Japan

But come 2018, these fleeting fireballs will no longer be left to chance.

Japanese space start-up ALE is developing the technology to deliver on-demand man-made meteors, which could turn the night sky into a blank canvas.

"Imagine a future, where you can use our meteors for international fireworks displays, a proposal for marriage, or a special memorial," says Shinsuke Abe, ALE's research director and Nihon University aerospace engineering professor.

The British deployment marks the first time ever Japan's Air Self Defense Force has hosted joint exercises with aircraft from a nation other than the United States.

"This exercise aims to enhance tactical skills of the air forces and strengthen Japan-Britain defense cooperation. We do not have a specific country or region in mind," Japan's Defense Ministry said.

But they come at a time when Japan is becoming increasingly embroiled in disputes with North Korea over Pyongyang's testing of nuclear warheads and missiles that could potentially carry them.

Japan is leading the way in recycling both home and industrial wastes from manufacturing companies.

Kawasaki City, which is just south of Japan's capital city, Tokyo, is one example of a cycle society that promotes the reduction of trash by reusing recycled wastes.

Similar to Port Moresby, Kawasaki has a growing population of 1.4 million people who produce large amounts of waste.

Mount Aso, which stands 1,592 meters (a little over 5,200 feet) tall, is in Kumamoto Prefecture on the southwestern island of Kyushu.

Images from the area showed a layer of volcanic ash coating streets, roofs and vehicles. No injuries have been reported, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It raised the alert level for the area to 3, with 5 being the highest level, and warned members of the public not to approach Mount Aso and to beware of falling rocks.

Sitting at the foot of Mount Koya -- the country's most spiritual peak -- in the small town of Kudoyama in Wakayama prefecture, it's a textbook example of Japanese Buddhist architecture.

Upon closer inspection, however, one notices an abundance of something a bit, well, out of a place at a site of spiritual reverence.

The temple grounds are filled with thousands of depictions of female breasts.

Left hanging in various corners of the complex, these busty decorations are actually left by visitors as spiritual offerings.

The planes, thought to be bombers, surveillance planes and one fighter jet, flew along the Miyako Straits, between Okinawa and Miyakojima.

China said about 40 of its aircraft had been involved in what it said was a routine drill.

The planes did not cross into Japanese airspace, but the move is being seen as a show of force by China.

It comes one week after Japan said it would take part in joint training exercises with the US navy in the South China Sea.

The Johannesburg-based Lions, who lost to the Hurricanes in last season's final, also start on the road but their journey is considerably shorter as they face the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein later on the same day.

Argentina's Jaguares will also be in South Africa on the opening weekend to play the Kings in Port Elizabeth, while the heavyweight Crusaders-ACT Brumbies and Stormers-Bulls clashes should also attract plenty of attention.

After snipping the end of the bag, he squeezes the delicious pink paste into a tray of oblong, white plastic molds.

Surprisingly, Takagi isn't creating an elaborate confection for customers to his fashionable Tokyo cafe; this is something far more modest.

It's a KitKat.

Most of the world knows the KitKat as an ordinary coffee break snack made from wafers and milk chocolate.

In Japan, it's in a completely different league.

Many Japanese corporations have invested heavily in the U.K., including global banking giantNomura (NMR) and top automakers Toyota (TM), Nissan (NSANF) and Honda (

As the music blares from tinny-sounding speakers, a heart-rending story about a deaf man and his daughter begins. The daughter is struck down with a terrible illness and is rushed to hospital. The man, unable to communicate that he is her father, is not allowed past the reception desk. The film ends with him crying inconsolably as she dies alone.