Goto

Collaborating Authors

 Shizuoka Prefecture


AI-related copyright losses cost celebrities up to 4.5 billion, study says

The Japan Times

Such AI-generated content attracted approximately 335 million views on social media, resulting in financial losses estimated at ¥2 billion to ¥4.5 billion for celebrities and artists, according to the study. The estimated losses were calculated based on licensing fees related to using a person's likeness or voice, as well as the advertising value of view counts. However, the nonprofit added that the "actual financial losses might be significantly larger than the estimate," as the calculation only covered cases they were able to find. Only 1.1% of companies said they had guidelines on how to deal with these violations. Some 52% said they were "currently considering" options, while the rest had no plans as of date.


Beijing to let Chinese AI companies buy Nvidia H200 chips

The Japan Times

China had previously restricted the import of Nvidia's H200 chips on concerns that a flood of American-designed AI processors would hinder the government's long-held goal of developing an indigenous chip industry. China plans to allow its top artificial intelligence companies to buy a limited number of H200 chips from Nvidia, a sign the country is easing restrictions on the coveted U.S. technology, according to The Information news site. Chinese officials have informed companies such as Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance and DeepSeek that they will have permission to purchase some of the processors, which are used to develop AI models, the news site said Wednesday. The companies need to say how many chips they need -- and why -- to get approval, according to The Information. The chips have emerged as a geopolitical flash point for the world's two largest economies.


Japan's Terra Drone to mass-produce defense drones domestically

The Japan Times

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.


Russia tries to jam Musk's Starlink systems to counter Ukrainian drones

The Japan Times

Russia tries to jam Musk's Starlink systems to counter Ukrainian drones Service members of the Sparta company of the 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment Luftwaffe of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prepare a Zozulia midstrike drone for a flight while they work at a position near a front line in an undisclosed location in southern Ukraine. ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine - Russian forces are trying to counter Ukrainian "midstrike" drone attacks by camouflaging cargoes and installing powerful jamming systems to disrupt Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots said. Kyiv's development of "midstrike" drones that can hit targets dozens of kilometers behind front lines accurately and cheaply, and are often flown via Starlink, has transformed the war in Ukraine. In a concerted midstrike campaign this year, Ukraine has attacked supply lines, fuel storage facilities, air-defense installations and command centers, disrupting Russian forces' logistics and causing fuel shortages in Russian-occupied Crimea. But Russia is now developing many ways to try to counter the midrange strikes, four drone commanders and pilots told a Reuters crew that visited Ukraine's 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment at work in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.


KDDI to conduct AI drone feasibility study in Vietnam and the Philippines

The Japan Times

KDDI and KDDI SmartDrone will study the potential use of AI drones for disaster prevention and for patrolling and inspecting infrastructure facilities. KDDI said last Friday that it will launch a feasibility study to explore the deployment of digital solutions using artificial intelligence-powered drones in Vietnam and the Philippines. The project will receive subsidies under a Japanese industry ministry program aimed at supporting domestic companies aiming to start infrastructure and other operations in emerging economies. KDDI and KDDI SmartDrone, a joint venture between the Japanese telecommunications firm and Japan Airlines, will study the potential use of AI drones for disaster prevention and for patrolling and inspecting infrastructure facilities in the two Southeast Asian countries. The companies will assess technical requirements, including market conditions, civil aviation regulations and communication environments.


'Defense,' not 'warfare,' stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities

The Japan Times

'Defense,' not'warfare,' stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7. Japan is taking lessons on "new ways of warfare" gleaned from the Ukraine and Iran conflicts and making them its own, with the government considering making "new ways of defense" a key tenet of revisions to the country's security policy. But it is also aiming to win public support for its military buildup in the ostensibly pacifist nation, a goal that is evident in the verbal gymnastics officials have performed as the term "new ways of defense" ( atarashii mamorikata) -- as opposed to " new ways of warfare" ( atarashii tatakaikata) -- becomes more prominent in briefings, speeches and official documents. The concept of "new ways of warfare," which emerged following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and references the large-scale use of drones, missiles and artificial intelligence, has been adopted by Japan and scores of other nations. It has gained further prominence among defense planners with the large-scale use of drones and missiles in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.


Can automation offset Japan's military manpower shortage?

The Japan Times

Japan is building a 21st-century military, but it is running out of 21st-century citizens to man it.



A VIDa-hIL6: A Large-Scale VHH Dataset Produced from an Immunized Alpaca for Predicting Antigen-Antibody Interactions

Neural Information Processing Systems

To accelerate therapeutic antibody discovery, computational methods, especially machine learning, have attracted considerable interest for predicting specific interactions between antibody candidates and target antigens such as viruses and bacteria.


New species looks like a fuzzy pink hermit crab wig

Popular Science

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Humans don't need to blast off into space to find some truly alien-looking wonders. The deepest depths of our ocean are like another planet, teeming with the charismatic "Casper" octopus, the carnivorous (aka the flying spaghetti monster), and even some sharks . A team from Kumamoto University in Japan recently uncovered a deep-sea anemone that has a tight bond with hermit crabs. These wispy pink invertebrates build shell-like "homes" for the crabs.