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AI

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives to deliver a policy address during a Lower House session in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 29, 2024
Japan earmarks extra ¥1.5 trillion for chips and AI this year
Japan is fighting to keep up in a global spending spree on cutting-edge tech led by China and the U.S.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group took a 15% stake in WealthNavi earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024
MUFG considering bid for Japanese robo-adviser WealthNavi
MUFG took a 15% stake in WealthNavi earlier this year
A statue of Konosuke Matsushita in the grounds of the Konosuke Matsushita Museum in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
‘God of management’ comes back to life as an AI model
Panasonic icon Konosuke Matsushita is one of the most respected by the Japanese business community.
SoftBank Group will make a tender offer allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
SoftBank seeks to buy $1.5 billion OpenAI shares from employees
SoftBank will make a tender offer for the stock, allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
A wafer on display at the Semicon China expo in Shanghai on March 20
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024
U.S. readies China chip curbs that stop short of earlier proposals
American chip equipment makers have warned that tougher measures would bring catastrophic harm to their business.
Emissions rise from the Royal Dutch Shell Plc Norco Refinery in Norco, Louisiana, on June 12, 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 27, 2024
How AI and cloud computing may delay the transition to clean energy
The pace of clean-energy deployments is moving too slowly to keep up with the new technology's demands.
A Facebook "military interest" page that misrepresented old photos and videos of army operations to falsely claim that Washington was helping its ally Manila prepare for war.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 26, 2024
Philippines-China tensions trigger money-making disinformation
Clashes between the two countries in the South China Sea are being manipulated online by disinformation networks for profit, an analysis has found.
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock
Fujikura, which makes narrow wire cabling, is the best performer on the Nikkei stock index this year due to a boom in demand for data centers.
NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address in San Jose, California, on Mar. 18.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 21, 2024
Nvidia's AI chip demand still booming but slowing sales worry investors
The company is in the middle of launching its powerful Blackwell artificial intelligence chips, which will weigh on gross margins initially but improve over time.
Huawei’s struggles reflect how years of U.S. sanctions have scored initial success at freezing Chinese technology advancements at current levels, and deprived its national champions of the chance to graduate to the next level.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 20, 2024
China’s chip advances stall as U.S. curbs hit Huawei AI product
Huawei's hurdle has implications for China's broader ambitions, suggesting the country will lag further behind the U.S. in 2025 when newer chips emerge.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, joins a growing list of former tech leaders taking roles in San Francisco's government.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 19, 2024
San Francisco taps OpenAI's Sam Altman for leadership role
The head of the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT was named by San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie as one of seven co-chairs of his transition team.
SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son (right) and Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia, take part in a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2024
Masayoshi Son is trying to make up for past mistakes
SoftBank, once Nvidia’s top shareholder, dumped its stake — oops! — before the chipmaker became one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Microsoft has artificial intelligence and machine learning research bases in various countries around the world.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2024
Microsoft opens AI and robotics research base in Tokyo
The U.S. technology giant aims to combine AI with Japan's strength in robotics and put the results into practical use.
A Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle on display at one of the company's stores in Shanghai on April 2
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2024
China EV makers bet on self-driving models to fend off Tesla
Chinese electric car manufacturers say their advanced driving-assistance services — which can navigate highways or busy city streets — are coming very soon.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference in Seattle on May 21. Altman recently fired off a social media post saying "There is no wall" as fears arise over potential blockages to AI development.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2024
Is AI's meteoric rise beginning to slow?
Industry insiders are beginning to acknowledge that large language models aren't scaling endlessly higher at breakneck speed when pumped with more power and data.
Positioned as Google's answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Gemini aims to tap into Apple's vast user base to expand its footprint in a rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 15, 2024
Google launches Gemini app — with Japanese support — on iOS App Store
The app gives iOS users direct access to Gemini, which was previously accessible only by navigating through the main Google app or a web browser.
Japan's Shuko Aoyama (left) and Eri Hozumi celebrate after defeating the Romanian pair of Monica Niculescu and Elena Ruse during the Billie Jean Cup in Malaga, Spain, on Thursday.
TENNIS
Nov 15, 2024
Japan advances to Billie Jean Cup quarterfinals for first time in 11 years
Japan got off to the worst possible start in its first-round clash with the Romanians before rallying to win.
Jensen Huang (left), co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, and Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, during a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024
SoftBank plans first supercomputer with Nvidia Blackwell chips
Nvidia’s chips have become a prized commodity for the world’s biggest tech companies, which use the components to develop and run AI models.
A bear sighting warning sign in a park at a residential area in the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture. Hanamaki has deployed along riverbanks artificial intelligence-equipped cameras that identify bears and alert city officials.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 13, 2024
Municipalities in Japan turn to AI and digital maps to prevent bear encounters
Akita Prefecture's online map consolidates reports of sightings and incidents while the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture has deployed cameras that identify bears.
Shares in retailers may rise after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba formed a minority government that may cut taxes to lure cooperation from opposition parties.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 12, 2024
Minority government in Japan can help retail stocks and utilities
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may cut taxes to keep smaller parties on side — increasing workers’ disposable income.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?