Alliances & Technology Transfer

Japan's Astellas Pharma has partnered with an American startup to develop ultrasmall implantable devices that could be used to discover and treat conditions that are difficult to address with conventional pharmaceuticals.

Honda Motor has launched Japan's first scooter-sharing service, teaming with a SoftBank-backed startup in an effort to help offset falling motorbike sales in the country.

The Fukushima Prefectural Government is leading a collaborative effort involving companies from different industries and a robotics testing field to invent a flying car.

Competitors come together in effort to boost mobility innovation.

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. said Friday it has struck a $3 billion investment deal with Roivant Sciences Ltd., a Swiss drug start-up.

Taiwan will add a new section to the south end of the high-speed railway traversing the island's western coast, its premier said Tuesday, a move likely to create opportunities for builders and newly served areas.The project is of particular interest to Japanese companies, who have provided shinkansen bullet-train technology, as well as all the rolling stock, for Taiwan's high-speed railway.

The U.S. and Japan will work together to prevent satellite collisions and remove space junk from Earth's increasingly crowded orbit.

Formations of alliances between carmakers have been expanding further. Auto manufacturers are struggling for survival in an industry that has been undergoing radical change due to the accelerated development of next-generation technologies. They are being put to the test over the results of their strategies.

Japan's Kansai Electric Power began transmitting power from a newly built dam in Laos on Friday, marking the completion of a troubled project that now stands nearly as high as the utility's Kurobe Dam, the tallest in Japan.

The company, which provides digital map services to the likes of Foursquare and Lonely Planet in its home market, now counts one of Japan's biggest construction conglomerates as a customer. The shift is part of Mapbox's bet on automation and smart industry as future opportunities for growth.