AT Tokyo and elleThermo successfully demonstrated waste heat power generation using Semiconductor-Sensitized Thermal Cells (STC) in a live data center. This Science Tokyo-born technology generates electricity directly from low-grade heat at just 30-40°C — no temperature differential required. A look at how this could reshape data center energy efficiency amid soaring AI power demands.
Toyota Group's ¥5.9 trillion ($39B) tender offer for Toyota Industries — the founding company of the Toyota empire — has been completed, making it Japan's largest-ever domestic acquisition. We explore the Elliott Investment standoff, two price hikes, and what this means for Japanese corporate governance reform.
Japan's top drone company Terra Drone has announced its full-scale entry into the defense equipment market, establishing U.S. subsidiary 'Terra Defense.' The move comes amid Japan's record defense spending, the SHIELD coastal defense initiative, and growing global demand for military drones post-Ukraine.
The global bonsai market is projected to reach roughly $13 billion by 2030, growing about 10% a year. Explore why wabi-sabi aesthetics are captivating the world, bonsai philosophy, and must-visit spots like Omiya Bonsai Village.
Bloomberg reports Nintendo is cutting Switch 2 production from 6M to 4M units this quarter after weak US holiday sales. We analyze the gap between booming Japanese software sales and slowing American demand, plus the semiconductor and tariff headwinds reshaping gaming's supply chain.
Shinko Electric Industries is entering the photonic-electronic convergence manufacturing market as an OSAT, targeting CPO projects that TSMC won't take. With expertise in advanced packaging and optical alignment, this Japanese company aims to become the go-to manufacturer for Co-Packaged Optics — the technology set to slash AI data center power consumption by half. We break down the CPO race, NTT's IOWN initiative, and why NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD are all betting on light.
Japan is seeing new momentum in chip design. Fabless startups like TRIPLE-1 and Socionext challenge Chinese giant Bitmain's dominance in mining ASICs. We explore Japan's emerging role in chip design, Rapidus's 2nm mass production plans, TSMC partnerships, and positioning amid the US-China semiconductor rivalry.
Hong Kong hedge fund Oasis Management has acquired an 8.86% stake in KADOKAWA, parent company of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, for approximately $265 million. We break down what this activist investor's entry means for the gaming industry, the Sony partnership, and Japanese entertainment M&A trends.
Japan's Zengin Net announces plans to completely rebuild its 50-year-old interbank payment system by 2030, with real-time settlement and stablecoin/tokenized deposit integration. A historic shift for the backbone handling roughly $26 trillion annually across 1,071 institutions.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has formulated a roadmap for deploying AI-powered autonomous robots in security, waste management, and other labor-short sectors by 2030. While Japan commands ~70% of the industrial robot market, it lags behind the US and China in service robotics. The government now targets 30%+ global market share and $130 billion in the AI robot market by 2040. Here's what this national strategy means for Japan and the world.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has announced a $500 billion AI data center campus at a former uranium enrichment site in Ohio—the largest single-site investment in history. With 21 Japanese and American companies involved and 9.2 GW of gas-fired power, this project reshapes the global AI infrastructure race. Here's what Japan thinks.
