① President of the medical startup AMI Co., Ltd., cardiovascular disease specialist Shinpei Ogawa has developed a stethoscope that allows doctors to see heartbeats. Until now, stethoscopes have only provided the sound of heartbeats; by turning them into graphic data, it allows for early detection of heart disease and assists doctors with diagnoses. There are even plans to use it in telemedicine, as performing stethoscopies via the internet can benefit areas with a shortage of doctors. Could this device be a breakthrough for the countries’ ageing population, as well as areas short on doctors? ② As the world’s population increases, so do fears of a future protein shortage. For that reason, DAIZ, a company located in Kumamoto City, Japan, has developed a “miracle meat” made solely from soy beans. Koji Ochiai, DAIZ’s Head of Research and Development, was interested in the fact that germinating soy beans share similar properties with animal meat. And by altering their sprouting conditions, he was able to produce “meat” that closely resembled the taste of beef, pork, chicken, and more. Since then, he has continued to develop this miracle meat in the hopes that it may one day save the world.