Fujitsu recently unveiled its Sparc64 CPU, codenamed “Venus,” which it claims operates at 128 gigaflops (i.e., billion calculations per second), which is 2.5 times faster than the current record holder from Intel. The processor’s moniker not only conjures a mid-80s Brit-girl-band-hit-cum-razor-commercial-soundtrack, but an era when Japanese microprocessors were the industry’s speed kings.

The Venus prototype is made up of eight computing cores said to consume a third of the electrical power of its closest competitors (again, read: Intel). Though practical supercomputing applications are at least a few years away, processing possibilities for the Venus abound, including data-intensive tasks like developing new pharmaceutical drugs.

Fujitsu reportedly hasn’t claimed the as fastest processor crown since 1999. Still, it may not be déjà vu all over again, as Cray, IBM and Intel are no doubt humming similar tunes.