A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Type-88 surface-to-ship missile is fired during the Balikatan exercises at Culili Point Sand Dunes in Paoay, Ilocos Norte province, Philippines, on May 6. | REUTERS Singapore - Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, affirmed Sunday that talks will be launched on the export of surface-to-ship missiles from Japan to the Southeast Asian nation. Koizumi revealed this in talks with reporters after holding a meeting with the Philippine defense chief in Singapore earlier in the day. Type-88 surface-to-ship guided missiles of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force are expected to be up for consideration. The Philippine side is believed to have shown an interest in procuring the missiles as the Self-Defense Forces used them in the Balikatan multilateral exercises conducted in Manila between April and May. The SDF, which had taken part in the annual exercises organized by the United States and the Philippines as an observer since 2012, joined the drills on a full scale for the first time this year following the entry into force of the Japan-Philippine reciprocal access agreement in September 2025. The possible procurement of Type-88 missiles is expected to help reinforce the deterrent and response capabilities of the Philippines, which is in a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

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."

Japan's internal affairs ministry plans to set a special category under its existing support program for community-based startups, in order to back up projects using artificial intelligence. The ministry aims to promote what is known as AI transformation, in which companies reform themselves by placing AI at the center. It will request related funds under the central government's fiscal 2027 budget. Under the new category, the central and local governments will provide aid to regional companies that launch new businesses using unsecured loans from regional financial institutions to help curb the initial costs, including for facility construction and equipment purchases. The central government will provide special tax grants to local governments as resources for their aid to such businesses. A larger amount of loans from local financial institutions will lead to greater aid from the central and local governments.

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 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.

A Philippine Navy band plays music to welcome the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha upon arrival at the South Harbor, for a four-day goodwill visit in metro Manila in April 2017. New Zealand intends to spend about 1.6 billion New Zealand dollars ($936 million) on drones, ship maintenance and naval upgrades to bolster the island nation's maritime security at a time of increasing concern about supply routes. Defense Minister Chris Penk said Saturday that the government will invest in two types of drones: one for the southwest Pacific to provide long-duration intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the other is a polar-capable vehicle that can operate from naval vessels in the Southern Ocean. "New Zealand's prosperity and security depend on the sea," Penk said in a statement. "Recent events have served as a reminder of how quickly disruptions to international shipping routes can affect economies and supply chains across the globe. The oceans are not a barrier to danger, but a vital national interest that must be actively secured."

Thailand risks losing ground to regional rivals such as Vietnam and Indonesia, which have moved more aggressively to streamline regulatory regimes and court foreign capital. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's government plans a sweeping reform of more than 7,000 business regulations, aiming to cut bureaucratic hurdles and accelerate investment as it tries to compete for global capital. The planned rollback of ministerial rules and secondary regulations, many of which have accumulated into a significant burden on companies, marks a concerted push to reposition Thailand as a more competitive destination for multinational firms reconfiguring supply chains. The effort was detailed in a government statement Monday and comes as Thailand risks losing ground to regional rivals such as Vietnam and Indonesia, which have moved more aggressively to streamline regulatory regimes and court foreign capital. "Regulations intended to guide have, in practice, become costs," said government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek.

The building that houses Recruit Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo. Investors have shown confidence in Recruit's HR Technology unit, where Indeed is leveraging AI to improve matching and raising average revenue from each job posting even as hiring demand remains soft. Recruit Holdings shares climbed the most on record after the Japanese owner of Indeed.com The stock jumped as much as 19%, its biggest intraday increase since the company went public in 2014, even as the Topix index fell, after issuing an outlook for ¥787 billion ($5 billion) in operating profit on ¥4 trillion in sales for the fiscal year to March 2027. That exceeds analysts' average projection for ¥723 billion and ¥3.9 trillion, respectively.