"Bringing in someone young or from the private sector was probably very difficult as the Finance Ministry has to deal with all sorts of vested interests and you want someone with experience, " said Takuji Okubo, senior economist at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo.

BBC: Japan's new economic team

He said the theory was sound, but it would probably prove very difficult to develop a machine which could be of practical benefit to patients, not least because liver cells did not survive for very long outside the body.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Glass liver may aid disease fight

"It would be very difficult and probably very costly, " Mr Faure said.

BBC: Analysis: Salvaging the Prestige

It's very difficult to play against him, because his movement is probably the best in the world and he's able to hit the ball very early a lot of the time.

CNN: SHARE THIS

"I knew as soon as I came here that it would be very difficult to break into the team because with Bob Casey and Nick Kennedy you've got probably the best second-row pairing in the Premiership, " he said.

BBC: Exiles set for inside information