At the APEC trade ministers meeting in Suzhou, China, Japan's industry minister demanded that exporting countries rectify arbitrary rare earth curbs. A look at the slow squeeze on Japan, its roots in a Taiwan remark, and Tokyo's exit strategy.
Seven months after metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, where does the technology actually stand? A status check on Atoco's air-to-water devices, scaled-up carbon capture by Svante and Kobe Steel, China's lead in MOF research output, and why an Atomis executive says a Nobel does not lower the hurdles.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries—maker of jets, bullet trains and motorcycles—has opened a physical AI development hub in Silicon Valley, teaming up with NVIDIA, Analog Devices, Microsoft and Fujitsu. We unpack why a 130-year-old industrial giant is betting on AI that acts in the real world, and where Japan stands in the US-China robotics race.
PM Takaichi met BOJ Governor Ueda on May 22 and asked the central bank to carry out 'appropriate policy.' We explain Japan's central bank independence next to the US Fed and the ECB, and how a weak yen near 159 and the carry trade tie this to global markets.
Top shareholder Oasis Management is pushing to remove KADOKAWA CEO Takeshi Natsuno, triggering a full proxy fight ahead of the June 24 shareholder meeting. We break down the arguments over an 89% EPS drop, the 'isekai over-reliance' critique, and FromSoftware's monetization, and check how our earlier predictions held up.
OpenAI is moving to offer its newest cyber-focused AI model, GPT-5.5 Cyber, to the Japanese government and industry. Former NSA Director Paul Nakasone, now an OpenAI board member, flew to Tokyo to pitch critical-infrastructure cooperation. We unpack the contrast with Anthropic's tightly controlled Claude Mythos, the China-threat framing, and what it means that OpenAI wants Japan as its first international partner.
Mazda has launched the third-generation CX-5 in Japan today, May 21, 2026, starting at 3.3 million yen (around $20,800). With 5 million sold globally, this redesigned SUV is Mazda's bet on hybrids and combustion as the EV boom cools — and how it stacks up against Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Tesla, and BYD.
Hoku Energy K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of UK-based Hoku Infrastructure, will build Japan's first new-build 100% hydrogen mono-firing thermal power plant in Aomori Prefecture. The 106.6MW Daiichi Plant, awarded under Japan's 3rd Long-Term Decarbonized Power Source Auction, is scheduled to start operations in the early-to-mid 2030s. We compare it with hydrogen power efforts by Plug Power, MHI in Utah, Linde, Air Liquide, and South Korea's Doosan, and explain what it means for Japan's GX strategy.
Fujitsu's new Kozuchi Physical OS isn't trying to build a smarter robot brain. It's trying to make the whole physical space intelligent. Here's how its edge-plus-sovereign-cloud design differs from NVIDIA Cosmos and Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics — and how it fits into Japan's $126B Physical AI ambition.
An Osaka University team has shrunk a key step in magnetic tunnel junction fabrication from hours to about 1.7 seconds using flash-lamp annealing—up to thousands of times faster than conventional methods, with implications for MRAM mass production and flexible sensors.
Kyoto University spinoff Toregem Biopharma kicks off Phase 2 trials this summer for TRG035, the world's first regenerative tooth drug, after raising an additional ¥850 million ($5.3M). Twenty-four pediatric patients with severe congenital tooth agenesis will receive the antibody. Here is what the deal tells us about Japan's deep-tech biotech funding stack — and how a super-aging society is becoming a uniquely positioned market for medical innovation.