Japan's AI gamble: Can technology offset the cost of an ageing society? Beneath the business towers of Tokyo's Otemachi district, a test is taking place to see whether artificial intelligence can help solve one of Japan's biggest economic challenges: a shrinking workforce. Deep underground, Marunouchi Heat Supply Company operates a 30km (18.6-mile) network of heating and cooling pipelines serving offices, commercial buildings and transport facilities in one of Japan's most important business areas. The company is now using AI to manage this complex infrastructure with the goal of moving towards more automated operations by 2027. Developed with the Tokyo-based AI company Preferred Networks, the project uses PlantPilot, an AI system trained on historical operating data and the expertise of experienced engineers.

The 225-issue Nikkei stock average slipped below 63,000 on Friday for the first time in about a month on an intraday basis. The 225-issue Nikkei stock average temporarily plunged over 4,100 points Friday afternoon due to selling of issues related to semiconductors and artificial intelligence following overnight falls in their U.S. counterparts. At 1:41 p.m., the index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section stood at 62,704.60, down 4,130.94 points, or 6.18%, from Thursday's closing. It slipped below 63,000 for the first time in about a month on an intraday basis. In the Tokyo market, memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings and other key Nikkei component issues came under selling pressure. "We can't help thinking that the boom in generative AI-related stocks is about to end," an official of a bank-affiliated securities firm said.

Chipmaker Kioxia's market value halves from peak on AI selloff Kioxia overtook auto giant Toyota in market cap value in mid-June, but its ranking has since dropped to the fourth-largest Japanese company, as traders grow more critical over artificial intelligence. Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings' market capitalization halved in just a month since becoming the nation's most valuable company, on growing concerns the artificial intelligence-driven rally in the sector has gone too far. Kioxia shares tumbled as much as 16% in Tokyo's morning trading on Friday, down 52% from last month's peak and losing at least ¥30 trillion ($185 billion) in value. In mid-June, Kioxia overtook auto giant Toyota in market cap value after the stock rallied more than 600% from the start of the year, driven by exuberance about demand for memory and data storage amid an AI boom. Its ranking has since dropped to the fourth-largest Japanese company. "The chip sector is vulnerable to the silicon cycle, and we've seen this pattern many times before," said Yugo Tsuboi, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities.

A facial recognition system has been introduced at ticket gates at Ikebukuro Station on the Tobu Tojo Line in Tokyo. Hitachi and Tobu Railway on Wednesday introduced a facial recognition system at ticket gates at Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo's Toshima Ward. Passengers can pass through the ticket gates hands-free if they register their facial data and commuter pass information in advance. The companies hope to encourage other railway operators to adopt the system, which can be installed by simply adding cameras and other equipment to existing ticket gates. The system was jointly developed in cooperation with three ticket gate manufacturers, including Toshiba. This is the first time that the system has been installed at a major terminal station in Tokyo.

Masayoshi Son speaks at an annual SoftBank World event in Tokyo on Tuesday. SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son said that in the not-so-distant future, nuclear fusion technology will offer the most realistic solution for powering AI data centers' ballooning needs. Natural gas will provide the bulk of data centers' power needs for the time being, Son said Tuesday. But he predicted that nuclear fusion -- the process by which the sun and other stars generate energy -- has a role to play, predicting the world will need 3 terawatts of data center capacity in 2040. Many technological and financial challenges remain for fusion technology to become a viable energy source, however, according to BloombergNEF. "Fusion will become the main source of a new kind of cheaper, clean and safe energy here on Earth," said Son, 68, at an annual SoftBank World event in Tokyo.

A dog has been rescued from Ben Nevis after it is suspected to have fallen ill from eating discarded cannabis. Christina Bluhme, a dog trainer from Esher in Surrey, was halfway up the UK's highest mountain when her black Labrador Tokyo collapsed on the trail. Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team came to their aid and stretchered Tokyo down from the 4,413ft (1,345m) peak to a local vet. Bluhme said Tokyo had made a full recovery after the incident during a trip to Scotland last weekend. She said vets believe she ingested cannabis left on the trail.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a cyberattack on an internet cafe operator. An 18-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a cyberattack on the operator of the Kaikatsu Club internet cafe chain, according to investigative sources. On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police Department's cybercrime countermeasure division arrested the company employee from Tokyo's Katsushika Ward, who was in the second year of high school at the time of the incident, on suspicion of fraudulent obstruction of business and violation of the law against unauthorized computer access. He has denied parts of the allegations, the sources said. In the cyberattack on the internet cafe chain operator Kaikatsu Frontier, a computer program that a high school boy from the city of Osaka developed using ChatGPT was used.

Japan's Terra Drone plans to set up a system enabling domestic production of up to tens of thousands of interceptor drones a year, the company's head, Toru Tokushige, said in a recent interview. As well as domestic development for such defense drones, the Tokyo-based company aims to speed up work to establish supply chains that do not rely on imports by promoting the development and production of drone components at home. In March, Terra Drone announced its full-scale entry into the defense drone market, in addition to civilian-use drones. As part of the move, the company has acquired two Ukrainian firms that develop interceptor drones. In Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Middle East conflict, cheap drones are said to have changed the concept of war by shooting down expensive missiles and attacking important enemy bases.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets her Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong at a bilateral meeting in Tokyo in March. Singapore - Japan and Singapore have signed a memorandum on cooperation to promote the peaceful use of space. The move came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, agreed at a meeting in Tokyo in March to upgrade the two countries' relations to a strategic partnership, and identified the space sector as a pillar of the partnership. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Space Agency of Singapore signed the memorandum Monday on the sidelines of the Spacetide 2026 international space business conference in Tokyo. The pact is the first bilateral agreement for NSAS.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (third from left) speaks at a meeting of the digital administrative and fiscal reform council, held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday. The government decided Tuesday to establish a new council to drastically overhaul legal frameworks governing the development and use of artificial intelligence. The plan was included in the government's 2026 basic policy guidelines adopted at a meeting of the digital administrative and fiscal reform council, held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo. This council, launched under the administration of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, will be reorganized into the new body. The guidelines stressed the urgency of advancing what is described as AI transformation, or a fundamental review of work using AI, to cope with population decline.