, which is likely to be a tough rival for Osaka. The deadline for submitting bids is set at May 22, and the BIE will select the host city by a vote by member states at its general meeting in November 2018. The Japanese plan is based on the theme "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." The papers for Japan's bid to host the event were submitted by Japanese Ambassador to France Masato Kitera, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui and Keidanren Chairman Sadayuki Sakakibara, who serves as head of the bidding committee for the envisaged Osaka exposition.

Japanese auto firm Denso, a subsidiary of Toyota, displays a robotic limb designed to support a surgeon's arm Meanwhile, Sharp is taking aim at the housing market with pint-sized Rin-chan, which can operate home appliances based on its owners' feelings. For example, if a house dweller says'it's too hot', the robot will turn on the air conditioning. Another star of the show is a mug-sized, doe-eyed robot called Kirobo Mini made by Toyota as a chatty companion for its human owners.

A Japanese inventor is hoping a robot that still needs humans will win over Asia's largest tech fair, offering a counterpoint to major technology firms pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI). Katsumori Sakakibara was showing off his little droid called Caiba at the Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC), which kicked off on Tuesday near Tokyo. Waist-high Caiba – whose name means hippocampus, a key area of the brain, in Japanese – is controlled by a human wearing a virtual reality handset and mechanical arms. If the person waves their arms, the little robot follows suit. But whatever Caiba does, it depends on a human to control it.

Japan s Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd s latest concept robots, the Murata Cheerleaders, demonstrate how they balance on balls and synchronise as a team by utilising sensing and communication technology, at CEATEC JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. CHIBA, JAPAN: A Japanese inventor is hoping a robot that still needs humans will win over Asia's largest tech fair, offering a counterpoint to major technology firms pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI). Katsumori Sakakibara was showing off his little droid called Caiba at the Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC), which kicked off Tuesday near Tokyo. Waist-high Caiba -- whose name means hippocampus, a key area of the brain, in Japanese -- is controlled by a human wearing a virtual reality handset and mechanical arms. If the person waves their arms, the little robot follows suit.

A Japanese inventor is hoping a robot that still needs humans will win over Asia's largest tech fair, offering a counterpoint to major technology firms pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI). Katsumori Sakakibara was showing off his little droid called Caiba at the Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC), which kicked off Tuesday near Tokyo. Waist-high Caiba--whose name means hippocampus, a key area of the brain, in Japanese--is controlled by a human wearing a virtual reality handset and mechanical arms. If the person waves their arms, the little robot follows suit. But whatever Caiba does, it depends on a human to control it.