is a pioneer of nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...

 research in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and a former professor at Osaka University

Osaka University

, or , is a major national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan...

. He is reported to be a strong nationalist

Japanese nationalism

encompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Japanese people over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny...

, speaking only Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 in public. He received the Order of Culture

Order of Culture

The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature or culture; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life...

 in 2006.

Arata started researching and publishing in the field of cold fusion

Cold fusion

Cold fusion, also called low-energy nuclear reaction , refers to the hypothesis that nuclear fusion might explain the results of a group of experiments conducted at ordinary temperatures . Both the experimental results and the hypothesis are disputed...

 around 1998, together with his colleague Yue Chang Zhang.

Further reading

• Japan's "Cold fusion" Effort Produces Startling Claims of Bursts of Neutrons", Wall Street Journal, 4 December 1989
• "New life for cold fusion?" New Scientist
  New Scientist
  New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
  
  , 9 December 1989, p. 19
• N. Wada and K. Nishizawa, "Nuclear fusion in solid", Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
  Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
  The Japanese Journal of Applied Physics is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1962 and is published by the Japan Society of Applied Physics...
  
  , 1989, 28:L2017

Publications

Y. Arata and Y. C. Zhang. "Achievement of intense 'cold' fusion reaction," Proceedings of the Japanese Academy, series B, 1990. 66:l.