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July 04, 2025
 

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BIG TECH

This digital visualization shows the small modular nuclear reactor being developed by Rolls-Royce SMR, which is set to be the first in the U.K. A widely cited IEA report says global data center electricity demand will more than double by 2030 to 945 TWh — more than Japan’s current total usage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2025
Data centers and small reactors could change Asia’s nuclear dynamic
An estimated 402.74 million terabytes of data are created each day and storing and processing all that information creates virtual volcanoes.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a news conference during a NATO summit in The Hague last Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2025
Canada rescinds digital services tax to advance stalled U.S. trade talks
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21, Ottawa said.
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's controlling interest in the tech titan frees him to have the company invest heavily in artificial intelligence efforts.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 30, 2025
Meta spending big on AI talent but will it pay off?
OpenAI boss Sam Altman recently lamented that Meta has offered $100 million bonuses to engineers who jump to Zuckerberg's ship, where hefty salaries await.
Racks of servers being tested at the new Amazon Web Services facility in New Carlisle, Indiana, on June 3
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 30, 2025
AI data-center boom could destroy Big Tech's net-zero plans
The tech sector faces a "climate strategy crisis" as its data centers demand ever more electricity and water to power growing fields, such as artificial intelligence.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney take part in an arrival ceremony during the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on June 16.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2025
Trump turns on ‘nice’ Mark Carney with Canadian tech tax ultimatum
The tax became law while Justin Trudeau was still in power and had prompted warnings of U.S. retaliation but Carney went ahead anyway.
A San Francisco District Court has ruled that Meta's use of copyrighted works to train its AI model was "transformative" enough to constitute "fair use" under copyright law, in the second such courtroom triumph for AI firms this week.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 26, 2025
U.S. judge rules for Meta in AI training copyright case but says it isn't lawful
The ruling said the authors could have pitched a winning argument — that by training AI with copyrighted works, tech firms are creating competition in the marketplace.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority spent years setting up a regime to intervene in the operations of tech giants such as Google, only for the Labour government to say its need to grow the economy meant tough regulation was now out.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 26, 2025
U.K. politics blunts antitrust action against Google
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority spent years setting up a regime to intervene in tech giants' operations, only for the Labour government to say tough regulation was out.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s second-term tech policy consolidates AI regulatory power in the White House, empowering American tech giants at the expense of state authority, international cooperation and democratic oversight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025
The 'Washington Effect' could decide the AI race
While Trump administration officials pressure foreign governments to ease up on U.S. firms, Congress moves to block state-level oversight altogether.
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.
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.
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.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech during the Meta Connect event at in Menlo Park, California, in September 2023. The partnership between Zuckerberg's Meta and defense firm Anduril to build battlefield XR gear underscores how working with the military, once taboo in Silicon Valley, is now actively embraced.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg finally found a use for his Metaverse — war
Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception on the battlefield.
Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York on May 23
BUSINESS / Tech
May 28, 2025
Apple reels from share selloff as Trump’s 25% tariff threat drives uncertainty
Some are skeptical the tariffs will come to pass, but any such measures would require Apple to absorb costs or raise prices, eroding demand.
Meta’s rapid AI chatbot rollout is raising safety concerns as critics cite inappropriate responses and poor accountability despite its access to vast user data.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2025
Meta’s defense of its rogue AI sounds painfully familiar
The social media platform Meta is going on the attack instead of worrying about its users. How did that work out the last time?
Google has been pushing back on the remedies proposed by the U.S. to address its search dominance — one of which is sharing search data with rivals.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 3, 2025
U.S. presses for Google to share data by citing Yahoo Japan deal
Google has long had a relationship with Yahoo Japan to provide it with search results and some backend work related to search advertising.
While the results were better than analysts had expected, investors are focused on how tariff concerns will play out in the coming quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2025
Tim Cook says unchanged U.S. tariffs could dent Apple’s next-quarter margins
Apple Q2 beats expectations but warns that unchanged tariffs could cost the company $900 million and requires drastic supply-chain realignment.
The Apple App Store app on an iPhone on June 25, 2024
BUSINESS / Tech
May 1, 2025
Apple must halt non-app store sales commissions, judge says
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sided Wednesday with Fortnite maker Epic Games over its allegation that the iPhone maker failed to comply with a court order.
Amazon packages at a distribution center in Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025
Amazon denies tariff label pivot after Trump called to complain
The administration’s broadsides against Amazon on Tuesday highlighted the potential political risk for companies if they decide to break out the cost of tariffs for customers.
Microsoft signage in New York on Oct. 25, 2024. Microsoft’s sudden decision to pause work on some data centers suggests cloud computing providers may be reevaluating expenditures.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2025
Big Tech’s earnings problem is estimates may be way too high
There’s little expectation executives will be able to give estimates with any degree of confidence, given the high level of macroeconomic uncertainty.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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