Japan’s technology news headlines in March of 2024 covered items and developments in areas including: growing Japanese activities in the space domain; quantum computing developments in Japan; Japanese nuclear-fusion energy technology; Japan’s growing partnerships with Pacific Islands nations on cybersecurity; and many more.
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Google: How AI can reverse the defender’s dilemma
- Japan: Institute for Molecular Science and firms including Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC partner to establish company to commercialize high-speed quantum computer by 2030 / read it here
- Japan’s Astroscale launches rocket via New Zealand’s Rocket Lab services to inspect ‘dead’ rocket debris in orbit, aiming to identify method to remove this, and later, other, debris, from space / read it here
- AsterX 2024 Military Space Exercise took place in France, with Japan and South Korea taking part for first time, likely heralding future presence in European, NATO and US bids to boost cyber defense / read it here
- Japan: Google opens its first Asia-Pacific cyber defense hub in Tokyo, aiming to facilitate cybersecurity research, and to share critical information with gov’t officials, business and universities / read it here
AI-RAN Alliance: Artificial Intelligence in Radio Access Networks
- Japan: A brief interview intro to EX-Fusion, working on laser-powered nuclear fusion as a next-gen clean energy source / read it here
- Japan: An interview intro to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank’s moves to develop regional startup ecosystems in the country, centered around Japanese universities / read it here
‘Honda and Nissan have put aside the “traditional approach” of fierce rivalry to join forces and work together on electric vehicle technology as Japan’s carmakers try to catch up with Chinese competitors.’ / read it here
- Japan: Metro Gov’t to open doors to new Tokyo Innovation Base in May in bid to make Tokyo the world’s most startup-friendly city / read it here
- Japan: Takanawa in Tokyo to launch Takanawa Gateway City program in July, looking at tech startup and business creation in collaboration with University of Tokyo and other institutions / read it here
ORF: Fixing Cyber Vulnerabilities – A Quad Agenda
- Researchers from Japan and Switzerland successfully laser-etch circuits onto glass, triggering generation of electric current upon light exposure / read it here
- Japan: Taiwan’s TSMC to partner Sony and Toyota for over $20BN investment in second Japan plant, producing chip-on-wafer-on-substrate semiconductor packaging / read it here
- Japan: New ABCI-Q supercomputer, designed to advance quantum computing research, to be powered by NVIDIA hardware and platforms / read it here
- An overview of Japan’s recent cybersecurity outreach to Pacific Islands nations, connecting gov’t officials and comms providers from Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Kiribati / read it here
- Japan: Fujitsu partners government-backed Riken research institute for generative AI tech in protein analysis, cutting a portion of drug development time by a factor of 30 / read it here
- Japan: Tokyo Stock Exchange launches TSE Asia Startup Hub, aiming to be ‘an ecosystem where TSE and IPO stakeholders collaborate to encourage promising Asian companies to choose TSE for IPOs’ / read it here
XPrize quantum technologies competition
- Japan: NTT Digital telco to launch cryptocurrency wallet by year-end, compatible with NFTs and with eyes on the gaming market, partnering with US-based NowGG platform for cloud and browser gaming / read it here
- Japan: An overview of the recently-launched Tokyo Innovation Base, the city’s bid to create a high-impact tech startup hub / read it here
- ‘From reactive to proactive: Japan’s advances in cybersecurity and cyber defence strategies’ from India’s Observer Research Foundation / read it here
- India: Union Cabinet green lights Gujarat chip plant in collaboration Japan’s Renesas and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics, focusing on trains, defence, space and EVs / read it here
- “Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) in India was USD40.84 billion. In 2023 alone, this figure was USD1.79 billion, making Japan the fifth-largest investor in India…” / read it here
- Japan’s Aeon retail group to launch an app-based digital banking business in Malaysia, targeting underserved segments of the country’s financial economy / read it here
- Singapore: Japan’s Toppan breaks ground on Singapore semiconductor packaging materials plant, targeting production of chip substrates by year-end 2026 / read it here
- The Indo-Pacific: “…minilateral arrangements, typically involving small groups of 3 to 6 members, have increasingly come to occupy an in between layer in the region’s security architecture.” / read it here
Critical technologies: News summary for March 2024
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