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The article focuses on the findings of the study conducted by Catherine Peichel and colleagues on genes underlying behavioural evolution in a population of sticklebacks in Japan. They found in their DNA testing that male fish that showed aggressive bumping had inherited a piece of chromosome 9. After five-year plus of work, the team found genetic evidence that a stickleback population in the Japan Sea has a new sex chromosome that explains the aggressive mating behavior of its males.

The article reports on the findings of the study about the function of crystalline molecular flask conducted by a team of researchers Makoto Fujita and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan. The researchers discovered a solution to the difficulty in catching a glimpse of the three-dimensional structures of the molecules' chemical reactions. The researchers made the solution by trapping the reagents in crystalline molecular flasks.

The article reports on the breakthrough in stem cell research in Japan in 2006 and the efforts of various scientists worldwide in testing the cells in 2009. According to the Japanese research, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells were produced when mouse skin cells return to an embryonic cell through manipulation. It cites that scientist Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte and his colleagues in California, has successfully generated iPS cells from skin cells of a patient with Fanconi anaemia.

The article discusses a study conducted by Kazuki Horikawa and colleagues from the University of Tokyo in Japan that examines how cells synchronize their clocks so that they all tick in unison. The scientists put genetically engineered cells from the pre-somitic mesoderm into zebrafish embryos to monitor the impacts of different molecular changes on segment formation and gene expression. The team has demonstrated that the process of cell division changes the timing of clocks in individual cells.

Reports that for the second half of 1989, Japanese research groups take two out of the top three positions in the lists of the most cited papers in biology and physics. Brief list of noted papers.

Reveals a survey by the Washington-based `Science Watch' journal of the `hottest' research papers coming out of Japan. Japan appears to be strongest in basic research in biochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology, and weakest in engineering technology and applied science.

Discusses the early prediction by Japanese chemist Eiji Osawa of the existence and structure of the buckminsterfullerene (C60) fifteen years prior to the publication of an article in 1985 announcing the discovery of C60. Osawa's publication of the paper only in Japanese; The awarding of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry to the 1985 discoverers; Osawa's reaction and regrets.

The article discusses a research misconduct case that damaged the reputation of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe, Japan. Topics include papers on pluripotent stem cells in the journal "Nature" that discussed the use of the stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) technique by biochemist Haruko Obokata, a committee report led by materials scientist Teruo Kishi, and the impact of media scrutiny on the scandal.

The article cites a U.S. report that states that Asian nations are catching up with Europe and the United States in terms of scientific output. According to the report, in 2004, countries from the Asia Pacific region including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and India produced 25 percent of the world's research papers. By comparison, Europe produced 38 percent of the world's scientific papers, and the United States produced 33 percent. Within Asia, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan grew the most. In China, some institutions even pay researchers extra for publications in indexed journals, especially ones that carry widely cited articles.

The article reports that several faculty members at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan have called for a fuller investigation into four papers written by the university's president, materials scientist Akihisa Inoue. More than 2,500 articles have been published by Inoue since 1973. Tetsuo Shoji, the university's executive vice-president for research affairs, have formed a committee to investigate this matter.

The article reports on the result of the investigation on the series of RNA studies from the laboratory of biochemist Kazunari Taira conducted by the University of Tokyo in Japan. The investigation claimed that there is a high possibility that fraud was involved in a series of studies and that the paper in question had no reproducibility and no credibility.

Assesses the status of life science research and other research institutions in Japan. Ranking of the medical and paramedical schools and research institutes of Japan according to their production of research articles; Trends in research; Criteria used in the evaluation of the research institutions; Paper output per person.

The article focuses on the allegation to Akihisa Inoue, president of the Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, by his detractors on his manipulation and duplication of a series of papers crippled after the Sendai earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011. It states that a committee at Tohoku has dismissed the need for investigations to Inoue in December 2007 due to lack o evidence. It adds that Tohoku's directors has again assembled a committee in February 2011 and found that Inoue was at fault.

The article reports on the lack of national framework for investigating alleged scientific misconduct in researches in Japan. Researchers have been frustrated in their attempts to reproduce a set of RNA interference papers co-authored by Kazunari Taira, a biochemist at the University of Tokyo. There are no clear rules on the penalty if documentation, such as laboratory notebooks or other materials essential to supporting experimental results, is destroyed.

Presents the results on a study of Japanese scientists and their research. The assertion that researchers should place more emphasis on quality and less on quantity of papers they publish; Percentage of scientists who communicate with foreign researchers; Further findings of the report from the Science and Technology Agency (STA).

Discusses the practices of Japanese scientists regarding research. A report indicating that many Japanese scientists do not publish internationally; Percentage that publish only in Japanese journals; Focus on numerical output of research papers; Other findings of the study.

States that Japan will pursue the development of plutonium as an energy source, regardless of cost. Japan's desire to end its dependence on outside sources of fuel; Details of a white paper document released by the Science and Technology Agency; Comment from Shigeru Maeda, deputy director of the agency's office of atomic energy policy research; More.

Looks at an annual white paper from the Science and Technology Agency, that reveals that local governments provide a growing share of public spending on research in Japan. The Council of Science and Technology, Japan's highest science policy-making body; More.

Reveals some of the statistics from the US National Science Board's biennial report, Science and Engineering Indicators--1989. Japan has a lower rate of foreign co-authorship on research papers than any other Western nation. Other brief details.

Reports on a white paper released by Japan's Environment Agency calling for centralized district heating and cooling systems to reduce the heat from a man-induced climate in Tokyo.

Describes the state of scientific research at universities in Japan, as of January 1, 1998. Chronic problems faced; Quality of papers produced in Japan; Plans to double number of postdoctoral fellows; Concerns of faculty about lowering standards; Faculty subject to government regulations; Need for nationwide external review system; Need for reform of university management.

Reports on the 1995 `white paper' on science and technology in Japan by the Japan's Science and Technology Agency. Decline in investment in research and development; Youth's decreasing interest in science and technology; Call for the creation of centers of excellence in the country and increased use of external evaluation of research centers.