Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners -- essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing -- at its factory in Oita Prefecture. Fujifilm Holdings is expanding production of key materials used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing to capitalize on surging demand. The global expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence has created bottlenecks and shortages across the supply chain, which has boosted the company better known for its cameras and office copier machines. Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners at its factory in Oita Prefecture. These are essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing. The Tokyo-based company spent ¥7 billion ($44 million) on the expansion project after forecasting the market will grow rapidly going forward.

Services using facial recognition technology are expanding in Japan, allowing, for example, touchless or ticketless entry through train station gates and payments at shops without the need to take out a wallet or a credit card. Expectations are growing that the evolution of artificial intelligence will improve accuracy of facial recognition systems and help reduce fraud. Meanwhile, concerns about privacy violations persist, making thorough user information management essential. Trial Holdings, which runs discount stores and other operations, has introduced a payment service using NEC's facial recognition technology at 15 stores in Tokyo and Fukuoka Prefecture. Advance registration allows customers to shop simply by scanning goods at the self-checkout counter without using cash or smartphone payment services.

A member of Japanese Self-Defense Force pilots a SOTEN drone during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture on June 28. The Japanese government is considering incorporating domestically developed artificial intelligence into the Self-Defense Forces' command and control system, informed sources have said. The government hopes the move will speed up and improve the accuracy of decision-making by SDF commanders while maintaining AI sovereignty, at a time when countries around the world are rushing to adapt to new ways of warfare. It is expected to include the policy in the planned update by year-end of its three key national security-related documents. AI would be incorporated into the SDF's command and control system for the first time.

She is Russia's richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames. Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31. She built Russia's answer to Amazon. And she outmaneuvered her ex-husband -- the father of her seven children -- in a rancorous business feud that involved a deadly shooting near Red Square. But Tatyana Kim, billionaire co-founder of the online marketplace Wildberries and the richest woman in Russia, is now facing a far greater challenge.

Seoul - A North Korean hacking group built large language model tools and collected software that could help automate cyberattacks, analyze stolen material and produce more convincing phishing campaigns, a South Korean cybersecurity firm said on Monday. The cybersecurity firm, Genians, said it found evidence that the North Korean-linked group Kimsuky had set up tools for running and managing AI models locally, including Ollama, GPT4All and Msty, alongside document search technology known as retrieval augmented generation. According to the company, the tools could allow operators to process documents without sending sensitive information to outside AI services. Genians also found AI agent development frameworks, speech-to-text software and Cursor, an AI-assisted coding tool, on infrastructure it linked to the campaign. The findings suggest Kimsuky is moving beyond using generative AI to create phishing lures and is building capacity to integrate existing AI models into malware development, data analysis and attack automation, Genians said in a report. Genians also said it found finance and cryptocurrency-themed decoy documents that appeared to have been generated with AI.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions and TSMC are partnering on next-generation image sensors for robots and cars, a person familiar with the plans says. Sony Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are in talks to spend a combined ¥1 trillion ($6.4 billion) on their planned joint factory in Japan, according to a person familiar with the plans. The Japanese company's chip arm Sony Semiconductor Solutions and TSMC are partnering on next-generation image sensors for robots and cars. The factory will begin production in 2029, the person said, asking not to be named because the talks are private. No time frame was given for the investment under discussion, they said. Representatives of Sony and TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions and TSMC are partnering on next-generation image sensors for robots and cars, a person familiar with the plans says. Sony Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are in talks to spend a combined ¥1 trillion ($6.4 billion) on their planned joint factory in Japan, according to a person familiar with the plans. The Japanese company's chip arm Sony Semiconductor Solutions and TSMC are partnering on next-generation image sensors for robots and cars. The factory will begin production in 2029, the person said, asking not to be named because the talks are private. Representatives of Sony and TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The investment under discussion, which was earlier reported by the Nikkei, is the latest in Sony's transition toward a more asset-light approach with its image sensor operations.

Nippon Yusen and other companies aim to complete the world's first ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier for international shipping in November. Japan's public and private sectors are stepping up joint efforts to revive the nation's struggling shipbuilding industry. Last year, the transport ministry drew up a road map for revitalizing Japan's shipbuilding sector, setting a target of doubling shipbuilding volume by 2035 from the 2024 level. The plan calls for ¥1 trillion in combined public-and private-sector investment. In addition to capital spending, the road map aims to strengthen the industry as a whole by improving productivity through the use of robots and artificial intelligence technology, while also developing human resources. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Misato Kaetsu shows on a smartphone an online information board that she created following a major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture last month. KUMAMOTO - Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly utilized to assist relief efforts in the wake of a powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture late last month. At the same time, AI is believed to have been used to create fake videos and other misinformation that were spread on social media, highlighting both the advantages and drawbacks of the technology. Misato Kaetsu, 38, who experienced the quake in the Kumamoto town of Mifune, created an online information board using generative AI on her smartphone while at the evacuation center where she and her family had fled. Those affected by the quake, which registered up to 7, the highest level on Japan's seismic intensity scale, can use the site to share local information, such as the locations of reopened stores and emergency feeding stations. The service was launched just hours after the idea was conceived.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping while leaving after a visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, May 15, 2026. China's latest barrage of countermeasures against the U.S. drew on an expanding legal arsenal, demonstrating Beijing's growing capacity to retaliate while warning Washington against further tech curbs before Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected visit to the U.S. next month. The package announced Wednesday featured the first national security investigation under China's recently revised Foreign Trade Law and tighter scrutiny of drone-related exports. It also included sanctions on seven American entities and a suspension of cooperation with the U.S. over the inspection of products destined for China. The speed and breadth of the action, revealed in a volley of five statements released one week after the U.S. moved to ban new foreign robots, shows China's willingness and ability to turn up the pressure even as it preserved room for de-escalation.