New Research from an Old Capital

Nanotechnology has been utilized for a long time in Kyoto, an old capital of Japan. Kyoto is well known not only as a traditional and cultural town but also as one of the most innovative towns in Japan. It has produced many worldwide technology-based start-up (venture) companies such as Kyocera, Nintendo, Omron, Murata MFG, Rohm, Horiba MFG, and Nichicon, among others. In these two features of tradition and innovation, there exists potentially a close correlation. Lords or emperor in the capital had gathered the highest level of technologies during their times and created various kinds of artistic works and buildings. They felt that the concentration of high technology and the creation of new technologies are essential to build new industry as well as to spur the activity of the principal towns.