Japan back on top in supercomputer race

[AsahinaKimi]

Japan has claimed the supercomputing crown for the first time in seven years with a machine being jointly developed by Fujitsu Ltd. and the government-affiliated RIKEN research institute.

Called the K computer, the machine topped the list of the world's 500 fastest computers released on June 20. The last time a Japanese supercomputer grabbed the title was in 2004, when NEC Corp.'s Earth Simulator turned in the fastest performance score in the world.

The K computer is far faster than rivals, boasting more than three times the number-crunching power of the previous holder of the title, China's Tianhe-1A, which was ranked second in the latest list.

The 112-billion-yen ($1.4 billion) project to develop the supercomputer, now housed at the RIKEN Kobe Institute, started in 2006.

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