KYOTO - Nidec President Mitsuya Kishida has said the major Japanese motor maker will suspend business acquisitions for the time being to focus its efforts on reconstructing the firm rocked by accounting and product quality fraud. Business acquisitions have been a growth driver for Nidec, based in Kyoto. "I will work on rebuilding our company's governance system," Kishida said in an interview Friday, showing a plan to spend ¥130 billion over five years on measures to prevent irregularities. A panel of outside experts that investigated the accounting fraud has concluded that excessive pressure from Nidec's founder, Shigenobu Nagamori, on company staff to meet performance targets was among the factors behind the irregularities. Pointing out that Nidec had "a corporate culture to pursue short-term profits," Kishida said, "We will build a system that makes it impossible to commit irregularities regarding accounting and product quality control." On future business management, he said, "We will review our operations, including the possibility of ceding what we have in our group to partner entities," suggesting that consolidating some of its existing operations could be an option.

Yo Kitamura won the fifth prize in the cello division of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels on Sunday. Brussels - Yo Kitamura of Japan won the fifth prize in the cello division of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels on Sunday. In the final selection process joined by 12 cellists, Kitamura, 22, who is from Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, played Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto and other works with the Belgian National Orchestra on Tuesday. "I couldn't make it to the top three, but I think it is a meaningful experience because I was able to grow so much," Kitamura told reporters. "I want to face my big dream of making the world peaceful with music." The winner of the cello division is Ettore Pagano, 23, from Italy.

Australian researchers teach brain cells to play'Doom' video game Scientist Brett Kagan looks at cortical and hippocampal cells on cell culture plates as they attempt to decode morse code, at Cortical Labs' Physical Containment Level 2 laboratory in Melbourne. Melbourne - Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the '90s shooter game Doom and say they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It's the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain's networking system. Each so-called "biological computer" contains around 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. 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.

With Sunday marking World No Tobacco Day designated by the World Health Organization, experts urge Japan to introduce pictorial warnings about the dangers of smoking on tobacco packages. Many countries require cigarette packages to display images warning of health hazards related to smoking, such as a blackened lung. But there is no such requirement in Japan. A survey by a team at Japan's health ministry has found that warning labels featuring images are more effective in discouraging smoking than text-only warnings. 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.

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."

Starting in June, the health ministry will ban the manufacturing, sale, possession and use of the cannabis-derived compound cannabinol (CBN). Japan's health ministry is set to ban the production, sale, possession and use of cannabinol, or CBN, an ingredient derived from cannabis, from June. An animal experiment conducted following reports of apparent health hazards associated with CBN has found that the substance is highly likely to cause symptoms such as hallucinations. The ministry will regulate CBN as a designated drug under the pharmaceutical and medical devices law through a revision of a relevant ordinance. The amended ordinance is set to take effect in June. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Playing by a well-worn Silicon Valley playbook, AI companies charged rock-bottom prices to hook customers after ChatGPT burst onto the scene. New York - Artificial intelligence is getting expensive -- and companies are starting to rethink their embrace of the disruptive technology. Playing by a well-worn Silicon Valley playbook, AI companies charged rock-bottom prices to hook customers after ChatGPT burst onto the scene. Kevin Simback of startup incubator Delphi Labs calls it the era of "subsidized intelligence" -- meaning investors were basically footing the bill so companies could offer AI on the cheap. 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.

Hong Kong - Claw machine lover Neiki Lee carefully lowers the metal jaws of a crane with a joystick into a pool of prizes, only to have the small toy slip from its clutches again and again. Dozens of stores filled with claw machines have sprung up on streets and in malls across Hong Kong's finance hub in recent years, promising players a treasure trove of prizes and a sense of fulfillment. The colorfully lit machines, often seen drawing people like moths to a flame, have come under regulatory scrutiny this month, as officials raised addiction concerns over the seemingly harmless games. 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. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus washes his hands as he arrives at Bunia National Airport in Congo on May 30. BUNIA, Congo - The World Health Organization chief traveled on Saturday to the Congolese province hardest hit by an Ebola outbreak, urging residents to seek treatment and practice safe burials as officials scramble to contain the fatal disease. The outbreak -- the 17th in Congo and the third-largest since Ebola was discovered half a century ago -- is outpacing the global response, something WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged this week before traveling to Kinshasa on Thursday. His visit came as Brazil said on Saturday it was investigating a suspected Ebola case in Sao Paulo state involving a man who recently visited Congo. Authorities said the patient was in isolation at a specialist hospital. After meeting Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka on Friday, Tedros flew on Saturday to Bunia, capital of Ituri province, where the first cases were confirmed earlier this month.

Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Saturday. Ukraine and Russia traded aerial attacks on Saturday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held what he called a special meeting on next steps with top aides. A Ukrainian drone struck the machine room building of one of power units at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine on Saturday afternoon, causing unspecified damage, Interfax reported, citing Rosatom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Likhachev. Core equipment wasn't damaged, he said. Ukraine's southern military command denied any strikes, saying its military personnel "act exclusively within the framework of international humanitarian law and are aware of the consequences of any actions against nuclear facilities." In a post on Facebook late Saturday, it added, "It is the Russian Federation that has illegally kept the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under military control since March 2022, turning a civilian nuclear facility into an element of military infrastructure."