With two patents under her belt, Aichi junior high school girl looks to help other inventive kids

[yuiyoshida]

Asuka Kamiya, 14, a second-year student from Meisho Junior High School in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, has established with her father a company to help elementary and junior high school students apply for patents and commercialize their inventions.

By using her experience in patenting her own invention two years ago, she hopes to help turn other students’ unique ideas into products.

When she was a fifth-grader, for a science project she conducted over a summer holiday, Kamiya created a can-recycling bin that uses a magnet to automatically separate steel and aluminum containers. Kamiya applied for a patent at the recommendation of her father, Toyoaki, 42, who runs a liquor sales consulting firm and had obtained a patent himself for an invention related to wine.

She was granted the patent for her “low-cost can-recycling bin” when she was a sixth-grader.

After she entered junior high school and joined the basketball team, she discovered the importance of teammates supporting one another and she was reminded of the people who helped her apply for a patent and spread her idea. In June, she received her second patent for devising a way to separate plastic bottles as well. Then she thought it was her turn to help others, she said.

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https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/11/13/national/two-patents-belt-aichi-junior-high-school-girl-looks-help-inventive-kids/#.WglcwdQrLMo