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September 02, 2025
 

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TECH

Billionaire Elon Musk's bid is likely to ratchet up longstanding tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the future of the ChatGPT maker at the heart of a boom in generative AI technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025
Musk-led group makes $97.4 billion bid for control of OpenAI
The move was another salvo in billionaire Elon Musk's fight to block the AI startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announces the Stargate Project, an artificial intelligence venture with OpenAI, during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 11, 2025
SoftBank eyes debt-heavy financing for $500 billion AI push
SoftBank and OpenAI’s push to build out tens of gigawatts of datacenter capacity has the potential to be the biggest rollout of computing power ever.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends an interview for national television ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025
Macron beats French investment drum ahead of AI summit
The two-day event in Paris has stated aims that include "mapping" AI governance around the world, and promoting the idea of more ethical, accessible and frugal AI.
Semiconductor chips on a printed circuit board in in 2023. Chinese companies' dramatic increase in legacy chip production capacity in recent years has forced Taiwanese foundries to retreat or pursue more advanced and specialty processes.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025
Taiwan's legacy chip sector contemplates future as China eats into share​
Strong funding support from Beijing and an embrace of lower margins have enabled Chinese foundries to undercut Taiwanese rivals on price.
The Auckland city skyline in 2021
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2025
New Zealand changes ‘golden visa’ to lure wealthy migrants
As well as dropping the English language test, other potential barriers to investment such as the amount of time investors must stay in the country will be adjusted.
Construction for a new Microsoft data center in East Wenatchee, Washington, in November 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025
What DeepSeek? Big Tech keeps its AI building boom alive.
After DeepSeek’s breakthrough rattled markets, U.S. tech giants doubled down on massive data center investments to stay ahead in AI.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, speaks at a White House event with President Donald Trump, left; Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son, third from left; and Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, at the White House on Jan. 21.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 9, 2025
How Sam Altman sidestepped Elon Musk to win over Donald Trump
After helping President Trump get elected, Elon Musk was poised to dominate the nation’s AI policies. But someone got there before him.
Seven Bank has set up ATMs with facial-recognition technology for cash deposits and withdrawals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025
Japan's Seven Bank starts ATM service using face recognition
Named Face Cash, the new service enables depositors with Seven Bank or Shizuoka Bank to make deposits and withdrawals without cash cards or smartphones.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. President Donald Trump. Microsoft and Nvidia are quietly engaging with the Trump administration on policies affecting AI, chip exports and data centers
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025
Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia taking a quieter approach to Trump
Under Biden, the United States curbed the sale of Nvidia chips to China and capped the sales of its AI chips to more than 100 other countries
Dig Shibuya 2025 spotlights tech in art and high-tech experiences such as “Around the Corner,” an interactive piece by the Hong Kong-based technology-driven artist group XRT (extended reality art).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 7, 2025
Shibuya becomes the canvas for tech-infused art during Dig 2025
Now in its sophomore year, the Dig Shibuya digital art festival runs from Feb. 8 to 11, with activities and exhibitions popping up across Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhood.
Rapidus, which is expected to begin pilot production of chips in April and achieve mass production in 2027, is the cornerstone of the government’s effort to revive its domestic semiconductor industry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2025
Cabinet approves bill to fund Rapidus semiconductor production
Rapidus is the cornerstone of the government’s effort to revive its domestic semiconductor industry.
People line up outside an Apple store in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2025
Apple’s China focus thrusts it into center of geopolitical fight
It counts China as its biggest manufacturing hub and the U.S. as its largest market, putting it at the center of an escalating geopolitical fight.
Tokyo Electron, one of a handful of key chip gear-makers globally, revealed expansion plans after posting better-than-expected earnings.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2025
Tokyo Electron plans expansion despite AI spending doubts
The company, one of a handful of key chip gear-makers globally, revealed the expansion after posting better-than-expected earnings.
South Korea, along with countries such as France and Italy, have asked questions about DeepSeek's data practices, submitting a written request for information about how the company handles user information.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2025
South Korean ministries and police block access to DeepSeek
The move comes after the Chinese artificial intelligence startup did not respond to a request about how it manages user information.
SoftBank Group is in talks to acquire Ampere Computing, according to sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2025
SoftBank nears deal to acquire chip designer Ampere
SoftBank is discussing a deal that could value the Oracle-backed chip designer at about $6.5 billion, including debt.
Panasonic will restructure low-growth businesses and make changes to its employment structure, according to a recently released statement.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Panasonic shares jump most in 11 years on restructuring plans
The Osaka-based company will restructure low-growth businesses and make changes to its employment structure.
Google's vow to not use AI for weapons or surveillance have been removed from its guidelines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Google pledge against using AI for weapons vanishes
The revised principles were posted just weeks after Google chief executive Sundar Pichai attended the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
DeepSeek's impressive AI breakthroughs have sparked global attention but face mounting U.S. scrutiny, with potential bans unlikely to stop its open-source technology from spreading worldwide.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
DeepSeek’s breakthroughs are too big for the U.S. to ban
The national security concerns behind the U.S. push to ban TikTok are even more pronounced when it comes to generative AI.
Nintendo announced in January that it will release the console's hotly anticipated successor — the Switch 2 — in 2025, but stopped short of revealing details such as pricing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025
Nintendo cuts net profit forecast as Switch sales slow
Nintendo said it will release the console's hotly anticipated successor — the Switch 2 — in 2025 but stopped short of revealing details such as pricing.
DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough has shaken assumptions about China’s innovation, highlighted weaknesses in U.S. tech restrictions, and reinforced China’s push for self-sufficiency despite export controls.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2025
DeepSeek forces a rethink of China’s ability to innovate
The Trump administration hasn’t outlined a policy toward technology flows yet, but it ordered a review of export controls on day one.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Woman dies after possible knife attack in Setagaya
Police investigate the scene where a woman was found bleeding on a street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
How Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helps their animals cope with extreme heat
A polar bear at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Thursday. The Arctic animals are among the most vulnerable species to Japan's scorching summer heat and zookeepers have to take a number of precautions in order to keep them safe.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
How Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helps their animals cope with extreme heat
A polar bear at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Thursday. The Arctic animals are among the most vulnerable species to Japan's scorching summer heat and zookeepers have to take a number of precautions in order to keep them safe.
Japan is warming up to tattoos — just not permanent ones
Tattoos have a complex history in Japan, but new types of temporary ink are letting locals curious about body art experiment without the commitment.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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