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November 21, 2024
 

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Catherine Thorbecke
SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son (right) and Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia, take part in a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2024
Masayoshi Son is trying to make up for past mistakes
SoftBank, once Nvidia’s top shareholder, dumped its stake — oops! — before the chipmaker became one of the most valuable companies in the world.
U.S. lawmakers and others speak at a news conference in Washington in March to voice their opposition to legislation cracking down on TikTok.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2024
China’s silence on U.S. Tiktok ban speaks volumes
Beijing's past actions suggest that protecting its national interests, including ByteDance's valuable algorithm, outweighs concerns about foreign investment.
Activists hold up symbolic eye masks during a protest against deepfake porn in Seoul on Aug. 30.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2024
South Korea is facing deepfake porn crisis
The industry creating AI technology must develop safeguards to address this epidemic.
From Malaysia to Brazil, free speech is being pitted against social media regulation.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2024
To hold Big Tech accountable, focus on the harms
The Malaysian case underscores the urgent need for effective safeguards against online abuse, while raising concerns about the potential misuse of regulatory power.
In China, discussing feminism is apparently forbidden, as seen with the controversy over the maker of Black Myth: Wukong censoring feminist topics during streaming, despite its global success and praise for visuals and gameplay. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2024
Wukong makes equal rights for women a taboo topic
Women are increasingly active consumers in the gaming industry: The growth rate of new female gamers in Asia is nearly double that of males.
An AI-driven smartphone application, jointly developed by a tech startup and researchers at Nihon University, purports to tell when cats feel pain. It was being demonstrated during a vet examination in Fujisawa on June 11.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 23, 2024
Japan should go big or go home on startups
As of last month, Japan had just 10 unicorns, according to Pitchbook data, compared to 714 in the U.S., 316 in China and 62 in India.
A Goku balloon from the “Dragon Ball” anime series takes part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan in November 2018. Japan’s creative industries are under threat as AI tools make it easy to mimic anime, manga and other forms of the nation’s artistic output.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2024
Japan’s soft AI stance is betraying its anime artists
From Studio Ghibli to Pokemon, the country’s creatives have driven its influence and must be protected.
Beijing's push to integrate core socialist values into its chatbots highlights a significant challenge in China's bid to compete with the U.S. in AI development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2024
What's wrong about ‘Chat XiPT’ is bigger than China
The difficulty of creating AI models infused with specific values will likely hurt China’s efforts to create chatbots as sophisticated as those in the U.S.
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, aims to create energy-efficient AI models that tackle long-term national-level issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024
What a Japanese AI unicorn can teach Silicon Valley
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, is taking a long-term approach to the development of AI for good.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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