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April 29, 2025
 

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TECH

Rapidus' semiconductor foundry construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido, in December
BUSINESS
May 19, 2024
Government to consider more aid to Rapidus, industry minister says
Rapidus plans to start operating a prototype production line at the Chitose plant in April 2025 and launch mass production in 2027.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024
Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.
The ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
Toshiba announced on Thursday that it would cut up to 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Toshiba takes advantage of private status to chart new course
The company has announced that it will cut up to 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring.
Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Rapidus 'last opportunity' to put Japan back on global chip map
Rapidus' chairman says "Japan is more than a decade behind others" in digital technology, adding that "it will require enormous money just to catch up."
Meta's board of experts is seeking public comments regarding a post criticizing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on its Threads text messaging app.
JAPAN / Society
May 17, 2024
Meta seeks public opinion on Threads post criticizing Japan's PM
This is the first time the board has examined a case related to Threads.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs orders that increase tariffs on China during an event at the White House on Tuesday. The escalating trade tensions risk slowing the transition to green technologies by boosting production costs.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2024
Looming U.S.-China 'trade war' bodes ill for green tech
China has denounced the new U.S. tariffs as bullying and warned of potential retaliation, arguing that they could harm global green economic transition efforts.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a tactical missile weapons system facility at an unknown location on Tuesday. North Korea has turned to deploying IT workers overseas for government revenue, in addition to relying on cyberattacks and other online crimes.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 17, 2024
North Koreans worked remotely for U.S. firms to fund missiles
A U.S. national helped three North Korean IT workers obtain "illicit telework employment” with hundreds of firms using the identities of U.S. citizens.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
SoftBank is working to develop artificial intelligence-enabled software that softens the tone of customers' voices.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2024
SoftBank looks at 'softening' angry customer calls with AI
The issue of harassment of staff working in the service industry has gained more awareness in recent years.
A slogan reads "Accelerate Industrial Transformation With AI" at the Microsoft booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024
Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump
The company’s total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020.
Wind turbines stand next to solar panels at a solar plant in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. Japan's energy plan under a review is expected to call for raising the renewable energy sources in the power mix.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 16, 2024
Japan begins review of basic energy plan amid spread of AI
Power demand could expand further if growth in the amount of information processed by advanced AI accelerates.
The new era of U.S.-Japan cooperation exemplifies a successful public-private collaboration crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in global technology, especially amid geopolitical tensions with China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 16, 2024
U.S.-Japan semiconductor alliance of the future
On the geopolitical side, the U.S.-Japan alliance is on one side of the equation, with China on the other and Taiwan in the middle.
The Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old male test-taker is suspected of using smart glasses to cheat during the university's entrance exam.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on Waseda University exams
Photos of the tests were posted on the social media platform X to solicit answers.
A demonstrator holds a music score while singing the “Glory to Hong Kong” protest song during a flash mob protest in Hong Kong in September 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 15, 2024
Videos of Hong Kong protest song blocked on YouTube after court order
The Court of Appeal granted an injunction that holds platforms responsible for hosting the song, exposing global internet companies to new legal risks.
Taiwan’s experience offers valuable lessons for China, the most important being the “financialization of innovation,” whereby technology investment is funded by risk capital from the stock market rather than by the risk-adverse banking system.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024
China should emulate Taiwan’s tech policies
A small island with few natural resources, Taiwan punches well above its weight. From 1980-2008, its annual real GDP averaged 6.8%.
If OpenAI’s mostly male engineers are trying to build the perfect girlfriend, they are on the right track. If they are trying to build a more reliable AI model, there is still more work to do.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024
OpenAI's new ChatGPT can flirt. What could go wrong?
What are the social and psychological consequences of regularly speaking to a flirty, fun and ultimately agreeable artificial voice?
Pasona plans to use cartilage conduction technology for headsets for staff and guide earphones for visitors in its exhibition at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
JAPAN / Society
May 15, 2024
Pasona to promote cartilage conduction technology
The firm plans to use the technology for headsets for staff and for audio guides in its exhibition at the 2025 Osaka expo.
The plaintiff in an indirect gender discrimination case speaks at a news conference after winning the case in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2024
Japan AGC unit loses suit over indirect gender discrimination
A subsidiary of Japanese glass-maker AGC has lost a lawsuit filed by a female clerical worker seeking damages for indirect gender discrimination.
Toyota CEO Koji Sato says the company plans to expand AI-related investments, and this year will focus on building a strong foundation for software-defined vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024
Japan’s carmakers look to China tech to claw back market share
With no signs of demand slowing for Chinese EVs, Japanese carmakers are looking to adapt their strategies to win over the world’s biggest auto market.
People ride past a JD.com advertisement promoting a Singles Day shopping festival in Beijing in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2024
China's e-commerce giants face a delicate balance
Chinese consumers are seeking discounts and lower-cost shopping following the pandemic.
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Japan to resist Trump efforts to form trade bloc against China
As Japan gears up for the trade talks, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also seeking to cushion the blow that the U.S. tariffs may have on the domestic economy.
As many as nine dead after driver plows into Vancouver festival crowd
An ambulance is parked at the site of the Lapu Lapu day festival, where a vehicle drove into a crowd killing several people in Vancouver on Saturday.
Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
Japan struggles with gray zone of AI deepfakes exploiting children
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
Expo '25 gives the world a masterclass in mascots
2025 Osaka Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku dances on the stage during the event's official opening ceremony on April 12.
Japan struggles with gray zone of AI deepfakes exploiting children
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
‘Wildcat Dome’ challenges Japan's historical narratives
On the surface, "Wildcat Dome" tells a personal story of damaged children — now adults — bound together by tragedy. Underneath, there’s a constant undercurrent of political consequence, invisible and pervasive like radioactive particles.
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Magokoro Yoshihira (center) is the managing director of Yui Associates, which operates the neighborhood fixtures of Sanya Cafe and Juyoh Hotel. Yusuke Takahashi (left) met Yoshihira during a difficult period in his life and now works as the cafe’s chef. Nancy Anne (right) has worked for over 10 years at Juyoh Hotel and enjoys the multicultural environment.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

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