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July 03, 2026
 

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AI

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during an interview on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2026
Finance Minister Katayama says G7 will discuss AI defense standards
Japan’s Financial Services Agency is considering using advanced AI models to conduct cyberattack response drills at financial institutions.
Junichi Miyakawa, the head of SoftBank's telecom unit. The company's new AI-tailored-cloud venture, 49% of which will be owned by its parent group, has the potential to generate profit "on a different order of magnitude,” Miyakawa said in a recent interview.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2026
SoftBank plans to offer AI-tailored cloud services in U.S. from next fiscal year
The mobile carrier operator and group company will set up the new venture this month, aiming to supply data center capacity at a scale of 10 gigawatts by around 2030.
More than a third of consumers in the U.S., U.K. and France use tools such as ChatGPT or Microsoft’s Copilot for product ideas or comparisons.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2026
An English furniture maker faces AI era of bots buying sofas
Consumers are using chatbots to research products now, but agentic AI could one day see bots acting as their personal shopper.
Anime thumbnails adorn the sonic creations on YouTube channel Norinori Core, like this one from the Norinori Remix of Iruka's 1976 track "Nagoriyuki."
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jul 2, 2026
Japan’s first great AI music trend is gloriously wrong
Norinori Core turns old J-pop into dopamine-fueled divisive dance music.
The logo of social media company Meta. As the tech behemoth spends billions annually to build out its artificial intelligence capabilities, employees at Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are increasingly unhappy with their Mark Zuckerberg-led parent company.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 2, 2026
Fear and anger brew inside Meta amid AI frenzy
After weathering layoffs, some Meta employees were reassigned to an internal artificial intelligence training initiative that has drawn accusations of surveillance.
An android at the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo on May 28
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
Japan plans sovereign AI model and 10 million AI robots
The country will reportedly invest around $6 billion in the homemade AI model, which will be developed by Noetra, a consortium of firms including SoftBank and Sony.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is collaborating with companies including Nvidia to integrate AI and ⁠robotics, and last month announced a development hub in Silicon Valley.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2026
Kawasaki Heavy seeks ¥200 billion via new shares and convertible bonds: sources
The company will decide on ‌the details ‌of the issuance as soon as this week, the sources said.
Panasonic Holdings CEO Yuki Kusumi has been revamping the business to cut costs and take advantage of global growth areas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2026
Panasonic targets further AI growth to build on record valuation
The Japanese electronics conglomerate is attracting renewed investor attention as a beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom.
Officials from tech companies and South Korea’s government after a public briefing on the development vision for advanced industry in Gwangju on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2026
Samsung and SK Hynix’s mega South Korea chips gamble tests optimism of AI cycle
The tech giants won praise from President Lee Jae Myung after throwing their weight behind the government’s semiconductor push.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on April 6.
WORLD
Jul 1, 2026
CIA chief compares cutting-edge AI to nuclear weapons
John Ratcliffe’s comments form a tacit defense of Washington’s recent hard line on controlling the release of the most powerful AI technology.
The industry ministry announced ¥387.3 billion in funding to develop a domestic foundation model for physical AI that controls robots, aiming to strengthen the country's competitiveness against the United States and China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2026
Japan announces aid for domestic AI development project
The industry ministry aims to help the country catch up with the United States and China in AI technology.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2026
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
The panel’s proposal urged the government to exclude lithium-ion batteries from the restrictions by introducing safety standards for batteries.
Jay Y. Lee, chairman of Samsung Electronics, speaks during a news conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 29, 2026
South Korea taps Samsung and SK Hynix in $576 billion AI-chip drive
Flanked ​by the chiefs of the world’s two biggest memory chipmakers, Lee cast the initiative as a “great leap forward.”
Japanese AI-related shares are likely to correct over the next two months, but the sector may rebound next year on the prospect of favorable U.S. policy measures, RBC BlueBay Asset Management says.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 29, 2026
BlueBay sees near-term risk in Japan AI stocks followed by rally
AI-related shares are likely to correct over the next two months but the sector may rebound next year on the prospect of favorable U.S. policy measures, says one portfolio manager.
Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu speaks in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2026
Canada sends trade mission to Japan in diversification effort
Canada is looking to increase trade with Japan by leveraging its abundant natural resources, as well as its strengths in artificial intelligence and agricultural products.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, pose for a group photo ahead of an expanded session of the Group of Seven summit in France on June 16.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2026
Japan and India to set up task force on LNG stockpiling
Japan and India hope to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy security to prepare for future risks of supply disruptions.
Recent swings in tech stocks are reviving fears of an AI bubble — and some experts warn that if it pops, the fallout could be bigger than anything Wall Street has ever seen.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 27, 2026
Should we fear an AI bubble bust?
Recent swings in tech stocks are reviving fears of an AI bubble — and some experts warn that if it pops, the fallout could be bigger than anything Wall Street has ever seen.
Anthropic won U.S. approval to restore some access to its powerful Mythos 5 artificial intelligence model, after resolving government concerns about the technology's potential threats to national security.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 27, 2026
Anthropic’s Mythos 5 AI model cleared by U.S. for wider use
The clearance eases a confrontation that erupted two weeks ago when the government abruptly barred Anthropic from giving foreign nationals access to Mythos 5 and a related model.
Sony is halting sales of its Aibo robotic dog in Japan, ending an era for the interactive pet that became an instant hit and developed its own personality.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2026
Sony discontinues Japan sales of Aibo robot puppy
The first iteration of Aibo came out in 1999, followed by numerous models over the years.
Takeda Pharmaceutical is targeting a return on equity of at least 5% over that time, the company's newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Julie Kim said at her first news conference after assuming the top job this week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2026
Takeda sees return to growth within three years, new CEO says
The company is targeting a return on equity of at least 5% over that time, Julie Kim said at her first news conference after assuming the top job this week.
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.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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
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.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
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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