The draft revision of the Artificial Intelligence Basic Plan highlights the growing risk of cyberattacks that exploit AI.

The ads will appear on the free version and the Go plan, priced at ¥1,400 per month, but will not be shown to users under 18 or who subscribe to higher-priced tiers.

Such a scheme would ​allow G7 countries to use the models to develop stronger cybersecurity ​defenses against ‌rivals such as China.

As awareness grows, more Japanese adults are receiving answers to struggles that went unrecognized for years. Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain. The first major crisis in Yosuke's life came when he stood in front of his students. Until then, the 24-year-old had navigated his life with few obstacles. He had done well in school, scored highly on IQ tests and graduated from university without any major issues. But after securing his dream job as a geography and history teacher at a girls' high school two years ago, cracks began to show. "I couldn't read the room," says Yosuke, who recalls struggling to organize course materials and wrap up classes on time.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei speaks during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January. Electronics maker NEC said Thursday that major Japanese financial institutions, including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, will participate in its strategic collaboration with U.S. startup Anthropic in the field of artificial intelligence. The partnership aims to improve the quality of financial services for customers using AI and to strengthen measures against cyberattacks. The other companies are Sumitomo Life Insurance, Daiwa Securities Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance. Using Anthropic's AI technology, the partners will work not only on developing new services but also on improving productivity by streamlining business processes at each company.

A group of high school students arrested over allegedly trying to extort money from a boy in western Tokyo may have used ChatGPT to decide how much to demand, police said. A group of high school students in Tokyo arrested over allegedly assaulting a boy and trying to extort money from him may have used ChatGPT to decide how much to demand, media reports have recently revealed. Five teenagers, including a 17-year-old girl and four boys ranging in age from 16 to 17, were arrested in January over the alleged assault and attempted extortion of a 17-year-old high school student in the city of Hachioji in western Tokyo, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Police said the suspects assaulted the boy in a plaza in Hachioji's Shiroyamate district, breaking his nose and causing other injuries, before allegedly trying to extort ¥150,000 ($935) from him. The girl, who was the victim's ex-girlfriend, allegedly first confronted him, accusing him of touching her younger sister's leg. She then challenged him, saying, "Give me the money or fight me one-on-one," according to reports by Fuji TV.

Manatomo Yoneyama, president of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, speaks during an interview at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on May 22. | JIJI Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank plans to invest ¥360 billion ($2.2 billion) to ¥380 billion in digital technologies over three years, President Manatomo Yoneyama said in an interview. The bank also plans to spend ¥30 billion to optimize its operations. It will utilize artificial intelligence technology for office tasks and reposition some 900 employees to client-facing roles. The bank made an AI agent, which can handle people's tasks, "100% internally," said Yoneyama, who took the helm of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust in April after working on digital innovation at the bank. He said the bank is "sensing the advantage" of the in-house development, including smooth utilization of data. It aims to sell the AI agent in fiscal 2028.

Former Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of assaulting his eldest daughter, though it is believed the police attached a recommendation for leniency. The Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday sent papers to prosecutors on Shinnosuke Abe, former manager of the Yomiuri Giants, on suspicion of assaulting his eldest daughter. The MPD is believed to have attached a recommendation for leniency. Abe, 47, has admitted to the allegations, according to investigative sources. In the case referred to prosecutors, Abe is suspected of grabbing his 18-year-old daughter by the collar and pushing her down at his home in Shibuya Ward in the capital at around 7 p.m. on May 25. Police arrested Abe at the scene but released him shortly afterward.

The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025. The education ministry plans to launch a model project in fiscal 2027 to provide basic Japanese-language instruction for school life and classes to children of foreign nationals living in Japan. In response to an increase in the number of such children, the ministry aims to establish guidelines for effective language lessons through the project. The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction, including those who are unable to communicate adequately in daily Japanese conversation, reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025, which ended in March this year. The number doubled over the past nine years, according to the ministry. Of those students, about 10% were not given sufficient instruction at their schools due to staff shortages and other reasons.

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.