Japan’s technology news in September of 2024 spanned a range of noteworthy headlines, covering items including: plans for a Japanese super-computer; self-driving taxis for Tokyo in 2025; Intel’s moves into Japan-based semicon manufacturing and R&D; the growing problem of AI-generated deepfakes in Japan; and many more.
Plus: Asia’s Tech News, Weekly >
Indo-Pacific Critical Tech Forum 2024 – October in Japan
- Japan: Fujitsu and Riken are preparing for construction of Fugaku Next ‘zeta-class’ supercomputer, set to be 1000 times faster than today’s most advanced, at a cost of over $750M / full item
- Japan: An intro to Emulsion Flow Technologies, producing modular units to scale recycling of rare earth metals and critical minerals / full item
- Japan: In April, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Tech rolled out ‘metaverse student’ option, allowing ‘school refusers’ to attend and graduate / full item
- Japan: Tokyo Stock Exchange announces the first batch of tech firms to be supported by TSE Asia Startup Hub, focusing on promising Asian companies with ties to Japan / full item
- Japan: Financial Services Agency reportedly to reform Payment Services Act crypto-relevant gaming laws to make it easier for businesses to handle digital assets / full item
- Available now: ‘Adobe 2024 Digital Trends Asia Pacific and Japan‘, focusing on the impacts of artificial intelligence / full item
The Virtual Try-On Race – AI & the customer experience
- Japan: Startup Horizon 2024 event from JETRO is set for November 15th, showcasing the startup ecosystem in Osaka, and the Kansai region and coinciding with Japan Innovation Week / full item
- Japan: An overview of Hokkaido’s moves into semiconductor manufacturing, touching on the Rapidus-IBM partnership for a 2nm semicon fabrication plant / full item
- Tier IV aims to operate self-driving taxis commercially in three locations in Tokyo by 2025, including Odaiba as well as other central Tokyo areas such as Shinjuku and Minato. / full item
- Japan’s Mizuho Bank invests $3.5M in 3DEO, US startup that manufactures metal parts using 3D metal printers / full item
- KDDI telecoms major and Sharp electronics firm partner for what may be Asia’s largest data center in Osaka, focusing on AI services / full item
Cushman & Wakefield: Asia Pacific Data Center Market H1 2024
- Japan: A brief look at Sakana, AI firm with a focus on a large number of small models that work together rather than on one large foundational AI model / full item
- Japan: Intel partners AIST for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials R&D hub / full item
- Japan sets sights on faster, light-based photonics for data centers to facilitate build-out of facilities outside of metro and industrial areas / full item
“Pacific Island nations, notably Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji, have become significant areas of geopolitical competition…” / full item
- Japan: An intro to 5 startups selected for the Global DeepTech Accelerator Osaka, part of the Kansai startup ecosystem / full item
- Japan: Deepfake cases jumped 28-fold last year, the fifth largest among 224 economies tracked / full item
- Japan: Tokyo Stock Exchange adds 21 VCs and 1 bank to TSE Asia Startup Hub, aiming to back Asia’s startups / full item
KPMG: Q2 2024 Venture Pulse Asia Report
- Japan: Fujitsu and Osaka Uni Center for Quantum Info & Quantum Biology announce 2 new technologies, one cutting calculation time from 5 years to 10 hours. / full item
- Japan’s SBI Holdings financial conglomerate backs Singapore’s Oasys gaming-focused blockchain firm, looking at expanded uses for blockchain tech / full item
- Japan: Taiwan’s TSMC semiconductor chip-maker is on track to build a 3rd plant in Japan by 2030, with timeframe slowed due to availability of trained workforce / full item
- Thailand’s Krungsri and Japan’s MUFG ink MoU with banks from Vietnam, Indonesia and The Philippines to coordinate market entry for Thai firms across ASEAN / full item
- Taiwan’s National Development Fund and Japan’s Kyoto University Innovation Capital ink MOU to boost talent pool in a range of deep technology fields / full item
KPMG: Navigating the future of seamless e-commerce in Asia Pacific
- Japan and Australia launch Pacific Digital Development Initiative, focused on Pacific Island nations infrastructure, telecoms, and information security. / full item
- India’s Tata Electronics inks MoU with Tokyo Electron Limited, accelerating production of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in Gujarat, and assembly & testing in Assam / full item
- Japan’s Bee Informatica completes seed round, raising near $500K with Funding Bee, a digital microfinance solution for SMEs in Malaysia / full item
- Country profiles for Australia, India, Japan and Singapore, via the cmspi ‘Payments Regulation in Asia’ report / full item
Critical technologies in the news, globally, in September 2024
