As Japan’s fiscal year draws to a close on March 31st, a range of systems and services are being phased out, including the so-called “3G mobile network service” once synonymous with traditional feature phones known as “garakei,” which officially ended on March 31. (News On Japan)

A fossilized lower jaw tooth of an iguanodontian dinosaur, dating back approximately 130 million years, has been discovered in Tokushima Prefecture and is now on display at a local museum. (News On Japan)

A government and Tokyo metropolitan task force held its first joint meeting with private-sector participants on March 25th to discuss countermeasures for a potential large-scale eruption of Mount Fuji that could blanket central Tokyo in volcanic ash and severely disrupt daily life. (News On Japan)

A team of divers conducted an investigation toward a depth of 100 meters on March 20th inside the Inazumi Underwater Limestone Cave in Bungoono, Oita Prefecture, where a landscape dating back hundreds of millions of years is believed to remain untouched. (News On Japan)

A 1,400-year-old piece of pottery excavated from an ancient burial mound in Himeji shows clear paw prints, raising the possibility that they are the oldest known traces of a cat in Japan, suggesting the animal may have been present earlier than previously believed. (News On Japan)

The breeding season for the Oriental stork, a nationally designated Special Natural Monument, has begun, with chicks being born one after another in Hyogo Prefecture. (News On Japan)

As cherry blossom season approaches, anticipation is building alongside the swelling buds, yet Japan’s beloved sakura are increasingly under threat from pests, aging trees, and disease, raising concerns about the future of the country’s most iconic spring symbol. (News On Japan)

Japan's Environment Ministry has removed the red-crowned crane, a nationally designated Special Natural Monument, from its list of endangered species for the first time, citing a recovery in population driven by long-term conservation efforts, while also lowering the extinction risk classification of the crested ibis by one level as its numbers continue to rebound. (News On Japan)

A new service enabling individuals to preserve their own cells for future medical treatment is set to launch in Japan, marking the country’s first offering of long-term iPS cell storage for personal use. (News On Japan)

A rapidly advancing technology known as remote sensing—used to observe and analyze Earth from space—is opening new possibilities for predicting disasters and understanding environmental changes. (News On Japan)

In the vertical cities of Tokyo and Osaka, your visual presentation is more than just a personal choice; it is a non-verbal form of omotenashi—the Japanese art of hospitality and respect. (News On Japan)

More than a decade after the nuclear disaster forced all residents of Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture to evacuate, solar panels are now spreading across the town, creating both opportunities and unease as reconstruction tax incentives attract energy projects to the area. (News On Japan)

Sake brewed aboard the International Space Station returned from orbit and arrived at Kansai International Airport on March 6th, marking a milestone in a Japanese initiative aimed at eventually producing alcohol on the Moon. (News On Japan)

NEC Corporation, a Japanese leader in advanced technology, has developed its own infrared sensor with sensitivity three times that of existing analogs. (News On Japan)

A small rocket launched by Japanese space venture Space One was destroyed mid-flight on March 5th after aborting its mission shortly after liftoff from a private launch facility in Wakayama Prefecture. (News On Japan)

A green beam of light piercing the night sky from Wakayama Prefecture is helping scientists determine Japan’s exact position on Earth with centimeter-level precision, as the Japan Coast Guard continues decades of satellite laser measurements at the Shimosato Hydrographic Observatory. (News On Japan)

A report session for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s "Be Smart Tokyo" project, an initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of residents through the power of digital technology as part of the broader goal of creating "Smart Tokyo," was held on March 4th. (News On Japan)

NTT’s next-generation optical communications infrastructure, known as IOWN, is moving toward global standardization as the company steps up efforts to promote the technology in Europe. (News On Japan)

Motors are embedded in countless electronic devices, from home appliances and robots to automobiles, quietly generating the power that underpins modern life, and now a Japanese startup is challenging long-held assumptions by developing a next-generation motor that delivers both high efficiency and high output while eliminating the need for rare earth materials. (News On Japan)

The assembly of a massive shield machine for tunnel construction at the Kanagawa Station site of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen has been completed, with the site opened to the media as excavation prepares to move forward toward Nagoya. (News On Japan)