Tootfinder

Japan's top five chip equipment makers posted their first-ever fall in combined China sales, down 10% in the year ended March 31, as China boosts local players (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semi…

Japan chipmaking equipment suppliers report 10% drop in China sales
Foreign companies lose market share as Beijing boosts local players

What China can learn from Japan about escaping deflation - #theeconomist
https://www.economist.com/china/2026/05/21/what-china-can-learn-from-japan-about-escaping-deflation
Archive https://archive.ph/4plgc

Toto, Japan's largest toilet maker, plans to invest $495M by 2030 to expand its semiconductor materials unit, targeting R&D for next-gen 1nm chip production (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semic…

Japan's Toto to invest $495m in chip materials, targeting 1-nm era
AI demand fuels bathroom fixture maker's expansion in semiconductor supply chain

AiNA THE END Mukai Shutoku (from Number Girl)
#JukeboxFridayNight

AiNA THE END × Mukai Shutoku [2/2] - tiny desk concerts JAPAN
Watch more tiny desk concerts on NHK WORLD-JAPAN!https://www3.nhk....

Faint red #auroras as seen from Japan associated with intense magnetospheric compression: https://www.swsc-journal.org/articles/swsc/full_html/2026/01/swsc250047/swsc250047.html -> Space storms light up Japan’s sky: https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/news/26083/ - faint red auroras seen over Japan could be hiding space storms that are stronger than previously thought.

Apparently there are too many bears in Japan, they've been using robotic wolves to keep them at bay, and they're running low on the robot wolves.
Just not the headline I expected to read today 😂🐻🐺 https://www.popsci.com/environment/japan-robot-wolf-army

Japan runs out of robot wolves in fight against bears
The handmade, $4,000 Monster Wolf features solar panels, sensors, and intimidating audio.

Gruppe F im Ticker - Zweite Halbzeit jetzt LIVE: Bleibt Japan souverän? #News #Nachrichten

Record-breaking ocean drilling reveals why Japan's 2011 tsunami was so deadly #Japan

Record-breaking ocean drilling reveals why Japan's 2011 tsunami was so deadly
Scientists have uncovered a hidden weakness beneath the Pacific Ocean that helps explain why Japan’s catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami became so devastating. By drilling deeper into the seafloor than ever before, researchers discovered a thin, slippery layer of ancient clay that allowed the massive rupture to race all the way to the ocean floor, triggering enormous seafloor movement and a powerful tsunami.

Allergies are costing #Japan $1.6 billion a day in lost productivity & 43% of the population now suffers from severe hay fever. The cause: mass planting of cedar & cypress decades ago.
In my latest for @bbcfuture, I explore efforts to replace plantations w/ biodiverse ecosystems

Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame
A decision made 70 years ago to reforest vast swathes of Japan with just two kinds of tree has come back to haunt the country.

S&P and IBM: 22% of global cyberattacks in 2024 hit Japan, the most targeted country, as it scrambles to improve its substandard systems against AI threats (Catherine Thorbecke/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-06-2…

Apple öffnet App Store in Brasilien für alternative Marktplätze
Nach der EU und Japan öffnet Apple nun auch in Brasilien sein Ökosystem für alternative App-Marktplätze und externe Zahlungsmethoden.
https:…

Apple öffnet App Store in Brasilien für alternative Marktplätze
Nach der EU und Japan öffnet Apple nun auch in Brasilien sein Ökosystem für alternative App-Marktplätze und externe Zahlungsmethoden.

KFC faces possible closures after cyberattack on Japan's Nichirei
https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/cybersecurity/kfc-faces-possible-closures-after-cyberattack-on-japan-s-nichirei

Morning!
Just three working days left before I head off for five weeks of summer holidays in Japan/Mexico.
As always, there's nothing like an impending holiday deadline to ramp up my focus and productivity! Lots of writing and podcast admin in my immediate future. Plus I'm running an online masterclass at midday.
But first, coffee ☕️

plant_pol_kato: Kato plant-pollinator web
A bipartite network of plants and pollinators from Kyoto University Forest of Ashu, Japan, from 1984 to 1987. Edge weights represent frequency of interactions.
This network has 772 nodes and 1206 edges.
Tags: Biological, Food web, Weighted
https://networks.skewed.d…

Roger Goodell eyeing an NFL game in Japan: Commissioner has 'about 10' countries on radar

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/roger-goodell-nfl-game-japan/

"Robbins and Collard said they had not read Mandelson’s vetting summary document produced by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), relying instead on verbal briefings about its contents. Collard’s evidence highlighted Robertson’s role in the decision."
So the civil servants who decided to override the security vetting for #Mandelson hadn't even bothered to read it themselve…

Lesetip: Chinas Rolle im Zweiten Weltkrieg und der Beitrag der Kommunisten zum Sieg über Japan.
https://europa.blog/de/chinas-rolle-im-zweiten-weltkrieg-und-der-beitrag-der-kommunisten-zum-sieg-ueber-japan/

Chinas Rolle im Zweiten Weltkrieg und der Beitrag der Kommunisten zum Sieg über Japan - Europa Blog
3

🐴 Firehorse superstition helps uncover why women's education may not drive Japan's fertility decline
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-firehorse-superstition-uncover-women-japan.html

Firehorse superstition helps uncover why women's education may not drive Japan's fertility decline
The rapidly declining marriage and fertility rates across developed East Asian societies strain pension and health care systems, threaten economic growth, and reshape entire societies. To tackle this issue, governments in Japan and across East Asia have invested heavily in pronatalist measures, but often with limited success. For instance, Japan's government has repeatedly expanded childcare subsidies and parental leave provisions, yet the total fertility rate hit a record low of 1.20 in 2024.

Apple raises iPhone prices in Japan by up to 11%, likely due to the Japanese yen's depreciation against the US dollar over the past year (Joe Rossignol/MacRumors)
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/07/17/apple-raises-iphone-prices-in-japan/

Apple Raises iPhone Prices in Japan
After raising prices on all Macs and iPads worldwide last month, Apple has now increased the price of iPhone models in Japan. As spotted by the...

Jiro Inagaki - Back To Rack [1970][Japan][CD]
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9bYOa709SeU&si=0MGzTapEZN5ViCHt

I've been watching the Grand Sumo tourney in Nagoya, Japan. Always found it an interesting niche of Japanese culture. IDK, maybe it was cause I was an E. Honda player as a kid in the arcades back in the day, lol. Kinda crazy there's some sumo that are still doing it at 50, and beating kids more than half their age 😮 Some of the weight disparities are wild as well. Matches where the difference between sumo is more than *I* weigh. Also pretty cool to see some dudes from outside of Japa…

Japan, China lead foreign government retreat from U.S. Treasurys as Iran war fallout stokes currency fears (Anniek Bao/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/19/central-banks-offload-us-treasuries-china-holdings-at-18-year-low.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260519/p137#a260519p137

"If mainstream politicians don’t think more imaginatively about the future, they won’t have a future."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/14/europe-big-problems-japan-taiwan-care-systems?CMP=S…

For three years I scoured the world for answers to Europe’s big problems – here’s what I found
Japan and Taiwan have enviable care systems because they had the courage to plan – some solutions are radical, most are hiding in plain sight, says author John Kampfner

Just a couple of weeks into his war in Iran Trump began demanding other countries solve the problem he had created.
“Many Countries,” he said on social media on March 14, “will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the [Hormuz] Strait open and safe.”
He added that “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others” would put their own sailors in harm’s way on his behalf.
They didn’t.
“This is not our war, we h…

No one is coming to bail Trump out of his disastrous war
He's the only one who can end this.

plant_pol_kato: Kato plant-pollinator web
A bipartite network of plants and pollinators from Kyoto University Forest of Ashu, Japan, from 1984 to 1987. Edge weights represent frequency of interactions.
This network has 772 nodes and 1206 edges.
Tags: Biological, Food web, Weighted
https://networks.skewed.d…

Want to boost climate action? Talk about health, not just polar bears.
New research across Brazil, India, Japan, and South Africa found that 80% of people support government climate measures when they understand the health risks—from extreme heat to mental health impacts to children's vulnerability.
It's personal, urgent, and cuts through political divides.

Health risks from climate change spur stronger public support for action, research finds
A survey by the Climate Opinion Research Exchange backed by Wellcome reveals high support for government action to tackle the health impacts of the climate crisis

"#Trump called Iran the “Islamic Republic of Japan,” mistook Zelensky for Putin, and described a missile attack his own military says never happened.
6 days earlier, his Justice Department defied a federal court order to release Epstein files."
☑️ He Ordered Strikes on Iran the Same Day He Called It “Japan.” — The BL:UF
http…

He Ordered Strikes on Iran the Same Day He Called It “Japan.”
On July 8, the President reignited the Iran war from the NATO stage — and in the same appearance called Iran the “Islamic Republic of Japan,” mistook Zelensky for Putin, and described a missile attack his own military says never happened. Six days earlier, his Justice Department defied a federal court order to release Epstein files. Two documented things, side by side. We'll show you when each happened. Why — if there's a why — is yours to weigh.

Sources: Tencent is negotiating exits from several game studio investments in Japan, including Tokyo-traded Marvelous, as it reassesses its global portfolio (Bloomberg)

„Forza Horizon 6“: Big in Japan
„Forza Horizon 6“ ist deutlich größer als der Vorgänger, setzt spielerisch aber auf bewährte Konzepte. Das Spektakel wurde aber nochmal hochgeschraubt.
https://www.heise.de/tests/…

„Forza Horizon 6“ im Test: Kann man sich an Spektakel gewöhnen?
„Forza Horizon 6“ ist deutlich größer als der Vorgänger, setzt spielerisch aber auf bewährte Konzepte. Das Spektakel wurde aber nochmal hochgeschraubt.

Wie patriarchal kann man eigentlich sein?
Japan: JA!!!!!
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/japan-reform-kaiserhaus-thronfolge-100.html

Adoption soll Japans Monarchie retten - Frauen bleiben ausgeschlossen
Japans Monarchie geht der Nachwuchs aus. Deshalb soll die Thronfolge künftig auch durch Adoptionen gesichert werden können. Frauen - wie der beliebten Prinzessin Aiko - bleibt der Kaiserthron hingegen weiter verwehrt.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBCRadio3's #EssentialClassics
鈴木雅明, Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach Collegium Japan & Bach Collegium Japan:
🎵 Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (Cantata No 41)
#鈴木雅明 #JohannSebastianBach #BachCollegiumJapan
https://open.spotify.com/track/6FaQwR7MnvjoZ7aEExKnsQ

At a conference, an Amazon Prime Video exec says Prime Video works with 600 content partners, including 70 in Japan, 50 in Australia, and 30 in India (Patrick Brzeski/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business

APOS: Prime Video Bets Its Future in Asia-Pacific on Building the “Entertainment Hub”
At Asia's leading media conference, held this week in Bali, Amazon regional entertainment leaders touted its radical localization strategies, 600-plus distribution partners, and the new ad-supported tier in India built on Amazon MX Player.

I think this is the most cyberpunk headline I’ve seen in years lol
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:iwkpnloxpi5qvv33yguofqfg/post/3mlt7i74j422u

Godspeed You! Bluesky Emperor (@andrewpaul.bsky.social)
for some reason, i've been covering Japan's ongoing bear problem and their robot wolf countermeasures for years it is a very strange beat. https://www.popsci.com/environment/japan-robot-wolf-army/

Gachapon!
https://www.japanwelt.de/blog/gachapon-kapselspielzeug-aus-dem-automaten-in-japan

Gachapon Kapselspielzeug aus dem Automaten in Japan
Gachapon in Japan: Beliebte Kapselspielzeuge aus Automaten, inspiriert von Anime, Manga und Popkultur ➤

The Netherlands joins the US-led Pax Silica initiative alongside South Korea and Japan to coordinate AI supply chains; Taiwan endorses it as a non-signatory (Toby Sterling/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nether

Ever wonder why wearing masks is so common in #Japan every spring? A post-WWII reforestation policy to plant just two types of fast-growing trees has triggered a mass-allergy crisis. My latest for @bbc looks at the roots of this 70-year-old blunder and the massive challenge of fixing it.

Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame
A decision made 70 years ago to reforest vast swathes of Japan with just two kinds of tree has come back to haunt the country.

When the housing is 100% adorable.
(“Happy Home” by Timur Fork, in Osaka, Japan as photographed for Hi Fructose magazine issue 75)

I spent $1200 yesterday booking things for the Japan trip, only to realize that I booked one of the things for the wrong month.

#Japan - Gegen #Einsamkeit und #Demenz

Japan setzt bei Senioren auf E-Sport gegen Einsamkeit und Demenz
Immer mehr Pflegeeinrichtungen und Kommunen in Japan setzen auf E-Sport-Angebote für ältere Menschen, um geistige Aktivität zu fördern, sozialer Isolation

„412 medizinische Einrichtungen hätten sich inzwischen an die [japanische] Regierung gewandt, weil bei ihnen die medizinischen Kunststoffhandschuhe knapp werden […] Als Notfallmaßnahme werde die Regierung insgesamt 1,6 Millionen solcher OP-Handschuhe aus den staatlichen Beständen freigeben.“ https:…

Scientists Propose Black Holes Don’t Exist, Are Something Much Stranger https://www.404media.co/scientists-propose-black-holes-dont-exist-are-something-much-stranger/

@… since COVID I've had terrible luck with airport hotel shuttles even in JAPAN.

Ensitrelvir, an oral inhibitor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 3C-like protease,
is approved in Japan for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Previously, no antiviral agents were approved for postexposure prophylaxis in household contacts of patients with Covid-19.
The study was conducted from June 2023 to September 2024 in Argentina, Japan, South Africa, the U.S., and Vietnam. About 9% of people who receiv…

Tipp: Probleme mit herausfallenden Netzteilen an US-Steckdosen beheben
Die sogenannten NEMA-Anschlüsse gibt es neben den USA auch in Japan und weiteren Ländern. Doch manchmal fällt der Stecker einfach heraus. Das kann man tun.

Tipp: Probleme mit herausfallenden Netzteilen an US-Steckdosen beheben
Die sogenannten NEMA-Anschlüsse gibt es neben den USA auch in Japan und weiteren Ländern. Doch manchmal fällt der Stecker einfach heraus. Das kann man tun.

Floods kill two in Taiwan as twin storms approach Japan #Taiwan

Floods kill two in Taiwan as twin storms approach Japan
Japan advised more than a million people to leave their homes as two tropical storms swept toward the archipelago Friday, with torrential rain also pounding Taiwan, where at least two people have been killed.

Tor in Minute 89 - Japan erkämpft im Finish Punkt gegen Niederlande #News #Nachrichten

Only in #Japan - the government and a company both respond to my requests for interviews/comments, but the leading local environmental group on this topic? Nope...too "busy"

NFL will expand its international schedule in 2027, and more could be coming https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7289370/2026/05/19/nfl-international-games-expansion-2027/

Islamic Republic of Japan

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
Japan:
🎵 Visions of China
#Japan
https://open.spotify.com/track/4GSXKqgFojRdeTxBZql858

The Routes - "Yeti Spaghetti / Hotwired" (2013)
Just some cool dudes jammed in a small studio playing some chill surf tunes. I find this relaxing and mesmerizing.
#music #surf #japan

And why women's education has no bearing on when they choose to have kids. Sorry, Heritage Foundation...
Firehorse superstition helps uncover why women's education may not drive Japan's fertility decline
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-firehorse-superstition-uncover-women-japan.html#goog_rewarded

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBCRadio3's #Radio3InConcert
Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach Collegium Japan Chorus, Bach Collegium Japan & Masaaki Suzuki:
🎵 Motet: Jesu, meine Freude, BWV227 (excerpt)
#JohannSebastianBach #BachCollegiumJapanChorus #BachCollegiumJapan #MasaakiSuzuki

SoftBank announces an OpenAI-powered "patching service" to secure Japan's top 3,000 companies behind crucial infrastructure from cyberattacks (Yuri Kageyama/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/openai-soft

SoftBank and OpenAI team up to shield Japan from cyberattacks
Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group Corp. is launching a service using OpenAI technology to protect against the looming threat of cyberattacks. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son called Japan’s vulnerability to cyberattacks “a crisis,” comparing it to a potential assault by machine guns instead of the rifle shots of the past. SoftBank will offer “a patching service,” targeting the nation’s top 3,000 companies, behind crucial infrastructure like airports, power systems and transporta…

Markets can stay wrong longer than you can stay liquid, so don't bet against them. But if you know the market is wrong, you don't have to bet with it either.
https://www.reuters.com/commentary/reuters-open-intere…

Because I have arrived today to Taiwan 🇹🇼 via China Airlines, I can now add their iconic plum blossom tailfin livery to my airlines flown graphic.¹ ✈️
¹ #avgeek

Auch Japans Weltraumagentur testet erfolgreich wiederverwendbare Rakete
Nur einen Tag nach einem erfolgreichen Test in China hat auch in Japan eine Rakete abgehoben und ist wieder gelandet. Der Hüpfer war aber viel kleiner.

Auch Japans Weltraumagentur testet erfolgreich wiederverwendbare Rakete
Nur einen Tag nach einem erfolgreichen Test in China hat auch in Japan eine Rakete abgehoben und ist wieder gelandet. Der Hüpfer war aber viel kleiner.

Japan's Self-Defense Forces used USB drives containing a China-linked virus on computers with access to classified information for nearly a year, then elected not to disclose the matter even though similar memory sticks were widely available online.
https://

Japan defense forces used USB drives with China-linked virus: Nikkei investigation
Counterfeit memory sticks infected computers that had access to classified information

https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/the-past-present-and-future-of-the-swastika-in-japan/

The Past, Present, and Future of the Swastika in Japan - Association for Asian Studies
Imagine your surprise as a recent arrival to Tokyo, among the world’s most futuristic and globalized cities. Safely ensconced in the Starbucks at Shibuya crossing, you open Apple Maps to plot a day of sightseeing in nearby Kamakura, a locale famed for its rich history and deep connection to Buddhism. Zooming in on the map […]

Asuka And The Bum Servants - Same (Japan, 2015)

• YouTube
• Invidious

Asuka And The Bum Servants - Same (Japan, 2015) by Punk Music
Listen now on your favorite streaming service. Powered by Songlink/Odesli, an on-demand, customizable smart link service to help you share songs, albums, podcasts and more.

How success of AI-related companies in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan is driving stock gains, bigger bonuses, and a retail investing frenzy in Asian markets (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/stock-marke

The amount of times someone said "#google #maps works great in #Japan" and then I learn it took them on some weird route that was longer, more expensive, or required excessive walking then the optimal route.

Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis from the beginning of May,
with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country’s chronic labour shortage.
The Chinese-made humanoid robots will move travellers’ luggage and cargo on the tarmac at Haneda Airport,
which handles more than 60 million passengers a year.

plant_pol_kato: Kato plant-pollinator web
A bipartite network of plants and pollinators from Kyoto University Forest of Ashu, Japan, from 1984 to 1987. Edge weights represent frequency of interactions.
This network has 772 nodes and 1206 edges.
Tags: Biological, Food web, Weighted
https://networks.skewed.d…

After years of uncertainty, including delayed listings, memory chipmaker Kioxia's shares soared 56x in 18 months, making it Japan's most valuable company (Shuhei Ochiai/Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/

Kioxia caps years of uncertainty to become Japan's most valuable company
AI boom raises memory maker's stock price 56-fold in 18 months

Zahlen, bitte! In Japan lernen Kinder 2136 Schriftzeichen in der Schule
Statt 26 Buchstaben erlernen japanische Kinder mehr als 2000 Schriftzeichen – die Kanji – in ihrer Schullaufbahn. Ein Einblick in das japanische Schriftsystem.

Zahlen, bitte! In Japan lernen Kinder 2136 Schriftzeichen in der Schule
Statt 26 Buchstaben erlernen japanische Kinder mehr als 2000 Schriftzeichen – die Kanji – in ihrer Schullaufbahn. Ein Einblick in das japanische Schriftsystem.

Japan Is Building Cardboard Suicide Drones https://www.404media.co/japan-cardboard-drones-air-kamuy/

When they hit the logistics partner of KFC in Japan, Qilin also impacted the makers of Pocky chocolate biscuits.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/after-kfc-cyberattack-hits-japanese-ice-cream-giant-glico

After KFC, cyberattack hits Japanese ice cream giant Glico
Major supermarket chains pastry firms and dining halls at eldercare centres were also impacted. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Fish and Octopus by Itō Jakuchū, from Doshoku Sai-e (Colorful Realm of Living Beings), c. 1765
(Thanks to @… for alerting me to this one!)
#ItōJakuchū #Japan

Japan plans to buy 27,500 Nvidia Rubin chips to develop a domestic AI foundation model for robots, in a Noetra-led effort that includes SoftBank, Sony, and NEC (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-16/j…

Sony und TSMC bilden Joint-Venture für Kamerasensoren
Sony wird „fab light“: Künftige Sensoren, nicht nur für Smartphones, sollen in Japan zusammen mit TSMC hergestellt werden.
https://www.

Sony und TSMC bilden Joint-Venture für Kamerasensoren
Sony wird „fab light“: Künftige Sensoren, nicht nur für Smartphones, sollen in Japan zusammen mit TSMC hergestellt werden.

Die Villa Floridiana in #Napoli beherbergt ein Keramik- und Porzellanmuseum. Ich ging da wegen einer Sonderausstellung von Kunststudenten im Rahmen des "Maggio dei monumenti" hin, war dann aber total überrascht von Umfang und Qualität der Porzellansammlung aus China und Japan im Keller. Porzellangeschichte ist sowieso eines der spannendsten Felder transkultureller Forschung - dieses Tei…

Nutzloser Arbeitsspeicher mit Fake-Chips im Umlauf
Betrüger fälschen Speicherbausteine aus Glasgewebe und verkaufen damit nutzlose DDR5-Module. Erste Berichte kommen aus Japan.
https://www.h…

Nutzloser Arbeitsspeicher mit Fake-Chips im Umlauf
Betrüger fälschen Speicherbausteine aus Glasgewebe und verkaufen damit nutzlose DDR5-Module. Erste Berichte kommen aus Japan.

Meanwhile, in Japan

LY Corp launches a bid with Bain Capital to buy Kakaku.com, which operates restaurant review and booking site Tabelog, for $4B, challenging EQT's $3.75B offer (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/business-de…

Line-Yahoo Japan operator values Kakaku.com at $4bn in challenge to EQT
Non-binding offer with Bain Capital tops Swedish firm's bid but Tabelog operator backs EQT

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@metacurity/116929336752096475
Turns out the attack on Nichirei, a frozen foods logistics company in Japan, has been a massive supply chain incident affecting grocery stores across the country, not just KFC and the makers o…

Indonesia's air quality got worse after China banned plastic waste imports, research shows #Europe

Indonesia's air quality got worse after China banned plastic waste imports, research shows
When China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, countries like the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, and Japan didn't stop exporting plastic waste—they diverted their shipments to countries in Southeast Asia.

https://soranews24.com/2025/01/07/the-etiquette-rules-for-visiting-shinto-shrines-in-japan/

The etiquette rules for visiting Shinto shrines in Japan
There’s a whole lot of bowing involved.

Investigation: Western intelligence officials identify a Russian military intelligence unit in Tokyo that smuggles high-tech components for the war in Ukraine (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/…

How Putin Turned Japan Into a Den of Spies
Operating out of a Tokyo high-rise, a military intelligence unit finds the high-tech equipment that Russia needs to wage war.

AiNA THE END / YouTube Music Weekend：MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 Edition
YouTube
Invidious

AiNA THE END / YouTube Music Weekend：MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 Edition by アイナ・ジ・エンド Official
Listen now on your favorite streaming service. Powered by Songlink/Odesli, an on-demand, customizable smart link service to help you share songs, albums, podcasts and more.

Pretty stunning shift on both ends. #Japan #Korea #SouthKorea
https://www.

Poll: Japanese opinion of South Korea up from 10 years prior | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
A recent survey has revealed sentiments and perceptions of current Japan–South Korea relations have improved among residents of both countries compared to a similar survey taken a decade ago.

Taxi-hailing app Go's shares grew 21% in its Tokyo debut, after raising $553M in Japan's largest IPO this year, giving the company a market value of ~$1.16B (Yasutaka Tamura/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20

Tokyo’s trendy Shimokitazawa district has long attracted young Japanese
drawn by its narrow winding streets populated by stores peddling used clothing, records and quirky memorabilia,
as well as small live music venues and eateries aplenty.
In the last decade or so, the number of overseas visitors coming to the district has grown exponentially,
with many dining there after a hard day’s shopping.
But the izakaya of Shimokita (as the locals call it) tend towards…

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/business/japan-bathhouse-oil-iran.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fVA.dS98.KzcaBPinKixo&smid=url-share

Not Even Japanese Bathhouses Are Immune From Shocks of Iran War
High fuel costs are imperiling the Japanese sento, a long-declining industry that remains a vital social lifeline for the country’s isolated elderly.

Today's Metacurity kicks off with a doozy of a report on how the GRU's hackers get trained, which is followed by a string of other critical infosec developments you should know, including
--US-China weigh AI risk talks,
--Wiles says Trump won’t pick AI winners,
--Vibe-coded apps lack security,
--GothFerrari fraudster gets 78 months,
--MuddyWater masks ops as Chaos ransomware,
--Phishing hits ManageWP via Google-sponsored search ads,
--Japan u…

Russia’s hidden hacker academy exposed in massive document leak
US-China weigh AI risk talks, Wiles says Trump won’t pick AI winners, Vibe-coded apps lack security, GothFerrari fraudster gets 78 months, MuddyWater masks ops as Chaos ransomware, Phishing hits ManageWP via Google-sponsored search ads, Japan urges CI to do cyber better, much more

Kepple: seed-stage startup funding in Japan fell 42% YoY in 2025 to a 10-year low of $124M, as the Tokyo Stock Exchange moves to reduce small listings (Ami Yamada/Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/startups/seed-st…

Seed-stage startup funding in Japan sinks 40% as investors grow selective
With TSE tightening listing criteria, VC firms look for safer growth-stage bets

There are some words out there that are brilliantly evocative.
Yiddish has the word shlimazl, which basically means a perpetually unlucky person.
German has the word Backpfeifengesicht, which roughly means a face that is badly in need of a fist.
And then there’s the Japanese word tsundoku, which perfectly describes the state of my apartment.
It means buying books and letting them pile up unread.
The word dates back to the very beginning of modern Japan, the M…

“Tsundoku,” the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves, Should Enter the English Language
There are some words out there that are brilliantly evocative and at the same time impossible to fully translate. Yiddish has the word shlimazl, which basically means a perpetually unlucky person. German has the word Backpfeifengesicht, which roughly means a face that is badly in need of a fist.

For >50% of the western expats I meet in #Japan, I can't figure out why they are here.

This is the second major loss of a drive containing valuable information in Japan in the last week.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/japanese-energy-firm-loses-drive-with-data-of-109-million-clients/…

Japanese energy firm loses drive with data of 10.9 million clients
Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. has disclosed a physical security incident that affects private data of more than 10 million customers.

Humanoide Roboter sollen Gepäck auf Tokioter Flughafen abfertigen
Bodenabfertigung ist ein harter Job, und in Japan fehlt es zunehmend an Arbeitskräften. JAL will diese Arbeiten künftig von Robotern erledigen lassen.

Humanoide Roboter sollen Gepäck auf Tokioter Flughafen abfertigen
Bodenabfertigung ist ein harter Job, und in Japan fehlt es zunehmend an Arbeitskräften. JAL will diese Arbeiten künftig von Robotern erledigen lassen.

Japan commits up to $6.16B over five years to Noetra, a consortium led by SoftBank, Honda, NEC, and Sony, to develop a domestic AI foundation model by 2027 (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/techn

Japan backs SoftBank-led AI models with up to $6.2bn in chasing US, China
New company will focus on physical AI using data from Japanese companies

Tatsächlich meine ich, in Japan deutlich weniger, wenn nicht gar keine Menschen gesehen zu haben, die sich auf das Handy starrend durch den öffentlichen Raum bewegen und dabei stolpern oder zum Hindernis für andere werden.

Memory chipmaker Kioxia replaces Toyota as Japan's most valuable company; Kioxia's shares surged 7.6% on Friday, lifting its market value to ~$274B (Kanoko Matsuyama/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

Ahead of what for many of us is a long weekend starting tomorrow, check out today's insanely packed Metacurity for the most critical infosec developments you need to know, including
--AI guardrails under fire from researchers and regulators,
--Scattered Spider suspect extradited to US,
--House panel accuses Korea of targeting Coupang,
--Cyberattack hits Malaysian parking app,
--Aflac Japan breach affects 4.4m customers,
--AI agent carries out extortion …

AI guardrails under fire from researchers and regulators
Scattered Spider suspect extradited to US, House panel accuses Korea of targeting Coupang, cyberattack hits Malaysian parking app, Aflac Japan breach affects 4.4M customers, AI agent carries out extortion attack, Ukraine stops 16K Russian cyberattacks, ChocoPoC RAT hides in GitHub PoCs, much more.

Nvidia unveils Cosmos 3 Edge, a world model designed for robots and vision AI agents to perceive and navigate physical environments in real time (Jenny Lee/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/16/nvidia-reveals-new-ai-model-and-expands-…

Nvidia unveils new AI model and expands Japan’s physical AI ecosystem
Nvidia announces new AI model, Cosmos 3 Edge, and expansion of its physical AI ecosystems in Japan.

Sources: Oracle leads the race to sell "air-gapped" cloud services to Japan that the US says are key to secure intelligence sharing between Tokyo and its allies (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/c8d32323-1d06-4470-8375-2ee6dd42749e

Sources: Nvidia intensified due diligence and cut its authorized AI chip customers in Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan by 50% to prevent China diversions (Zijing Wu/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/7c146c56-cc7a-40ec-93cb-58106a012421

Sources: SoftBank plans to make lithium- and cobalt-free data center batteries in Japan as soon as FY2027, as Japan tries to cut its reliance on Chinese metals (Natsuki Yamamoto/Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/energy/so…

SoftBank aims to make data center batteries without lithium, cobalt
Next-generation power cells are part of Japanese group's bet on AI infrastructure

Dealogic: Japan saw 18 IPOs in H1 2026, the lowest since 2011, despite stock market surges, partly due to Japan's lack of AI, data center, and chip startups (David Keohane/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/5e016bbc-b09e-4423-a6fb-588abda72cf7

SoftBank partners with South Korea's Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to mass produce next-gen data center batteries in Japan at the scale of one GWh per year in FY 2027 (Min-Jeong Lee/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20