The transport ministry urged executives of infrastructure operators to play active roles in taking measures against cyberattacks and secure sufficient funding and personnel. The transport ministry called on railway firms and other infrastructure operators Thursday to take measures against the misuse of high-performance artificial intelligence models, including U.S. startup Anthropic's Claude Mythos. The instructions were made at a meeting with operators from six infrastructure sectors, also including ports, airports, logistics and water supply. The ministry said that it will set up support desks for those operators regarding cybersecurity. Mythos is said to have advanced capabilities in detecting system vulnerabilities. The Japanese government has already made similar requests to telecommunications operators, broadcasters, financial institutions and local governments.

Realistic AI-created content to require labels during Japan's election campaigns Aisawa Ichiro of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party speaks during a meeting of lawmakers Wednesday held to discuss the use of AI in election campaigns. The ruling and opposition parties agreed Wednesday to require videos and images related to election campaigns made using artificial intelligence to be labeled as "AI-created," as part of efforts to tackle misinformation on social media during campaign periods. The requirement will apply to videos and images that may be mistaken for those not generated by AI, while those that can be clearly identified as made using AI will be excluded. The parties aim to submit a bill that defines the requirement to parliament during its current session, set to end in July, to put the rule in place ahead of unified local elections next spring. The bill will add a provision to the public offices election law to prohibit internet users from harming the fairness of elections by spreading false information about candidates. Whether to impose penalties on offenders remains to be determined.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is developing a Generative AI Platform, which will allow government employees to create AI applications to assist with their work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and municipal governments throughout the Japanese capital are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence in their administrative operations. To support this trend, the metropolitan government is working with GovTech Tokyo, an affiliated organization that promotes digitalization in local governments, to develop a Generative AI Platform. The system will allow government employees to create generative AI applications tailored to their specific duties. By encouraging active use of the platform, Tokyo authorities aim to boost efficiency in public services and address growing concerns over labor shortages. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

The government plans to submit a bill to revise the economic security promotion law during the current session of parliament that began on Wednesday. The Japanese government plans to revise the economic security promotion law to support companies with economic security-linked projects overseas. This will be the first revision of the law, established in 2022. The move comes amid a rapidly changing international environment, as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on and China continues to flex its economic muscle. Competition is also intensifying in the development of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.

Some AI-generated content is easy to spot as fake and is marked as such, but others are convincing enough that anyone scrolling through social media could easily be misled. Two leaders of a fledgling Japanese political party unveil a red logo reminiscent of Chinese Communist Party imagery. Grannies vent in public about what they see as political nonsense. Whatever the outcome of Sunday's Lower House election, the race will be remembered not least for having witnessed the full-blown debut of AI slop in Japanese politics. As more voters in Japan turn to social media for political updates and policy debates, the internet is increasingly looking like a dumping site for fake and dubious news and content. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China's military China's DeepSeek received extensive technical assistance from Nvidia as a legitimate commercial partner hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, it has been revealed. SAN FRANCISCO - U.S. chipmaker Nvidia helped China's DeepSeek hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, the chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said in a letter on Wednesday. DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fueling concerns in Washington that China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

The government at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday adopted its first basic plan on the development and utilization of artificial intelligence. The basic plan stipulates that Japan will create reliable AI while balancing technological innovation and risk management, with an aim to become a country that offers the best environment for AI development and utilization. Japan lags behind not only other advanced nations but also countries with smaller economies in terms of AI development, and the gap is becoming wider year by year, it warns. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Magnitude 6.7 quake off Aomori triggers tsunami advisory Areas under a tsunami advisory are shown in yellow following a magnitude 6.7 earthquake on Friday | JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY A magnitude 6.7 earthquake triggered a tsunami advisory for parts of Hokkaido as well as the coasts of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures on Friday. The quake struck at 11:44 a.m., registering 4 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in some areas. Waves of up to 1 meter are possible in areas under the advisory, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). A tsunami advisory, a level lower than a tsunami warning, urges those in the area to stay away from the ocean. Evacuation is not required under an advisory.

South Korea has one of the lowest debt burdens among developed nations, but its debt-to-GDP ratio has been climbing. South Korea's parliament approved a 727.9 trillion won ($495.8 billion) budget for next year on Tuesday, endorsing President Lee Jae Myung's sweeping plan to revive the economy through aggressive investment in artificial intelligence and other strategic sectors. The outlay represents an 8.1% increase from this year's initial budget plan and will increase at a rate more than triple the pace of expansion of the 2025 budget. The acceleration comes as the country confronts U.S. tariff pressure and growing welfare costs associated with one of the world's fastest-aging populations. Lee has vowed to transform Korea's industrial base, defense capabilities and public services by more than tripling AI-related investment to 10.1 trillion won next year.

Indie video games developed on modest budgets by individuals and small teams are gaining traction in Japan for their innovative ideas and variety often absent from major studio titles. Advances in development tools have helped lower barriers to entry, spurring a surge in creators and driving rapid market growth. Competition has intensified, however, and only a handful of titles achieve commercial success. The Tokyo Game Show 2025 took place in September at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba. A short walk from the towering booths of major publishers such as Square Enix and Sega was the Indie Game Area, a cluster of compact stands outfitted with little more than personal computers and monitors.