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July 05, 2026
 

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TECH

An Odd Systems first-person-view drone with a weighted dummy explosive attached awaits a test flight at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Nov. 6, 2025.
WORLD
Apr 13, 2026
He made a gadget to amuse pets. Then he turned to killer drones.
The founders of Petcube have moved on to a new idea that reflects an across-the-board transformation of Ukraine’s civilian technology industry into a hub of military contracting.
Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Apr 13, 2026
Can AI replace a priest? Japan’s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
Japan’s temples experiment with artificial intelligence as questions of faith, presence and care grow more urgent.
A newly established AI company led by SoftBank, NEC, Sony Group and Honda Motor will apply for a government-backed AI development support program run by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2026
SoftBank and others set up new firm to develop high-performance AI
Engineers from SoftBank and Tokyo-based AI developer Preferred Networks Inc. are expected to participate in the development.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during the opening of a Rapidus chip analysis factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2026
Japan bets ¥632 billion to propel startup Rapidus into global AI chip race
The move ramps up financial support for a signature project widely regarded as a long shot.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2026
Japan group eyes practical use of smart contact lens in 2030
The development of a smart contact lens began overseas around 2008, but a lens that measures intraocular pressure is the only product now available in Japan and abroad.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit of government officials, corporate executives and labor leaders, in Washington on March 11.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 11, 2026
Man arrested for throwing Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO’s home
San Francisco police arrested a man on Friday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. No one was injured.
A Tesla Model 3 is shown driving on the highway with FSD 14.2.2.3 self-driving supervised software in Irvine, California, in January.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 11, 2026
Tesla’s supervised self-driving software gets Dutch OK, first in Europe
The electric car maker hopes to see similar action from the rest of the European Union soon.
Go runs the most widely used taxi hailing app in Japan in terms of user numbers, according to a survey in 2024 by ICT Research and Consulting.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2026
Goldman-backed Go taxi app said to plan Japan IPO this year
Discussions on the IPO are ongoing and details such as the target valuation and timing are subject to change.
A woman walks past an advertisement for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Nagoya. The Japanese Olympic Committee plans to fight back against online abuse of athletes during the upcoming event.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 9, 2026
You’re being watched: Japan battles online abuse of athletes
Japanese Olympic Committee officials tried to combat online abuse against athletes during the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics and plan to do so again at the Asian Games.
Gwanghwamun Square, the venue of BTS’ comeback concert, in Seoul on March 21. Seoul-based startup Galaxy is trying to disrupt K-pop’s traditional idol system — a model built on years of recruiting, training and managing human performers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2026
AI K-Pop startup Galaxy aims for IPO in Seoul and New York
The goal of the company, which is preparing for what could be the first overseas listing by a K-pop agency, is to create content without the constraint of human performers.
Participants line up to install OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent, outside the Baidu offices in Beijing on March 17.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2026
There’s method to China’s OpenClaw madness
It arrived at exactly the right moment for China’s AI sector. After months of brutal price wars, it gave model builders a reason to charge more for tokens.
An employee works with FP-1 long-range drones at a production facility of Fire Point company in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 2.
WORLD
Apr 7, 2026
Ukraine missile maker targets ‘game changer’ air defense system by 2027
Years of know-how gained on the battlefield fighting Russian forces have made Ukraine a leading innovator in low-cost defense tech.
The Deepseek chatbot interface is displayed on a smartphone in Shanghai in January. The practice of artificial intelligence distillation first drew significant scrutiny in 2025 after DeepSeek released its R1 reasoning model. The release prompted Microsoft and OpenAI to investigate whether the Chinese startup had improperly exfiltrated large amounts of data from the U.S. firms' models to create R1.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 7, 2026
OpenAI, Anthropic and Google cooperate to fend off Chinese bids to clone models
The U.S. firms are concerned some users are creating imitation versions of their products that could undercut them on price and siphon away customers.
A drone operator flies his drone as Chinese drone maker DJI holds a demonstration to display an app that tracks a drone’s registration and owner in Montreal, Canada, in 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
China built the world’s drone industry. Now it’s locking down the skies.
New regulations are tightening rules for recreational and civilian operators, with penalties for unauthorized flying of drones to include possible jail time.
Microsoft, whose Copilot has struggled to keep pace with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, said it will invest in cybersecurity partnerships and train a million artificial intelligence engineers through 2029.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2026
Microsoft drafts $10 billion investment plan in AI-hungry Japan
Microsoft is battling Amazon.com and Alphabet for dominance in Japan, which is spending billions to develop an artificial intelligence ecosystem and catch up to the U.S. and China.
A month after Australia's social media ban took effect, the government reported in mid-January that 4.7 million suspected underage ⁠accounts had been deactivated.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 3, 2026
Under global spotlight, Australia plays hardball on social media ban
The Australian government is pleased with the overseas interest in the ban, but is also keen ‌to counter the news that many teens are still scrolling on their phones, experts say.
Sony Bravia XR 4K televisions at a showroom in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2026
TCL-Sony deal marks China’s rise to prominence in TV market
TCL’s joint venture with Sony is set to surpass South Korean rivals and bookmark decades of Japanese consumer electronics dominance.
Spools of electrical wires outside a series of assembly tents at the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2026
America’s AI build-out hinges on Chinese electrical parts
The boom in AI infrastructure is colliding with a shortage of transformers and other electrical components needed to power massive data centers.
The Agile ONE industrial humanoid robot. The market for AI-powered robots and autonomous machines has the potential to balloon into a trillion-dollar opportunity by 2035, according to Barclays analysts.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2026
Humanoid robots offer Europe path to stay in tech race
The market for AI-powered robots and autonomous machines has the potential to balloon into a trillion-dollar opportunity by 2035, according to Barclays analysts.
A U.N. panel estimated in 2024 that North Korea had stolen more than $3 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 1, 2026
North Korea hackers suspected of attack on widely used software tool
Hackers linked to North Korea are suspected of an ambitious attack on an inconspicuous software package, cybersecurity experts said.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan&#039;s renewable goals.

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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