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July 05, 2026
 

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TECH

Sharp is targeting ¥300 billion in new business sales by fiscal 2030
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2026
Sharp targets ¥300 billion new business sales by fiscal 2030
Sharp also plans to expand its satellite communications equipment business, including compact antennas.
Google has lost its fight against a record European Union antitrust fine of €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion), a development seen as likely ​to boost Europe's crackdown on Big Tech.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2026
Google loses fight against record €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine
The ruling by Europe’s top court is seen as being likely to boost the bloc’s crackdown on Big Tech.
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 / Companies
Jul 3, 2026
SoftBank plans to rent AI compute in U.S. at 10-gigawatt scale
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.
OpenAI has discussed giving the U.S. government a 5% stake as artificial intelligence firms face scrutiny in Washington.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2026
OpenAI proposes handing U.S. government a 5% stake, report says
The move follows growing public backlash ​in the U.S. over AI’s potential to cause economic upheaval, including layoffs, and could help OpenAI sweeten ties with the government.
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.
Apple MacBook Neo laptop computers
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2026
Apple seeks to buy Chinese-made memory chips by lobbying U.S.
The iPhone maker wants to reduce the impact of a global memory shortage that’s forced it to raise prices across its product line.
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
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.
The government plans to invest ¥150 billion in Rakuten Mobile in a push to develop a homegrown satellite communication system and reduce reliance on firms such as Starlink.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2026
Japan to invest ¥150 billion in Rakuten’s domestic satellite project
The investment is part of a push to develop a homegrown satellite network and to reduce Starlink’s dominance in the field.
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.
Signage at the lobby of the Tencent Holdings headquarters in Shenzhen, China, on April 17
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2026
Alibaba and Tencent dropped by DC lobbyists to comply with U.S. curbs
Under a new law, the Defense Department will be barred from working with any company represented by lobbyists who also work for entities blacklisted by the Pentagon.
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.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center) meets with advocates for the country's social media ban for children under 16 at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2026
Australia gives regulator more power to pursue Big Tech over under-16 social media ban
The move ​comes as evidence suggests children are still able to access the platforms six months ‌after the ‌world-first restrictions took effect in December.
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.
Rapid advances in AI, highlighted by powerful models like those from Anthropic, are outpacing government oversight and increasing cyber and and other risks.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2026
Living without an AI kill switch
There is no simple way to shut down advanced AI once it exists, so societies must learn to manage its risks rather than rely on a single fail-safe.
Kioxia Holdings has grown into Japan’s most valuable company this year thanks to an AI-fueled boom for memory products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2026
Kioxia plans new U.S. listing in spring and stock split at home
The supplier of NAND storage aims to take advantage of runaway demand for exposure to AI-related semiconductor stocks.
Alibaba’s American depositary receipts sank to a session low on the news, falling more than 3% to $99.10 at 3:38 p.m. in New York on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2026
Anthropic accuses Alibaba of ‘illicitly’ accessing AI models
The U.S. AI developer had previously decided to keep its products out of China.
People visit the Delta Electronics booth during the annual Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 3, 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2026
Thai stock market thriving as surprise beneficiary of AI boom
While the country lacks the semiconductor champions of Taiwan or South Korea, investors are increasingly recognizing its role in supplying the infrastructure behind AI.
‘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 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.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
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.

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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