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July 07, 2025
 

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ROBOTS

One of Aigen's solar-powered autonomous AI Element robots demonstrates how it can hammer down on specified targets at Bowles Farm in Los Banos, California, on June 26.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 6, 2025
AI robots fill in for weed killers and farm hands
Weeds are becoming immune to herbicides, but a shortage of laborers often leaves chemicals as the only viable option.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and his OpenAI counterpart, Sam Altman, attend an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo in early February. The SoftBank founder is now proposing his most ambitious venture yet — a $1 trillion AI and robotics hub in Arizona.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2025
The magical thinking of Masa Son
The race to lead the world in AI-enabled robots is still in the early stages, but many signs point to China coming out on top.
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.
An automated delivery robot carries items during a demonstration in the city of Hachioji in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2025
Seven-Eleven testing delivery robots in Japan
The four-wheeled box-type robots, which can travel up to 6 kph, are designed to run on sidewalks while following traffic lights and dodging obstacles.
Tiangong Ultra, a humanoid robot, crosses the finish line after securing the first position during the E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025
All hail the rise of the humanoid robots
Robotics is another of the critical emerging technologies, mastery of which will be central to 21st-century economic leadership.
Tiangong Ultra, a humanoid robot, runs across the finish line while securing the first position during the E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, in Beijing on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Apr 19, 2025
In China, humanoid robots stride into the future with world's first half-marathon
The 21-kilometer event is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots.
Chieko Asakawa, chief executive director of Miraikan, with an AI-powered suitcase designed to assist people with visual impairments, in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Jan. 22
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2025
AI suitcase for visually impaired to be tested at expo
The device incorporates generative artificial intelligence technology, enabling it to describe the surrounding environment through voice feedback.
A hamburger made with "okonomiyaki" savory pancakes
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2025
Osaka Expo to showcase Japan's food industry
Major conveyor-belt sushi chain Kura Sushi will open a store at the expo featuring it's longest circular conveyor belt ever.
A worker paints a robotic elephant model at a workshop in Thrissur, in India's Kerala state on Feb. 25.
WORLD / Society
Mar 4, 2025
Animal rights activists in India offer robot elephants to replace real ones
Accidents involving spooked elephants trampling crowds are common in India, leading some temples to switch to the robot versions.
AIREC, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven humanoid robot, demonstrates a maneuver for changing diapers or preventing bedsores in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 1, 2025
AI robots may hold key to nursing Japan's aging population
Japan is the world's most advanced aging society with a falling birth rate, dwindling working-age population and restrictive immigration policies.
A "biohybrid" robot hand developed by a research team from the University of Tokyo and Waseda University
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2025
Japanese research team develops world’s largest 'biohybrid' robot hand
Lack of nutrients, necrosis and muscle fiber alignment issues have limited the scale of previous "biohybrid" systems.
SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has said the firm plans to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 29, 2025
SoftBank in talks to lead $500 million AI robotics funding
The startup Skild is developing software that will allow robots to perform increasingly complicated tasks.
Robots sit on display at the Richtech Robotics booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 9.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2025
Robots set to move beyond factory as AI advances
Recent breakthroughs in generative AI have given more credibility to predictions of billions of humanoid robots in everyday life.
A massive ring-shaped roof at the venue of the Osaka Expo
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2025
Advanced medical and AI technologies to be showcased at Osaka Expo
The event is scheduled to kick off on April 13.
New unmanned water-cannon robots are set to be deployed to emergency fire assistance teams nationwide.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024
Emergency teams to be equipped with unmanned water-cannon robots
The robots, remotely operated, can navigate fire sites even during earthquakes or tsunami warnings.
Toyota Research Institute and Boston Dynamics are set to conduct research on use cases for AI-trained robots in areas such as human-robot interaction.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2024
Toyota joins with Hyundai's Boston Dynamics on AI-powered robots
Toyota has said it has made a breakthrough with artificial intelligence in teaching robots to learn.
NFL referee Shawn Smith reviews video of a coaches challenge during a game between the Chiefs and Chargers in Los Angeles on Sept. 29.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2024
Pro sports heading toward robotic future
Leagues insist that these systems are not meant to eliminate officials.
Containers are stacked at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2024
U.S. port strike throws spotlight on big union foe: automation
Companies view automation as a path to better profit while unions see it as a job-killer.
Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu (center) says the nation's labor shortage is the biggest challenge its convenience stores face.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024
Lawson to open convenience stores of the 'future' next spring in Tokyo
The goal of the project is to help reduce the workload of store staff by 30% by fiscal 2030.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
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.

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