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July 04, 2026
 

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AI

A Kioxia semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Kioxia prepares U.S. shares after riding AI boom to big profit
The Tokyo-based firm’s meteoric rise encapsulates the booming demand for memory as hyperscalers rush to build AI infrastructure.
An AI industrial humanoid robot is demonstrated at Foxconn’s annual tech day in Taipei in November.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2026
Will artificial intelligence solve wealthy nations’ debt woes?
If anything, the technology is likely to cause profound — and costly — problems on the way to the halcyon future.
Alphabet, the parent of Google, sold ¥576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) in bonds in the largest ever yen deal by a non-Japanese company as competition to fund data centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Alphabet sells biggest yen bond on record by foreign issuer
The Google parent sold ¥576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) of bonds as competition to fund centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (center) receives recommendations from Masaaki Taira (second from left), chairperson of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Headquarters for National Cybersecurity Strategy, at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2026
Takaichi says responding to Mythos is a ‘race against time’
Mythos, developed by U.S. startup Anthropic, is highly adept at identifying system vulnerabilities, which has sparked concerns about its possible use in cyberattacks.
The U.S. has an opportunity to use its lead in artificial intelligence technology to create a global governance mechanism to ensure safer, more resilient systems, OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs, Chris Lehane, said.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 14, 2026
OpenAI floats idea of global AI governance body with U.S. and China
Such an organization could resemble the International Atomic Energy Agency, OpenAI Vice President of Global Affairs Chris Lehane says.
Amazon is hoping that AI-powered answers will help keep shoppers from defecting to other sites or chatbots.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 14, 2026
Amazon puts Alexa inside the shopping search bar in AI push
Queries typed into Amazon’s website and mobile app will soon reply, depending on the context, with product comparisons or suggestions generated by AI large language models.
TDK CEO Noboru Saito says the firm is prepared to add investments to ride the global boom in generative artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
TDK ready to step up investment to ride AI wave
CEO Noboru Saito sees the surge of AI applications and services escalating the need for denser and more advanced energy storage.
MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking are all likely to gain access to Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model, Mythos.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
Japan megabanks set to win Mythos access after Bessent visit
Mythos access could be granted to MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank as early as the end of May.
A chat window for chatbot Grok. Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, is moving with urgency to boost revenue by selling chatbot subscriptions and access to its computing resources before SpaceX’s expected IPO next month.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 14, 2026
Musk’s xAI races to get Wall Street firms to use Grok chatbot
The blitz forms part of a push to bolster revenue ahead of parent company SpaceX’s initial public offering.
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
SoftBank profit jumps, emboldens Son to bet more on OpenAI
SoftBank earned a net income of ¥1.83 trillion in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of ¥295.2 billion.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30 last year.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2026
Investors say they want Trump and Xi to stay out of AI’s way
Whether the U.S. will relax chip export restrictions will be a point of focus at the two leaders’ summit.
Samsung, whose operating profit soared 48-fold in the March quarter, is projected to surpass Apple and Alphabet to rank second only to Nvidia among the world’s most profitable tech companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2026
South Korea roils market by floating ‘citizen dividend’ from AI gains
The benchmark Kospi sank as much as 5.1%, then pared losses after the influential policy adviser clarified he wanted to tap “excess tax revenue” generated from the AI boom.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, is considering a multibillion-dollar investment in France for an AI data center project, people familiar with the matter says.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2026
SoftBank in talks for major data center project in France
CEO Masayoshi Son is considering a multibillion-dollar investment in the country as part of SoftBank’s broader buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
SoftBank will partner with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production of large-scale battery cells from the fiscal year starting next April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2026
SoftBank plans to make large-scale batteries for AI data centers
SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the firm said.
Alphabet’s Gemini artificial intelligence model is considered one of the best in the industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 11, 2026
AI wins have Alphabet poised to become world’s biggest company
Over the past year, Alphabet has gone from an artificial intelligence afterthought to the one firm in the market with dominant positions in nearly every aspect of the technology.
A screen shows news footage of the bilateral meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea, at a restaurant in Shenzhen, China, on Oct. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 11, 2026
Trump and China’s Xi set for talks spanning Iran, nuclear, trade and AI
The two sides are expected to agree to forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, but many details are still to be discussed.
The plan is meant to improve customer convenience as well as reduce the workload of bank employees, with banks tending to be understaffed, especially in rural areas.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2026
FSA to develop AI agent to help with customer service at regional banks
The aim is to improve customer convenience as well as reduce the workload of bank employees, with banks tending to be understaffed, especially in rural areas.
SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son takes the stage with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at an AI Conference in Tokyo in February 2025.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2026
OpenAI is so yesterday — even for SoftBank
Liquidity is as important as paper gains. There are already signs that capital markets are souring on Son’s biggest bet.
Mitsubishi UFJ is enhancing its services partly by leveraging expertise from technology giants.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2026
MUFG to form strategic partnership with Google
The two firms will develop a service to assist customers in online shopping and payments with the help of artificial intelligence.
Digital minister Hisashi Matsumoto answers questions at a Lower House plenary session in April.
JAPAN
May 6, 2026
Government to launch AI pilot program to boost efficiency and encourage tech’s adoption
Gennai, a generative artificial intelligence platform developed for internal use by civil servants, will be rolled out across 39 government agencies.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

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