Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, attends a news conference on Friday in Tokyo. Moves to launch a new party have emerged among three opposition parties in Japan, sources said Sunday. The idea arose in the course of talks on the possible integration of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito into the Centrist Reform Alliance. The CRA and Komeito are keen about the new opposition party option. Some senior members of the CDP and officials of a major labor union supporting the initiative are also positive, according to sources familiar with the matter. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Sakie Yokota (center, back), mother of North Korean abductee Megumi Yokota, and others attend a rally held in Tokyo on Saturday that called for the immediate return of Japanese people abducted by North Korea. A large-scale rally was held in Tokyo on Saturday to seek the immediate return home of all Japanese abductees in North Korea. Relatives of those abducted to North Korea decades ago expressed hopes for the return of abductees immediately and while their parents are still alive. The event, organized by the association of families of abduction victims and other entities, was attended by about 800 people, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. "We will never give up," said Takuya Yokota, 57, head of the association and the younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted in 1977 at the age of 13. He called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to release all abductees to "chart a bright future for both countries."

A humanoid robot is displayed at the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo on Thursday. Amid growing anticipation of physical artificial intelligence, robots are increasingly being seen as a viable option to fill labor gaps. This topic was one of the major agendas during the two-day Humanoids Summit in Tokyo, which ended on Friday. "In Japan the United States globally, we just don't have the birth rates to sustain the workforce that we need," said Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy at Massachusetts-based robotics company Boston Dynamics during a speech at the event. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Taiyo Yuden sees'scary' levels of AI parts demand risking supply chain Multilayer ceramic capacitors, which are tiny components that regulate and stabilize power flow in electronic devices, are becoming a growing bottleneck in the construction of artificial intelligence data centers. Taiyo Yuden is fielding "scary" levels of demand for its high-end artificial intelligence server components, stretching capacity and increasing the risk of supply chain hiccups. The Tokyo-based company, which makes multilayer ceramic capacitors, will likely need to accelerate spending to expand output capacity, Chief Executive Officer Katsuya Sase said in an interview. MLCCs, which are tiny components that regulate and stabilize power flow in electronic devices, are becoming a growing bottleneck in the construction of artificial intelligence data centers. Taiyo Yuden and Murata Manufacturing comprise the bulk of the world's supplies of high-end MLCCs. "The volumes we are seeing today -- it's scary," Sase said.

It's part of Amazon's efforts to reach net-zero carbon across its operations in the coming years. Amazon Japan has started using the country's iconic bullet trains to move packages between facilities across different regions. The company said teaming up with Japan Railway is part of its efforts to cut both delivery times and carbon dioxide emissions. Japan's Shinkansen can reach speeds of up to 200 mph and can cut down travel times, say, from Tokyo to Osaka from around 8 hours to two-and-a-half hours. They also run on electricity delivered by an overhead electrical system. Back in 2019, the company launched an initiative that aims for net zero carbon emissions for deliveries.

Utilizing artificial intelligence and robots -- and more specifically humanoids -- is crucial in making up for Japan's labor shortage. This was the dominant talking point at the Humanoids Summit on Thursday when the two-day event kicked off in Tokyo. Hosted by a California-based robotics company of the same name, it is the first time the summit, which was previously held in Silicon Valley and London, is being held in Asia. It is expected to draw 2,000 attendees from 30 countries and 300 companies, according to the organizers. Japan was chosen for its "foundational role in the global robotics ecosystem for decades," said Terence Bennett, executive director of the Bay Area Robotics Association, in his opening remarks.

Wall Street's AI winner hunt leads to seasoning maker in Japan Ajinomoto, known more as a seasonings and foods maker, holds more than 95% of global market share for insulating materials used in personal computers and data center servers. The beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence buildout are spreading far beyond technology high-flyers. Laura Lau found one in seasoning maker Ajinomoto. The Tokyo-based company is best known for making monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a flavor enhancer used in soups and vegetables. Its lesser-known business, called Build-Up Film, or ABF, makes insulating film used to package high-performance semiconductors.

The Tokyo District Court on Monday found two former executives of artificial intelligence developer Alt guilty of window dressing in violation of the financial instruments and exchange law. The Tokyo District Court on Monday found two former executives of Japanese artificial intelligence developer Alt guilty of window dressing in violation of the financial instruments and exchange law. Former executive officer Katsuya Asai, 46, and former treasury and accounting division chief Takayuki Ariizumi, 53, were both sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years. The Tokyo-based company was fined ¥300 million ($1.89 million). Noting that fictitious sales at the firm reached about ¥11 billion in total, Judge Shoji Miyata said, "The window-dressing rate was extremely high, and the company achieved a stock listing that should not have been approved."

Combined net profits at Japanese listed companies in fiscal 2025 rose 9.0% from the previous year to a record, according to SMBC Nikko Securities. Combined net profits at Japanese listed companies in fiscal 2025 rose 9.0% from the previous year to a record ¥54.7 trillion, according to SMBC Nikko Securities. The figure for the year ended in March hit a record high for the fifth consecutive year, thanks to rosy earnings of semiconductor-and data center-related companies amid strong demand for artificial intelligence, as well as strong earnings of banks on the back of higher interest rates. SMBC Nikko Securities compiled earnings data for 1,116 Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed companies in the TOPIX stock price index that close their books in March, with 99.5% of them having disclosed their fiscal 2025 earnings as of Thursday. While auto companies and other transportation equipment firms suffered sharp profit drops from the impact of a U.S. high tariff policy, profits were boosted in a wide range of industry sectors, such as electric appliances, telecommunications and nonferrous metals, supported by growing AI demand.

Nintendo shares climbed as much as 6.8% in Tokyo Tuesday to mark a third straight day of gains -- their longest winning streak since mid-March. Embattled Switch 2 maker Nintendo enjoyed its biggest stock gain in two months on Tuesday as concerns about overvaluation in the AI sector sent investors on the hunt for bargains elsewhere. Nintendo shares climbed as much as 6.8% in Tokyo to mark a third straight day of gains -- their longest winning streak since mid-March. The advance is part of a broad rally in Japanese video game stocks that saw Bandai Namco Holdings and Konami Group rise more than 9% on Tuesday. The revival in Japanese gaming shares comes after months of headwinds brought on by a memory chips supply crunch and worries it will hit hardware sales.