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July 04, 2025
 

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AI

Chinese tech startup DeepSeek is helping Beijing with military and intelligence operations, according to U.S. officials.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2025
DeepSeek aids China's military and evaded export controls, U.S. official says
The U.S. conclusions reflect a growing conviction in Washington that the capabilities behind the rapid rise of one of China's flagship AI enterprises may have been exaggerated.
A checkout system equipped with a display showing a 3D avatar enables a Lawson employee to remotely help customers at an experimental Lawson store that opened Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025
Lawson beta tests futuristic convenience store with KDDI
Real x Tech Lawson utilizes a range of technologies, including robotics, digital signage and artificial intelligence.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at Donald Trump's resort in Florida in December last year
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025
Masayoshi Son pitches $1 trillion U.S. AI hub to TSMC and Trump team
Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China’s Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S.
A Japanese AI researcher says that instead of fearing superintelligent machines, the world should focus on building a symbiotic relationship with them — a shift in perspective that could reshape the global AI safety debate.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025
Make the robot your colleague, not overlord
An argument is emerging for an AI future less like "The Terminator" and more like "Astro Boy."
A Ukrainian tank fitted with protective netting — known as “cage armor” — highlights how the war has favored fast, low-tech adaptations over expensive hardware.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025
High-tech weapons alone won’t win the wars of tomorrow
To prevail in future conflicts, Western countries must maintain financial flexibility and combine advanced systems with scalable low-tech solutions.
Drone warfare in Ukraine has exposed the obsolescence of traditional military systems, the need for rapid, adaptive innovation and the terrifying potential of AI-driven autonomous weapons in future conflicts.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2025
The age of AI drone warfare is here and changing the rules
Drone technology, weapons and tactics now evolve at a blinding pace. A new drone will be useful for only two to six months.
Mitsubishi could announce a deal to buy the assets of Aethon Energy Management in the next couple of months, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
Mitsubishi said to be in advanced talks on $8 billion Aethon deal
The Japanese conglomerate could announce a deal with the U.S. energy-focused investment firm in the next couple of months, according to sources.
SoftBank Group has sold 21.5 million T-Mobile U.S. shares for $224 each in an unregistered overnight block sale.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
SoftBank raises $4.8 billion through T-Mobile share sale
The Japanese technology giant sold 21.5 million T-Mobile shares for $224 each in an unregistered overnight block sale.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left) speaks to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on June 13.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 16, 2025
Nvidia's pitch for sovereign AI resonates with EU leaders
The concept for every nation to develop its own artificial intelligence is based on the idea that the language, knowledge, history and culture of each region are different.
AI is not only transforming the applications we use; it is also reshaping the very process of software development, threatening to render much of today’s tech sector obsolete.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025
How artificial intelligence will disrupt Big Tech
AI is already starting to cannibalize established giants and also to reshape the profession of software engineering.
Police clash with protesters who had shut down Highway 101 in Los Angeles on June 8. Misleading photographs, videos and text have spread widely on social media as protests against immigrant raids have unfolded in Los Angeles, rehashing old conspiracy theories.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2025
U.S. adversaries fuel disinformation about LA protests
The findings from researchers illustrate how foreign adversaries of the United States are exploiting deep divisions in American society as a tactic of information warfare.
University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii (left) and Y.J. Mii, a TSMC executive vice president, at a news conference Thursday. The school and the company have been working together since 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
TSMC and Tokyo University team up to establish a chip lab
The chip giant and university will work together on chip-related technologies and supporting educational and research and development opportunities.
Morning commute traffic streams past the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc, in Mountain View, California, in 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 12, 2025
Meta taps top researchers from Google and Sesame for new AI lab
The new group is part of an ambitious, and costly, effort by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to gain ground on rivals like Google and OpenAI.
Apple’s delayed AI rollout in China, hindered by regulatory hurdles and declining local popularity, may still succeed through a partnership with Alibaba.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2025
Can Apple salvage the AI iPhone in China?
Despite earlier reports that Apple Intelligence could launch in the country in May, the lack of a fresh announcement isn’t a total shock.
Alexandr Wang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Scale AI, has emerged as an influential force in the artificial intelligence industry. His company's army of contractors label the data that tech firms use to train and improve their AI models.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2025
Meta set to throw billions at startup that leads AI data market
Scale AI uses an army of contractors to label the data that tech firms use to train and improve their AI models
Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Jan. 28
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 8, 2025
Meta in talks for Scale AI investment that could top $10 billion
The financing could exceed $10 billion in value, some of the people said, making it one of the largest private company funding events of all time.
A model of an unmanned ship with artificial intelligence being developed by the Defense Ministry is displayed at a defense equipment show in Chiba in May.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2025
Objectivity seen as key to screening AI weapons
The United Nations is discussing how to regulate lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), which use AI to identify and select targets without human involvement.
Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet, presented a vision of AI that was at once optimistic about the technology’s possibilities and sober-minded about some of its present limitations, at an event at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 5, 2025
Alphabet CEO expects to keep hiring engineers while AI advances
Alphabet's CEO presented a vision of AI that was at once optimistic about the technology’s possibilities and sober-minded about some of its present limitations.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday to discuss enhancing Japan's international competitiveness in the field of intellectual property.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025
Government adopts new intellectual property program to enhance competitiveness
The government aims to raise the country's ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organization's annual Global Innovation Index to fourth or higher by 2035.
TSMC’s plan to build a second factory in Kumamoto Prefecture is key to Japan’s ambitions to regain leadership in semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
TSMC flags delays in Japan expansion while U.S. plans advance
The sudden influx of workers from TSMC’s first plant is already bogging down rural infrastructure in Japan.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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