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February 22, 2025
 

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STARTUPS

An example of utilizing waterfront spaces, such as developing public waterfront embarkments and privately owned roads into a unified plaza, and operating moored ships as hotels. The land ministry views this as a reference case for a public-private partnerships system. The photo was taken in December, in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2025
Private funds tapped for revitalization of Japan's port green areas
Many local governments across the nation are inviting businesses to boost the appeal of port areas by developing commercial facilities and cafes.
Japan’s robo-adviser market, estimated to be worth around ¥3 trillion, has massive room for growth, says the CEO of robo-adviser Folio Holdings.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2025
SBI-backed Japan robo-adviser Folio targets swing to profit and IPO
Japan’s robo-adviser market is estimated to be worth around $19.8 billion.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (right) and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at an event on Monday to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2025
SoftBank forms joint venture with OpenAI in enterprise play
SoftBank and OpenAI said that the joint venture will help large Japanese enterprises in the adoption and training of Cristal intelligence in order to improve their businesses.
Bosses at artificial intelligence companies are concerned about finding enough electricity to keep servers running at data centers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 31, 2025
AI’s electricity demand means new tech is coming to grids
Startups have an opportunity to develop and deploy grid-enhancing technologies, including pumping more power through cables.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Ispace's Resilience lunar lander lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2025
Japanese space startup launches second bid for historic moon landing
A successful landing would make Ispace the first private Asian company to touch down on the moon.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada with the countdown clock for the launch of the startup's lunar lander, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Thursday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2025
Japanese space startup readies for second lunar lander launch
Ispace's Resilience lander will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Toyota invests in Japanese rocket startup as SpaceX races ahead
The investment is the latest sign of progress in the Japanese government’s push to nurture the country’s private space sector.
Yasushi Dozen, chief investment officer at Kepple
BUSINESS
Jan 2, 2025
Japan's ¥10 trillion startup investment target more improbable than ever
Investors and startup supporters say Japan is still in the seed-planting phase of startup development and must address some structural issues.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market 250 Index is down about 11% so far this year and set for its fourth yearly loss.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 24, 2024
Japan startups set for longest rout on record as rate hike looms
A rate hike by the Bank of Japan would make it more expensive for new companies to finance research and development.
A close up of EV batteries at the production unit of Inobat, a Slovakian battery maker in Voderady, Slovakia, on Dec. 11
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024
After Northvolt, Europe's battery hopes heavily rely on China
The norm in the future may be joint ventures that rely on China's low-margin electric vehicle battery dominance.
People gather to view a rocket launch test by AstroX in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture on Nov. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2024
Fukushima startup aiming to launch rocket from flying balloon
Since the method does not require large-scale ground facilities, the cost can be reduced to one-third of that on the ground, according to the company.
Space One's Kairos No. 2 rocket is launched in Wakayama Prefecture on Wednesday. The launch subsequently failed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 18, 2024
Tokyo startup's second satellite launch attempt ends in failure
Space One was again bidding to become the first private Japanese company to place a satellite into orbit.
A United Nations panel on space traffic coordination in late October said that urgent action was necessary to track and manage objects in low Earth orbit because of the rapid increase in satellites and space junk.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024
Japan and India startups to study using lasers to tackle space debris
Japan's Orbital Lasers is building a system that will use laser energy to stop the rotation of space junk by vaporizing small parts of its surface.
SoftBank Group will make a tender offer allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
SoftBank seeks to buy $1.5 billion OpenAI shares from employees
SoftBank will make a tender offer for the stock, allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
A view of the city skyline and Huangpu river in Shanghai on Feb. 24, 2022
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 25, 2024
China's startups suffer as investors exercise redemption rights
The situation conflicts with the government's resolve to foster innovation and achieve technological self-reliance in systemically important industries.
Elon Musk during a campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2024
Silicon Valley’s Trump supporters envision ascendant startups and Vance 2028
The surge of GOP support and contributions set records in the largely left-leaning tech industry, splintering once-clubby relationships.
Japan controlled half or more of the global chips market through the 1980s but has less than a tenth of the market today.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Japan taps U.S. chip startup Tenstorrent to help train new wave of engineers
The contract is part of Japan's effort to reinvigorate its semiconductor industry.
Tech entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between California's technology culture and Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2024
Masayoshi Son may be the oddest of the oddball billionaires
Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between Californian tech culture and Japan.
Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Oct 12, 2024
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep
After years of sleep deficits and drowsy mornings, a growing number of products and services are being developed to help us rest easier.
A factory operated by metal processing company Iwanuma Seiko, which has been entrusted with work involving the space industry for the first time
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 17, 2024
Small firms in Tohoku showcase technologies in growing space sector
The government plans to boost the space technology market, leading to hopes of a space industry ecosystem in the region.
Yen advances past ¥150 per dollar as BOJ rate-hike bets ramp up
The Japanese currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar on Thursday, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Record percentage of Japanese firms plan wage hikes, survey shows
Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank.
Japan’s inflation speeds up, keeping BOJ on rate hike path
A customer visits a store along the Togoshi Ginza shopping street in Tokyo on Jan. 23. Rising fresh food prices contributed to the acceleration in overall inflation in January, as vegetable prices, including cabbage, soared.
Victor Wembanyama expected to miss remainder of regular season with blood clot
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (right) is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season, the team announced on Thursday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

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