Tootfinder

Way to go!!
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/19/japan/ai-training-data-disclosure/

Japan to require AI firms to disclose training data
A draft code has been drawn up amid growing concerns that texts and images may be used to train AI models without consent, potentially infringing on copyrights.

Heavy rain soaks eastern Japan, prompting highest-level warning #Japan

Heavy rain soaks eastern Japan, prompting highest-level warning
Torrential rain pummeled eastern Japan on Thursday, triggering landslides and power outages and prompting the weather authority to issue its highest-level heavy rain warning for the region for the first time.

Woody biomass is being framed as a #green alternative to coal, but the hidden costs include repeated fires, explosions, and deforestation in #SoutheastAsia.
My new deep dive for @…

Concerns grow over ‘green’ biomass power in Japan after spate of accidents
For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity […]

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...

#TIL: es gibt in japan eine "nonverbal communication association":
https://nca-japan.or.jp/
[via ausgabe Q3/2026 vom „JAPANMARKT“:

An interesting explainer/analysis of the recent Japan/Russia/ Kuril Islands issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/18/kuril-islands-putin-takaichi-dispute-japan-russia-northern-territories?CMP=s…

The Kuril Islands: how a visit from Putin reignited a 150-year-old dispute between Japan and Russia
The diplomatic spat continues to simmer as Moscow summons Tokyo’s ambassador after the Russian president’s trip to the disputed islands last week

An interesting explainer/analysis of the recent Japan/Russia/ Kuril Islands issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/18/kuril-islands-putin-takaichi-dispute-japan-russia-northern-territories?CMP=s…

The Kuril Islands: how a visit from Putin reignited a 150-year-old dispute between Japan and Russia
The diplomatic spat continues to simmer as Moscow summons Tokyo’s ambassador after the Russian president’s trip to the disputed islands last week

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

Japan altert und schrumpft
Insgesamt 107.677 Menschen im Alter von 100 oder mehr Jahren leben in #Japan
#Gesellschaft #Senioren

Japan mit neuem Rekord: Mehr als 100.000 Hundertjährige
Die Menschen in Japan erfreuen sich einer hohen Lebenserwartung. Der "Club der Hundertjährigen" hat einen neuen Höchststand. Doch zugleich schrumpft die Bevölkerung des Landes.

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/

Breitbandtests in Japan: Sceye fliegt knapp 30.000 km mit Stratosphären-HAPS
Sceye hat in Japan Breitbandkommunikationstest mit dem Stratosphären-Höhenplattformsystem HAPS ST1 durchgeführt. Dazu musste es erst selbst nach Japan fliegen.

Breitbandtests in Japan: Sceye fliegt knapp 30.000 km mit Stratosphären-HAPS
Sceye hat in Japan Breitbandkommunikationstest mit dem Stratosphären-Höhenplattformsystem HAPS ST1 durchgeführt. Dazu musste es erst selbst nach Japan fliegen.

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

North Korea has launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, South Korea’s military said,
a day after Pyongyang shrugged off Donald Trump’s order to scale back US military drills with South Korea
in an apparent attempt to resume diplomacy.
The joint chiefs of staff said the missiles were launched from the region of Pyongyang at around 5pm (08.00 GMT)
on Thursday towards North Korea’s eastern waters.
The military said South Korea had bolstere…

North Korea fires 10 missiles day after Trump curtails South Korea joint drills
Launches, detected by South Korea and Japan, came after US scaled back exercises with South Korea in apparent overture to Kim Jong-un

I never quite understood what the Sensory substitution Japan organization is up to with their yearly symposium https://www.sensory-substitution.gr.jp/symposium/call52.html English page

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.

Somehow this looks like it's just escaped and is determined to get as far away as possible before anyone notices.
@… https://mstdn.social/@sumikai/117293052719…

Sumikai (@sumikai@mstdn.social)
Attached: 1 image Die Standseilbahn am Berg Tuskuba wird nach 27 Jahren grunderneuert, auch der Preis für ein Ticket wird angehoben. #japan https://sumikai.com/nachrichten-aus-japan/japans-standseilbahn-am-berg-tsukuba-wird-nach-72-jahren-erneuert-380686/

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

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…

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…

Are we trading one #environmental catastrophe for another under the disguise of #EnergySecurity? The reality on the ground at #Japan’s biomass plants include dangerous

Concerns grow over ‘green’ biomass power in Japan after spate of accidents
For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity […]

🇯🇵 #Japan is mad because the default free world maps on the #EqualEarth website depict the Kuril Islands under Russian control.

Japan seeks change to new UN world map over Russia 'misconception'
The new ‘true-scale’ map shrinks Europe and North America while enlarging Africa – and depicts the disputed Kuril islands as ruled by Moscow

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…

@… (er erlaubt aktuell keine Quotes seiner Postings) ist mit Familie gerade in #Japan auf Urlaub.
#Folgeempfehlung, da ich selbst schon dieses besondere Land und s…

Vanishing Japan
https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/17402/five-vanished-architectural-marvels-from-20th-century-japan

"#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.

Amazon Music now lets creators insert video ads into their shows and expands video podcasts to subscribers in Canada, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan (Caitlin Huston/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bu…

Amazon Music Strikes New Podcast Partnerships In Expanded Video Push (Exclusive)
The platform will be adding more video podcasts as the industry makes more moves into the space.

"Japan to lower residential road speed limit from 60 to 30 kph"
Japan is just doing it
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/31/japan/residential-road-speed-limit/

Japan follows Wales and halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city streets | Japan | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/02/japan-new-speed-limit-30kmh-narrow-city-streets

Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city streets
Speed limit dropped from 60km/h for around 70% of general roads in the hope of making narrow streets of crowded cities safer

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.

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"

Jackson #Irvine wechselt von #StPauli nach Japan. Nicht alle sind traurig. https://www.fcstpauli.com/news/mi…

FC St. Pauli | Mittelfeldspieler Jackson Irvine wechselt nach Japan
Der FC St. Pauli und Jackson Irvine gehen künftig getrennte Wege. Der australische Mittelfeldspieler wechselt mit sofortiger Wirkung zu Cerezo Osaka in…

Foreign investment in Japan's chip industry has reached ~$37B, as government subsidies attract companies working on logic and memory chips and image sensors (Shuhei Ochiai/Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/

Sony, TSMC deal brings overseas investment in Japan chipmaking to $37bn
Tokyo's subsidies help, but US tech and AI giants are powerful draw

In #ClimateCrisis news, #flooding continues, with record breaking rain events (a predicted impact of unrestricted #FossilFuel use):
1:

Torrential rain and flood kill nine in Japan amid wettest month in decades
Downpours in Japan’s east have snarled roads, caused power outages and destroyed homes in Chiba prefecture

In #ClimateCrisis news, #flooding continues, with record breaking rain events (a predicted impact of unrestricted #FossilFuel use):
1:

Torrential rain and flood kill nine in Japan amid wettest month in decades
Downpours in Japan’s east have snarled roads, caused power outages and destroyed homes in Chiba prefecture

Sardellen-Tofu-Dip, exzellent. Nicht Seidentofu, sondern etwas festeren genommen, Olivenöl weggelassen. Denkbar einfach: Tofu mit einem Zehntel des Gewichts an Anchovis (in Öl), Knoblauch nach Belieben und Salzpfeffer pürieren. #nommention
https:…

Japan first. #MJGA
Japan en VS proberen yen te redden, maar effect op lange termijn onzeker https://nos.nl/l/2625343

Japan en VS proberen yen te redden, maar effect op lange termijn onzeker
Japen en de VS deden op grote schaal steunaankopen. De yen werd daardoor meer waard vergeleken met de dollar en de euro.

#F1 2027 Calendar is out!

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.

Bericht: Apple will mehr Geld aus dem App Store ziehen
Einigungen mit der EU sowie Ländern wie Japan sollen eigentlich Ruhe in die App-Store-Provisionsdebatte bringen. Offenbar sieht das der neue Apple-CEO anders.
htt…

Bericht: Apple will mehr Geld aus dem App Store ziehen
Einigungen mit der EU sowie Ländern wie Japan sollen eigentlich Ruhe in die App-Store-Provisionsdebatte bringen. Offenbar sieht das der neue Apple-CEO anders.

Central bankers in economies including the US, Japan and the UK will face a moment of truth this week,
as surging inflation raises the prospect of higher interest rates.
Policymakers in all three countries will set rates in the next seven days
against the backdrop of turbulent global bond markets.
In particular, investors will be watching closely to see if Kevin Warsh, the new chair of the US Federal Reserve,
can face down Donald Trump’s demands for rate cuts an…

Surging inflation puts interest rates back in focus as policymakers meet in Japan, US and UK
Iran war and turbulent global bond markets add to pressure as rate decisions loom this week in major western economies

Three lions die of suspected heatstroke at Tokyo zoo as Japan swelters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/04/three-lions-dead-suspected-heatstroke-japan-zoo-heatwave

WBD says it will launch HBO Max in Japan as hubs within Prime Video and Hulu Japan on October 1; HBO Max content was previously available via a deal with U-Next (Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2026/08/hbo-max-launch-japan-amazon-hulu-1237063387/

HBO Max To Launch In Japan As Hub Within Prime Video & Hulu
The move will see it launch on October 1, giving subscribers access to House of the Dragon and The Pitt and the upcoming Harry Potter series.

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.

@… @… you mean the aspect ratio all office paper outside the United States has, based on the German DIN A series (in Europe and Korea) and B series (in Japan), precisely because A4 folded in half is A5?

North Korea fires off missile hours after Trump says he plans to meet Kim (Jesse Johnson/The Japan Times)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/20/asia-pacific/north-korea-missile-august-20/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260820/p4#a260820p4

Japan Passes New Law Banning Flag Desecration in Nationalist Push - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/world/asia/japan-flag-desecration-law.html

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…

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.

Islamic Republic of Japan

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBCRadio3's #Radio3Breakfast
Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach Collegium Japan & Masaaki Suzuki:
🎵 Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring (Cantata No 147)
#JohannSebastianBach #BachCollegiumJapan #MasaakiSuzuki

"Social media images lead to first recording of parasitoid wasp species in Japan"
#Japan #Animals #Insects #SocialMedia

Social media images lead to first recording of parasitoid wasp species in Japan
Photos of a striking, iridescent wasp posted on social media by wasp enthusiasts in Japan have led to an unexpected discovery: The images are the first record of the species in Japan. The footage also helped scientists describe a male of the species for the first time. The images and a video of the wasps […]

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #MiddayShow
Hum:
🎵 Stars
#Hum
https://japandoll.bandcamp.com/track/hum-stars-japan-doll-rmx
https://open.spotify.com/track/6lQE6LF3MU63Z6VyhPxaV3

NFL officials continue to eye international expansion, possibly including Japan https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7559853/2026/09/02/nfl-international-expansion-japan/

On the topic of alternative fuels like hydrogen, ammonia, and nuclear, this look at Japan's energy dilemma is quite interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATw7clEfzM
@…

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…

Oha!
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/realestate/japan-heritage-homes-kominka-preservation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2VA.DU5V.MM4D0UUi9vAK&smid=url-share

To Save Japan’s Heritage Homes, People Are Shipping Them Across the World
Millions of abandoned kominkas are scattered across Japan. Now, teams of enthusiasts are dismantling and rebuilding them overseas.

incidentally, if you were curious about the lengths of the many national anthems sung before june and july's world cup matches ... i've got you covered

Now that Japan know about the existence of international shipping, I bough this!

RE: https://flipboard.com/@globeandmail/world-qs57rganz/-/a-Tq-5Bky6TaGyXSSfT0MWTQ:a:729020400-/0
Fatal incident at Pearl Harbor involved Japan

What seems as dead as the grass in England this year is the summertime ideal
— lazy days, warm nights and escape, however temporary, from classes or parents or work or rules.
During the Summer of ’26, people are grieving that freedom. And perhaps, the versions of ourselves we become when our senses tell us that we are safe

How the promise of carefree 'summertime' is fading in sweaty 2026
Summertime, the dreamy ideal of lazy days, is fading. Extreme heat is setting records worldwide, melting Arctic ice and intensifying wildfires. Japan has even coined a new term for dangerously hot days. This summer, many are grieving the loss of that leisurely state of mind. A new poll shows Americans are increasingly affected by extreme heat in their daily lives. Globally, intense heat is altering behaviors in countries like Brazil, France, and India. Experts warn 2026 could become the hottest…

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…

"“We had about 8,000 applications for the 1,800 slots over the last two days, roughly four times oversubscribed"
Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers | Japan | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.c…

Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metres

Analysis: South Korea and Taiwan each surpassed Japan in total exports for the first time in H1 2026, as AI demand drove explosive growth in chip exports (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semiconductors/…

South Korea, Taiwan top Japan in exports for first time on AI boom
Both economies benefit more from surging demand for semiconductors in 2026 first half

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.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #Roadhouse
Soul Dog:
🎵 Soul Dog
#SoulDog
https://h-a-f.bandcamp.com/track/japanese-dog-soul

Living in #Japan has, for some reason, made me realize that most North #Indians are just as bad as white expats at recommending #SouthIndian restaurants or food.

Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/25/japan-1800-people-move-pull-400-tonne-hirosaki-castle-with-ropes?CMP=Share…

Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metres

Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/25/japan-1800-people-move-pull-400-tonne-hirosaki-castle-with-ropes?CMP=Share…

Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metres

Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan
after yesterday’s powerful earthquakeleft widespread devastation,
with buildings collapsed, roads severely damaged and emergency teams digging through rubble.
At least 13 people have been killed
and many reported missing after the earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu with a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan meteorological agency.
The US Geolo…

‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missing
Military mobilises thousands of personnel after quake on southern Kyushu island that registered a maximum 7 on the Japanese shindo intensity scale

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.

A look at the Originator Profile standard, developed in Japan in response to imposter news sites and offering tamper-proof credentials for websites (Andrew Deck/Nieman Lab)
https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/08/japanese-publi…

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

"In coastal Japan, one project is planting forests to stand against tsunamis"
#Japan #Tsunamis #Trees #Environment

In coastal Japan, one project is planting forests to stand against tsunamis
MINAMISOMA, Japan — Kazuo Monma stepped out onto the small stage and looked at the large crowd with a sense of relief. The weather report had called for rain all weekend, and the mayor of Minamisoma, a coastal city in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, worried that few would show for what had become an annual event for […]

WM-Sechzehntelfinale - LIVE: Japan in Führung! Brasilien muss reagieren #News #Nachrichten

Can verify the changes in restaurant operations in Japan. These are extremely common now.
✅ The restaurant business is changing beyond recognition: Blame technology, inflation and customers’ shifting habits - The Economist
https://www.economist.com/internatio…

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

Satomi Matsuzaki joined Deerhoof within a week of moving to the United States from Japan in May 1995, with no prior experience playing in a band, and went on tour as Deerhoof's singer only a week later

That room was found in Hokkaido
Sadly, it will be destroyed :floofSad:
Dear Japan, legalize it instead!!!

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #MiddayShow
Hum:
🎵 Stars
#Hum
https://japandoll.bandcamp.com/track/hum-stars-japan-doll-rmx
https://open.spotify.com/track/6lQE6LF3MU63Z6VyhPxaV3

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken south Japan, leaving at least 50 people injured,
with some trapped and presumed dead inside a partly collapsed shopping mall.
The earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern Kyushu island late on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power to thousands of homes and damaging roads, bridges and buildings.
Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, told reporters authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage in the area,

Japan earthquake injures 50 and traps ‘many people’ inside shopping mall
Deaths expected as Kumamoto shaken by 6.8-magnitude quake, knocking out power and damaging buildings

The Chinese government relies on dancing ethnic minorities to project normalcy. Last year, it brought dancing #Uyghurs to #Japan.
For #MekongReview, my latest unpacks the propaganda of '

Xinjiang week - Mekong Review
Uyghur dance performances are invariably showcased by Chinese officials in an attempt to show that everything in Xinjiang is ‘normal’. It’s a move that, through its absurdity, creates even more unease.

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

[Ausgerechnet heute macht die Listening Bar, in die ich längst schon mal gehen wollte, ein Japan Special. 😡 ]

A look at Kioxia's expansion in Japan's Kitakami, which helped stall the city's demographic decline and is a test of Japan's $640B AI and chips investment plan (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/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.

'#Xinjiang Week' in #Japan, at the #Osaka #WorldExpo was being framed as a celebration of local culture & inn…

Xinjiang week - Mekong Review
Uyghur dance performances are invariably showcased by Chinese officials in an attempt to show that everything in Xinjiang is ‘normal’. It’s a move that, through its absurdity, creates even more unease.

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.

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

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

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

Met & know many western #Japan experts who are surprisingly ignorant about #Taiwan, the country that #Japanese are most likely to travel to.
Surprised to learn the same can be said about western

Japan's Kioxia and Sandisk plan to spend $31B in Japan through 2032 to drive chip tech and expand production capacity, including an $11.3B Kitakami plant (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kioxia-sandisk-i…

TSMC and Sony plan to establish Advanced Vision Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, a $4.69B JV in Japan to make next-gen smartphone image sensors from 2029 (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tsmc-invest-18-bln-j…

Japanese startups are racing to enter defense drone production, as Tokyo seeks to cut reliance on Chinese industrial drones, which control 91% of Japan's market (Mitsuru Obe/Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/aerospace-d…

Japanese startups rush into defense drones
Eams Robotics aims to work with Anduril, Terra Drone brings battery production to Japan

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

Sources: Sony and TSMC plan a $6.3B JV, owned ~60% by Sony and ~40% by TSMC, to mass produce next-gen image sensor chips in Japan's Kumamoto as early as 2029 (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semi…

Sony, TSMC to invest $6.3bn in advanced image sensor plant in Kumamoto
Japanese and Taiwanese duo targets 2029 production with new joint venture

NAND flash maker Kioxia, Japan's most valuable company since June 12, plans to offer US depositary shares in spring 2027 amid AI-driven demand for memory chips (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-25…

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…