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June 30, 2026
 

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TECH

The Justice Ministry setting up a study panel regarding the misuse of generative artificial intelligence comes amid a sharp rise in such cases and concerns legislation in Japan has not kept up with the rapid advancement of AI.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2026
Government to launch study panel for generative-AI misuse
With a meeting scheduled for late April, the group will examine civil liability for the unauthorized use of people’s likenesses and voices.
A boom in generative artificial intelligence has sent data center demand skyrocketing, with dozens of projects springing up across the United States.
WORLD / Society
Apr 17, 2026
New Jersey city spurns data center as defiance spreads
The success of grassroots resistance in New Brunswick has made activists nationwide curious about how the city managed to kill plans for the power-hungry facility.
An experiment by a small city in Aichi Prefecture suggests that smartphone restrictions targeting only children are less effective than those targeting the entire family, as children’s screen habits closely mirror their parents.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 17, 2026
The parent problem: When smartphone rules end at the school gate
Children who exceeded two hours of daily screen time tended to have parents with similarly high usage. The relationship held across age groups.
Human intelligence can become more valuable if AI is used to complement it, such as with Malaysia's rubber industry, where the government invested in research to make rubber producers more productive.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2026
Rubber’s history could be a window into AI’s future
To this day, for example, aircraft tires are mostly made from natural rubber because synthetics can’t handle the stress of landing a 747.
A shift is occurring in the translation industry both in Japan and across the globe, where using artificial intelligence in place of humans is increasingly becoming standard practice.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 16, 2026
As AI advances, translators forced to adapt to industry changes
Translators are having to grapple with lower pay and higher expectations, all while the future of the industry itself is in doubt.
The rise of artificial intelligence highlights how the resume, once meant to standardize hiring, has become easily fabricated, undermining its usefulness and underscoring the need for more effective ways to evaluate job candidates.
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2026
AI is hastening the resume’s demise. Good riddance.
The resume may have been created with good intentions but it has never performed the job it was supposed to do. It’s time to let it go.
Elon Musk attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. Musk’s Grokipedia exemplifies how privately controlled AI chatbots are placed to shape public opinion through opaque algorithms without transparency or oversight.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2026
Who’s whispering in your chatbot’s ear?
Chatbots do not simply curate existing information; they generate and frame it.
A BYD Atto 2 EV in the showroom in the Mayfair district of London
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 13, 2026
China’s clean tech firms signal windfall from Gulf energy shock
Rising oil and natural gas prices, plus a renewed emphasis on energy security, are boosting demand for batteries and electric vehicles.
An Odd Systems first-person-view drone with a weighted dummy explosive attached awaits a test flight at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Nov. 6, 2025.
WORLD
Apr 13, 2026
He made a gadget to amuse pets. Then he turned to killer drones.
The founders of Petcube have moved on to a new idea that reflects an across-the-board transformation of Ukraine’s civilian technology industry into a hub of military contracting.
Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Apr 13, 2026
Can AI replace a priest? Japan’s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
Japan’s temples experiment with artificial intelligence as questions of faith, presence and care grow more urgent.
A newly established AI company led by SoftBank, NEC, Sony Group and Honda Motor will apply for a government-backed AI development support program run by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2026
SoftBank and others set up new firm to develop high-performance AI
Engineers from SoftBank and Tokyo-based AI developer Preferred Networks Inc. are expected to participate in the development.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during the opening of a Rapidus chip analysis factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2026
Japan bets ¥632 billion to propel startup Rapidus into global AI chip race
The move ramps up financial support for a signature project widely regarded as a long shot.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2026
Japan group eyes practical use of smart contact lens in 2030
The development of a smart contact lens began overseas around 2008, but a lens that measures intraocular pressure is the only product now available in Japan and abroad.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit of government officials, corporate executives and labor leaders, in Washington on March 11.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 11, 2026
Man arrested for throwing Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO’s home
San Francisco police arrested a man on Friday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. No one was injured.
A Tesla Model 3 is shown driving on the highway with FSD 14.2.2.3 self-driving supervised software in Irvine, California, in January.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 11, 2026
Tesla’s supervised self-driving software gets Dutch OK, first in Europe
The electric car maker hopes to see similar action from the rest of the European Union soon.
Go runs the most widely used taxi hailing app in Japan in terms of user numbers, according to a survey in 2024 by ICT Research and Consulting.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2026
Goldman-backed Go taxi app said to plan Japan IPO this year
Discussions on the IPO are ongoing and details such as the target valuation and timing are subject to change.
A woman walks past an advertisement for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Nagoya. The Japanese Olympic Committee plans to fight back against online abuse of athletes during the upcoming event.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 9, 2026
You’re being watched: Japan battles online abuse of athletes
Japanese Olympic Committee officials tried to combat online abuse against athletes during the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics and plan to do so again at the Asian Games.
Gwanghwamun Square, the venue of BTS’ comeback concert, in Seoul on March 21. Seoul-based startup Galaxy is trying to disrupt K-pop’s traditional idol system — a model built on years of recruiting, training and managing human performers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2026
AI K-Pop startup Galaxy aims for IPO in Seoul and New York
The goal of the company, which is preparing for what could be the first overseas listing by a K-pop agency, is to create content without the constraint of human performers.
Participants line up to install OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent, outside the Baidu offices in Beijing on March 17.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2026
There’s method to China’s OpenClaw madness
It arrived at exactly the right moment for China’s AI sector. After months of brutal price wars, it gave model builders a reason to charge more for tokens.
An employee works with FP-1 long-range drones at a production facility of Fire Point company in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 2.
WORLD
Apr 7, 2026
Ukraine missile maker targets ‘game changer’ air defense system by 2027
Years of know-how gained on the battlefield fighting Russian forces have made Ukraine a leading innovator in low-cost defense tech.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
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.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
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."
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.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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

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