Aiming to introduce low-cost, secure Quantum Key Distribution services in backbone optical networks of telecommunications carriers

Toshiba Corporation (“Toshiba”), NEC Corporation (“NEC”), and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (“NICT”) have successfully conducted the world’s first demonstration of multiplexed transmission of quantum key distribution (QKD) signals and key generation within a system environment designed for the IOWN all-photonics network. IOWN, developed by NTT, Inc., is a next-generation information processing and communications infrastructure that delivers ultra-high speed, low power consumption, and low latency.

Scientists strengthen brain cell connections to enable gift-giving courtship behavior in fruit flies.

Researchers in Japan have genetically transferred a unique courtship behavior from one fruit fly species to another. By turning on a single gene in insulin-producing neurons, the team successfully made a species of fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) perform a gift-giving ritual it had never done before. The study, published in the journal Science, represents the first example of manipulating a single gene to create new neural connections and transfer behavior between species.

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki Ph.D.) the Advanced ICT Research Institute, ASTRODESIGN, Inc. (President and CEO: NANBA Toyoaki), and Fujikura Ltd. (Director, President and CEO: OKADA Naoki) have developed a multi-core fiber cable consisting of eight 4-core, standard cladding diameter multi-core fibers, and they have successfully implemented it for the first time as an ultrahigh-capacity data transmission unit in a real system handling uncompressed 8K video.

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki Ph.D.), in collaboration with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony), has developed the world's first practical surface-emitting laser that employs quantum dot(QD) as the optical gain medium for use in optical fiber communication systems.

A joint research team from Nagoya University Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, the University of Oslo Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology conducted ionospheric tomography analysis using data from Japan's ultra-dense GNSS observation network. They clarified, for the first time, the 3D characteristics of ionospheric electron density fluctuations, spatially and temporally evolving, immediately following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake of 2024.

- Expectation for Future Long-Distance High-Capacity Optical Communication Infrastructure -

An international research team led by the Photonic Network Laboratory at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki Ph.D.), and including Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Electric, President: INOUE Osamu) have set a new world record in optical fiber communications, achieving data transmission at 1.02 petabits per second over a distance of 1,808 kilometers (roughly equivalent to the distance from Sapporo to Fukuoka, from Missouri to Montana or from Berlin to Naples).

Key Technology for Mass-Production of Next-Generation Power Devices

A research group led by Prof. Yoshinao Kumagai of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, in collaboration with Mr. Junya Yoshinaga of TAIYO NIPPON SANSO CORPORATION, Assistant Prof. Shogo Sasaki of Nara Women’s University, Prof. Takeyoshi Onuma of Kogakuin University, Prof. Masataka Higashiwaki of Osaka Metropolitan University / National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and Dr. Yuzaburo Ban of TAIYO NIPPON SANSO ATI CORPORATION, has successfully developed a technique for precise control of n-type conductivity in high-speed growth of β-Ga₂O₃ homoepitaxial layers using their proprietary low-pressure hot-wall MOVPE method.

— A new approach to fear reduction without repeated exposure —

A research group led by FUJINO Misako and HARUNO Masahiko at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki Ph.D.), has demonstrated that experiencing active flight in VR allows individuals to predict that they can transition to a safe state even if they fall from a height, thereby reducing fear responses. This discovery challenges the traditional understanding that fear extinction necessarily requires repeated exposure to fear-inducing stimuli.

- The amygdala plays a key role in driving increased risk-taking -

A research team led by Dr. TANAKA Toshiko and Dr. HARUNO Masahiko at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki Ph.D.), investigated how avatar-mediated communication affects human decision-making. They discovered that participants were more likely to take risks when facial expressions (such as admiration or contempt) were displayed by avatars than when the same expressions were shown on real human faces. This increase in risk-taking was found to result from a more favorable valuation of the "uncertainty" of facial feedback in the avatar condition.

Tokyo, 31.3.2025 - In a bold step toward revolutionizing network technologies, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and the Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI) in Germany launch the Optical Testbed Dataspace (OTDS). OTDS is a pioneering platform designed to accelerate the development and testing of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models for optical networks. It fosters global collaboration by enabling international partners to securely share and aggregate testbed data from diverse environments, pushing the boundaries of network optimization and automation.