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July 08, 2026
 

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TECH

Batteries for electric vehicles at a Gotion High-tech Co. plant in Hefei, China
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2026
China’s green tech firms target new consumers hit by Iran war energy shock
Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels have been wooing nations looking to wean themselves off costly fuel imports.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, is considering a multibillion-dollar investment in France for an AI data center project, people familiar with the matter says.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2026
SoftBank in talks for major data center project in France
CEO Masayoshi Son is considering a multibillion-dollar investment in the country as part of SoftBank’s broader buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
An exhibit at a brain research facility at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology in China in 2025
WORLD
May 12, 2026
Why brain implants are more than a sci-fi fantasy
Researchers have been working for decades on brain-computer interfaces to help those suffering from paralysis, blindness and hearing loss.
SoftBank will partner with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production of large-scale battery cells from the fiscal year starting next April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2026
SoftBank plans to make large-scale batteries for AI data centers
SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the firm said.
Alphabet’s Gemini artificial intelligence model is considered one of the best in the industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 11, 2026
AI wins have Alphabet poised to become world’s biggest company
Over the past year, Alphabet has gone from an artificial intelligence afterthought to the one firm in the market with dominant positions in nearly every aspect of the technology.
GO, a taxi-hailing app operator backed by Goldman Sachs Group, is targeting a valuation of about ¥200 billion in an initial public offering that could raise up to ¥90 billion, with an announcement possible as early as next week and a listing aimed for mid-June.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2026
Goldman-backed Go app seeks $1.3 billion valuation in Tokyo IPO
The taxi-hailing app operator may announce the IPO as soon as next week and aims to list in mid-June.
The plan is meant to improve customer convenience as well as reduce the workload of bank employees, with banks tending to be understaffed, especially in rural areas.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2026
FSA to develop AI agent to help with customer service at regional banks
The aim is to improve customer convenience as well as reduce the workload of bank employees, with banks tending to be understaffed, especially in rural areas.
Sony Group said Friday it expects operating profit to rise about 11% to ¥1.6 trillion for the year through March 2027, broadly in line with market expectations.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2026
Sony announces $3 billion buyback as memory prices take toll
Sony’s shares are down 22% this year as escalating component costs erode margins across the consumer electronics industry.
Mitsubishi UFJ is enhancing its services partly by leveraging expertise from technology giants.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2026
MUFG to form strategic partnership with Google
The two firms will develop a service to assist customers in online shopping and payments with the help of artificial intelligence.
Digital minister Hisashi Matsumoto answers questions at a Lower House plenary session in April.
JAPAN
May 6, 2026
Government to launch AI pilot program to boost efficiency and encourage tech’s adoption
Gennai, a generative artificial intelligence platform developed for internal use by civil servants, will be rolled out across 39 government agencies.
Domestically produced Jindallae mobile phones are displayed at a stall during the opening of the 24th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair at the Central Youth Hall in Pyongyang on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 6, 2026
Pyongyang calling: North Korea shows off its own brand of phones
Diplomatically isolated and under sanctions over its weapons programs, North Korea has an aging manufacturing base that analysts doubt can make high-quality consumer technology.
People walk past a large electronic screen showing the Samsung logo at a train station in Seoul on April 30.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 6, 2026
Samsung hits $1 trillion valuation, joining TSMC in elite club
Booming demand for chips used in artificial intelligence saw the world’s largest memory maker’s stock more than quadruple over the past year.
The amount of cash in circulation in Russia jumped by about 600 billion rubles ($8 billion) in April.
BUSINESS
May 6, 2026
Russians turn to cash as internet blackouts disrupt payments
Russia’s central bank has previously said this year’s increased cash usage may be linked repeated mobile internet shutdowns.
Crypto platforms are offering trades tied to the most valuable private artificial intelligence companies on earth — such as Anthropic — that ordinary investors have almost no other way to access.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 5, 2026
AI’s hottest private companies have booming crypto shadow market
Once the domain of digital token speculation, crypto infrastructure is being redeployed to give traders a way to bet on the likes of Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX.
Tokyo, once ahead in tech before being overtaken by Silicon Valley, is now trying to reinvent itself as a global startup hub by leveraging its stability, AI potential and government-backed support for entrepreneurs.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 4, 2026
Silicon Valley made AI powerful. Tokyo wants to make it work
Japan is full of contradictions on AI. People here are the least fearful in the world of the technology, perhaps because a shrinking population and labor shortages.
A Maholo humanoid robot carries out a series of tasks at the Institute of Science Tokyo's Robotics Innovation Center, during the center's opening last month.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 4, 2026
Japanese scientists push for AI use in medical research and diagnoses
The technology has the potential to free staff from time-consuming, repetitive lab work and reduce human error.
An Amazon Web Services data center in Ashburn, Virginia. Large artificial intelligence systems run on massive amounts of energy and are trained on nearly all the text humanity has created.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2026
Sustainability has left the AI chat
For all the awe over artificial intelligence, one word rarely finds its way into coffee table conversations about the transformative technology: sustainability.
Under Mark Zuckerberg, Meta plans to use employee computer activity data to train AI systems while investing heavily in automation that could replace human workers.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2026
Meta is making workers train their AI replacements
Meta plans to put tracking software on its employees’ computers to track their mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes.
The Nvidia logo and a Neura humanoid robot at the Dassault Systems SE booth at the Hannover Messe 2026 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 20
BUSINESS
May 3, 2026
Nvidia’s push into physical AI sparks rally in Asian partners
Nvidia-induced demand is shaping stock performance across Asia’s technology supply chain.
DeepSeek’s R1 breakthrough helped trigger a frenetic year in AI, but Alibaba’s move toward proprietary models is now raising concerns that China’s open-source shift may be slowing.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2026
Why Beijing can’t quit ‘open’ AI
The shift away from open source may be driven by the need for companies to make money, but it’s unlikely to happen all at once.
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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