SoftBank-backed Z Holdings will merge its two wholly owned subsidiaries -- Yahoo Japan and messaging app Line -- by March 2024 to streamline its operations in a bid to position itself as a world-leading artificial intelligence company. Z Holdings President Kentaro Kawabe made the announcement Thursday after the decision was approved by its board of directors, but details are yet to be made public. Line President and Z Holdings co-CEO Takeshi Idezawa will become Z Holdings president on April 1, while Kawabe will become chairman. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

Japan has tightened its sanctions against Russia following its latest wave of missile attacks in Ukraine, adding goods to an export ban list and freezing the assets of Russian officials and entities. The decision on Friday comes after Russia launched missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, following a pledge by Germany and the United States to supply tanks that could help Kyiv counter a new Russian offensive. "In light of the situation surrounding Ukraine and to contribute to international efforts to secure peace, Japan will implement export bans in line with other major nations," Japan's Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said in a press release. Among the new sanctions, Japan will prohibit shipments of items to 49 organisations in Russia from February 3 that could be used to enhance Moscow's military capability. Those will include products ranging from water cannons, gas exploration equipment and semiconductor equipment to vaccines, X-ray inspection equipment, explosives and robots, the ministry said.

Japan's internet watchdog can request instructional posts related to murder, guns and explosives be removed from March, police said Thursday, as authorities respond to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's suspected killer using information found online to build weapons. The National Police Agency said by adding to the types of content that can be requested for removal by internet service providers, it aims to prevent crimes before they occur. To strengthen its online surveillance, the agency said it will also consider using artificial intelligence to analyze social media posts. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

Suzuki Shuzoten, a sake brewery in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, a town devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, has created sake that matches different fish species caught off the coast of the prefecture by using artificial intelligence. The pairing of sake and certain fish species with different tastes can be enhanced by analyzing them with special sensors, the brewery claims. While concerns are growing over possible stigmatization of the region's seafood products after the government decided to release treated radioactive water from the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea, Suzuki Shuzoten President Daisuke Suzuki, 49, said, "I want to support the fisheries industry by further promoting the attractiveness of marine products caught in the area." This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

From robots to artificial intelligence and blockchain-based marketing, technological innovation is increasingly being harnessed in Japan to improve farming methods and create a more sustainable industry. Among those embracing the digital trend is Metagri-Labo, a community launched in March 2022 that aims to merge agriculture and blockchain technology to increase farming revenues while revitalizing regional areas. The group is working to make decentralized finance -- an umbrella term used to describe peer-to-peer financial interactions using smart contracts -- a reality in the agricultural industry by 2024 with the launch of its first non-fungible token project in partnership with farmers in April 2022. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

Job Overview: Responsible for the application of machine learning, statistical analysis and data visualization technologies based on our G123 platform big data. Combined with business innovation, you will explore and develop a data-based digital intelligence road. Founded in 2013, CTW is Japan's No.1 browser game company. Our primary service is the G123 IP game platform -- which publishes video games based on famous Japanese IP. We've been experiencing steady growth in revenue in the past few years as our player base has exploded to over 50 million users worldwide.

Our Data team is responsible for transforming CTW to a data- and AI-driven company. As a ML Engineer, you will be responsible for optimizing business-decision-making processes and business effectiveness. You will help the company develop state-of-the-art machine learning models and strategies to speed up the game localization and enhance user experience. Founded in 2013, CTW is Japan's No.1 browser game company. Our primary service is the G123 IP game platform -- which publishes video games based on famous Japanese IP.

The foreign ministers of Japan and Mexico have agreed on the importance of promoting a rules-based international order, the Japanese government said Friday, as Russia's war in Ukraine continues. During their meeting in Mexico City on Thursday, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, also confirmed that the two governments will cooperate closely toward the realization of a "free and open Indo-Pacific." The vision has been advocated by Japan and the United States as a counter to China's growing military influence in the region. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

It's a radical solution that could have come straight from a science-fiction blockbuster. But a robot could be brought into British care homes this year to help solve the staffing crisis. The fully autonomous Aeo android can do the rounds on its own, checking up on residents and bringing them their medicine. Human staff meanwhile can keep an eye on its progress remotely through an app, with a live video feed showing its progress in real time. Aeolus Robotics said its droid has already been used to great success in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where it has been employed by some of the countries' biggest care providers. The firm told the Daily Mail it is looking to expand into the UK in 2023 and is in talks with distributors and partners.

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