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July 08, 2026
 

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TECH

Some tech titans like Elon Musk envision an AI-driven future of “socialism from above,” where machines generate abundance while the means of production remain in the hands of a wealthy few.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2026
Artificial intelligence, robots and Silicon Valley’s top-down socialism
The architects of AI are open about the fact that they are creating systems whose success in generating material abundance could also obliterate large swaths of the labor market.
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia, talks about partnering with Mercedes Benz during the Nvidia Live event at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 12, 2026
Nvidia and Tesla chase same self-driving goal via varying paths
While Tesla and Nvidia are fundamentally different companies, their dynamic underscores how unsettled the autonomous vehicle arms race remains.
As part of efforts to boost security of user data as ‍online fraud and data breaches increase in the world’s second-largest smartphone market, India is proposing requiring smartphone makers to share their source codes with the government, prompting behind-the-scenes opposition.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 12, 2026
India mulls forcing smartphone makers to give source code in security overhaul
The plan is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to boost security of user data as ‍online fraud and data breaches increase in the country.
Malaysia’s tech regulator said on Sunday that the country suspended access to Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok over AI-generated pornographic content.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 11, 2026
Malaysia suspends access to Musk’s Grok AI
On Saturday Indonesia became the first country to deny all access to the tool, which has been restricted to paying subscribers elsewhere.
X CEO Elon Musk boards Air Force One to depart for Philadelphia from Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, last March.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 11, 2026
Musk says X to make algorithm open source in days
The company has also been working to incorporate more artificial intelligence into its recommendation algorithm for X, using Grok, Musk’s AI chatbot.
Fujitsu's physical AI system, which allows robots to move autonomously and in coordination with one another, is showcased at the CES tech show in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The robots are made by external manufacturers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2026
Fujitsu showcases automotive software tech at CES
Fujitsu’s AI can help mitigate the costs and labor needed for developing programs for software defined vehicles.
Gwanghwamun square in central Seoul on Thursday. South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics reported a preliminary operating profit of 20 trillion won ($13.8 billion) in the three months through December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2026
Samsung’s profit triples after AI supercharges memory market
South Korea’s largest company reported a preliminary operating profit of 20 trillion won ($13.8 billion) in the three months through December, up 208%.
Commuters pass a billboard advertising AI employees at a London Underground station. As artificial intelligence spreads, many people are asking whether it will take their jobs.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2026
Six unresolved AI questions heading into 2026
We were promised tools to cure disease and solve climate change, but 2025 mostly delivered AI slop and a spammier internet.
A screenshot of Loverse app shows an AI-generated woman, characterized as a 25-year-old hair and makeup artist Miyu, registered as a female companion.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2026
Swipe right for AI romance
An app called Loverse aims to give users the closest depiction of the real thing — complete with all its unpredictability.
The Capmind voice memory assistant earbuds are displayed during CES Unveiled ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 7, 2026
From music to mind reading: AI startups bet on earbuds
Startups have for a while tried to beef up headphones beyond their basic functions, such as listening to music and making phone calls.
Amazon is using an experimental artificial intelligence tool to duplicate independent sellers' product listings, sometimes without their knowledge, then make purchases on behalf of Amazon customers.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2026
Amazon AI tool blindsides merchants by offering products without their knowledge
While Amazon’s strategy could generate sales an independent seller might not otherwise get, it raises questions about who bears responsibility when something goes awry.
Waseda University professor Shigeki Sugano discusses AIREC, an AI-driven humanoid robot project at the university's laboratory in Tokyo in February. Japan is leveraging artificial intelligence and robotics to address demographic and other challenges, particularly elderly care.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 6, 2026
Japan’s long return to artificial intelligence
Japan’s re-engagement with artificial intelligence is commonly framed as “catching up.”
According to the National Police Agency, police nationwide provided advice to victims of stalking using loss prevention tags in 592 cases between January and November last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 6, 2026
Misuse of loss-prevention tags for stalking on rise in Japan
According to the NPA, police gave advice to victims of stalking via electronic tags in 592 cases between January and November 2025.
An image of an app for insomnia treatment. For Taro Ueno, a psychiatrist and president of Susmed, the idea to develop an app for insomnia came from observing how doctors in Japan overprescribe sleeping pills.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 6, 2026
Japanese startups tout chatbot-powered apps as treatment for medical conditions
These prescription-only apps are designed to help treat a range of conditions, such as hypertension, alcohol addiction and insomnia.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks about autonomous-driving vehicles during a Nvidia keynote address at CES 2026, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 6, 2026
Self-driving and AI take center stage at CES as carmakers dial back EV plans
As automakers have hit the brakes on electric vehicle plans, auto suppliers and start ups are lining up to show off their latest autonomous vehicle hardware and software.
Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, has faced criticism over the rollout of a tool that allows users to request images of a subject with their clothes removed.
WORLD
Jan 6, 2026
‘Remove her clothes’: Global backlash over Grok sexualized images
The tool on social media platform X prompted swift probes or calls for remedial action from countries including France, India and Malaysia.
A Samsung Electronics sign at the IFA Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances trade fair in Berlin on Sept. 5, 2024. Investors are increasingly asking if we’re living through another financial bubble that’s destined to burst.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2026
Is the AI boom a bubble waiting to pop? Here’s what history says.
Investors are increasingly asking if we’re living through another financial bubble that’s destined to burst.
Betting money through online casinos is illegal in Japan, but a National Police Agency-commissioned report released last year estimates that 3.37 million Japanese have used online casinos.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2026
App that blocks gambling sites may offer lifeline for addicts in Japan
Anti-gambling advocates praise Gamban, but say that much more needs to be done to curb addictions.
As U.S. tech companies expand global deals with strong backing from the Trump administration, safeguards to prevent human-rights violations remain absent.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2026
AI must not ignore human rights
If AI companies end up in a race to the bottom, what hope will there be for basic human-rights protections?
X's Grok AI tool created and published images of minors in minimal clothing, in apparent violation of its own acceptable use policy, which prohibits the sexualization of children.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 3, 2026
Grok makes sexual images of kids as users test AI guardrails
X’s AI tool created and published images of minors in minimal clothing, in apparent violation of its own acceptable use policy, which prohibits the sexualization of children.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Prior to launch, Japan ‘strongly urged’ China to reconsider missile test in Pacific
A missile is fired from a Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine on Monday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

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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