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November 22, 2024
 

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STARTUPS

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2023
OpenAI restores Sam Altman as CEO after his tumultuous ouster
In addition to Altman's return, the company agreed to partly reconstitute the board of directors that dismissed him.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a photo while wearing Stanford baseball caps with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a discussion on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, at Stanford University on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2023
Japan and South Korea float idea of stronger ties through startups
Both leaders stressed the need to cooperate on climate change solutions and quantum computing at a panel discussion Friday.
Tokyo-based Luup controls more than 90% of the country’s shared e-scooter market in terms of ride mileage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2023
E-scooter startup wins over Japanese regulators who confounded Uber
Tokyo-based Luup controls more than 90% of the country’s shared e-scooter market in terms of ride mileage, based on government-compiled data.
SoftBank Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son. Son's trust in his own intuition may have made him unwilling to heed red flags and opposition from his advisers regarding investments in WeWork.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023
WeWork saga cost Masayoshi Son $11.5 billion and his credibility
WeWork's bankruptcy filing caps a yearslong saga that revealed breathtaking flaws in the Japanese billionaire's investment style.
NTT plans to test driverless vehicle technology with Toyota and invest in a U.S. startup.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023
NTT to test driverless tech with Toyota and invest in U.S. startup
NTT aims to start tests with autonomous buses and taxis as early as 2025 and invest about ¥10 billion ($66.91 million) in U.S. startup May Mobility.
A used KIA electric car is seen for sale outside the showroom of a used car dealer in Manchester, Britain
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2023
The battery test race to work out what used EVs are really worth
There used to be no way to measure battery health. But that is changing as firms rush to scale up EV battery tests — some of which take just minutes.
The PayPay app now seeks to keep its pace of double-digit growth with help from other SoftBank portfolio companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 5, 2023
SoftBank’s PayPay app showcases Masayoshi Son’s clout in Japan
Seen to be next in SoftBank’s initial public offering pipeline, the startup now holds two-thirds’ share in QR-code payments in Japan.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2023
SoftBank’s Son tells Japan: Adopt AI or get left behind again
Japan, which largely missed the initial wave of growth from the internet, can’t afford to lose another three decades, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said.
Akinori Ishii, of startup Tsubame Industries Co., sits inside the cockpit of ARCHAX, a giant human-piloted robot developed by him and CEO Ryo Yoshida, in Yokohama on Sept. 27.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 2, 2023
Japan startup develops 'Gundam'-like robot with $3 million price tag
The 3.5-ton robot has two modes: the upright "robot mode" and a "vehicle mode" in which it can travel up to 10 kilometers per hour.
The Nasdaq market site in New York. Dozens of Japanese startups are preparing to list on the Nasdaq in the next few years.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 2, 2023
Nasdaq helps Japan startups escape risk-averse home market
An unprecedented number of entrepreneurs turn away from an aging, risk-averse home market.
The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 28, 2023
AI chip crunch: Startups vie for Nvidia's vital component
Generative AI's lifeblood is a book-sized semiconductor known as the graphics processing unit (GPU) — built by one company, Nvidia.
MUFG Bank is aiming to foray into space by investing in startups.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2023
MUFG Bank among firms to lead $290 million Sierra Space fundraising
Sierra Space is among a handful of space industry players attempting to build a private space station.
Aillis CEO Sho Okiyama receives the first place award from Pegasus Tech Ventues founder and CEO Anis Uzzaman at the Startup World Cup Tokyo preliminary on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2023
Two Japanese startups to compete in Startup World Cup 2023 final
Smart homes and AI-assisted medical devices took top prizes, with the winners now set to attend the final competition in San Francisco.
Nvidia's corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company dominates the market for chips that work with massive amounts of language data.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2023
Nvidia's dominance in AI chips deters funding for startups
Nvidia's supremacy in building computer chips for artificial intelligence has chilled venture funding for would-be rivals, investors have said.
Shuhei Abe, founder of Sparx Group, is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2023
Buffett spurs Japan activist pioneer to seek $2 billion for fund
Shuhei Abe is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
An autonomous truck in Stack AV’s test fleet
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023
SoftBank backs autonomous trucking firm started by ex-Ford execs
The new firm, named Stack AV, is led by three executives who previously ran Argo AI, the self-driving operation that Ford and VW shut down last year.
Construction workers repair a street during a heat wave in Corpus Christi, Texas, in July.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2023
Startups are inventing cooling clothes for a hotter future
With 2023 on track to be the hottest year on record, a number of startups are exploring new technologies and textiles for keeping people cool.
The initial public offering for Arm Holdings is set to be the biggest in the United States this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 22, 2023
SoftBank’s planned IPO for Arm set to be biggest of 2023
Arm didn’t disclose proposed terms for the share sale in the document, but it’s expected to seek a valuation of $60 billion to $70 billion.
A year of restraint in investments has helped SoftBank regain its financial footing, accumulating a cash pile of almost ¥6 trillion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2023
SoftBank begins making investments again but ‘timidly with fear’
A year of restraint in investments has helped SoftBank regain its financial footing, accumulating a cash pile of almost ¥6 trillion.
Softbank's Vision Fund unit swung to a profit of ¥61 billion in the quarter ended June, compared with a ¥2.33 trillion loss for the same period a year ago.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2023
Global tech stock rebound lifts SoftBank Vision Fund into profit
The fund logged a ¥61 billion profit in the quarter ended June — its first in over a year — compared with a ¥2.33 trillion loss a year ago.
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.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
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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