The Artificial Limb Makers

In a world where more people than ever are being injured by land mines, there is a huge demand for artificial limbs. Tokyo's Dr. Eiji Tazawa heads a small company with an international reputation for its skills in the design and manufacture of artificial arms and legs, hand-crafted to meet the needs of each individual patient.

Akihabara - Hobbyist's Paradise

Akihabara, Tokyo's discount electronics area, has gained new fame as the leading edge of world digital culture. As well as stores of all sizes selling new and used electronic appliances, here you'll find bazaar-like areas filled with specialized components and instruments, with manga, anime, video and figurine shops catering to the otaku culture.

A Brush with Beauty

The fude brush was the choice of Japanese calligraphy and painting artists, and its delicate lines and fine control made it a major tool of the traditional crafts. Because of the way these brushes are constructed they feel incredibly soft on the skin, and toady high-quality fude brushes have become popular worldwide for cosmetics applications.

Brining Color back to the Oceans

Global warming is rapidly destroying the coral reefs that form so much of our oceans' beauty. We need to act quickly to develop ways to repair and regenerate these reefs, and a Japanese university team is developing the first potentially large-scale method to cultivate coral eggs in open waters for transplantation to revive damaged reefs.