All the below links and tweets are in English. A test run of a robot using artificial intelligence has begun in Hamamatsu City, central Japan. The robot is designed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus by identifying people not wearing masks. Norway's Minister for Research and Higher Education Iselin Nybø is visiting Japan, including AISTs Artificial Intelligence R&D Center. NEC Corporation signed an LoI to support R&D activities in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at the proposed India Japan Centre for Artificial intelligence and Robotics (IJCAIR) at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

Osaka – Late last month, the Diet passed a revised bill paving the way for so-called "super cities" or "smart cities." Supporters tout them as high-tech marvels where artificial intelligence and big data are to be used to provide more efficient and cost-effective solutions to social problems, especially in areas faced with aging and declining populations and a reduced tax base. Opponents warn that data leaks could lead to privacy violations and even a surveillance state. What was the purpose of the recently passed bill? In order to realize the creation of smart cities in various parts of the country, any number of basic regulations involving multiple ministries needs to be changed. The May 27 revision to a national strategic special zone law included measures the government can now take to do that more quickly and under more specific guidelines.

The demographics of Canada are changing quickly. By 2050, 26% of Canada's population is expected to be aged 65 or better, up from 18% today. With smaller families, busier schedules, and tighter budgets, the pressure is on to find solutions to ensure this growing group of people receives quality care. Fortunately, artificial intelligence is helping the retirement industry serve up innovative solutions to meet the burgeoning need. Though results from our 2019 Sklar Wilton AI tracker* indicate that 57% of people aged 65 and older don't understand the current state of artificial intelligence, 71% believe AI may affect them.

The government is likely to fall far short of its target of issuing work permits under a new visa system to 340,000 non-Japanese over the next five years to alleviate acute labor shortages in 14 sectors. As of the end of September, only 219 foreign residents had obtained the "specified skills" visa introduced last April, according to the Immigration Services Agency. The number of people holding the status abroad stood at 1,024 as of Nov. 15. Non-Japanese wishing to obtain the specified skills visa are required to pass a test on the skills needed in their desired work sector as well as a Japanese-language proficiency examination. People who have completed the government's three-year technical intern training program are exempt from taking the test and are allowed to change their visa status to the new one.

Tokyo AI company Exawizards is using deep learning to analyze unstructured nursing care data such as audio and video recordings. Faced with a rapidly aging population, Japan is turning to new solutions for a many-faceted problem. Amid a low birthrate, more than one-fifth of Japanese are now 70 or older, according to government data. Meanwhile, there are not enough people to care for this cohort. By 2025, there will be a shortfall of 340,000 nursing care workers. Under the Abe administration, Japan has actively welcomed foreign professionals as one measure to address this issue.

Tokyo AI company Exawizards is using deep learning to analyze unstructured nursing care data such as audio and video recordings. Faced with a rapidly aging population, Japan is turning to new solutions for a many-faceted problem. Amid a low birthrate, more than one-fifth of Japanese are now 70 or older, according to government data. Meanwhile, there are not enough people to care for this cohort. By 2025, there will be a shortfall of 340,000 nursing care workers. Under the Abe administration, Japan has actively welcomed foreign professionals as one measure to address this issue.

The workforce in 2040 is projected to be 20 percent smaller than in 2017 due to overall population decline if the economy sees no growth and women and the elderly continue to have difficulty landing jobs, according to government study released Tuesday. A study group of the labor ministry, releasing the first official projection for the size of Japan's workforce in 2040, called for additional policies to boost employment and promotion of artificial intelligence as measures to sustain productivity. The study did not take into consideration the expansion of the foreign workforce in 14 fields, including construction and nursing care, from April this year. The panel on employment policies set up by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry estimated that the number of workers in Japan will stand at 60.82 million in 2025 and 52.45 million in 2040, down from 65.3 million in 2017. The number of male workers in 2040 will fall by 7.11 million from 2017, while that of females will decrease by 5.75 million.

While a new visa system approved by the Diet, set to take effect in April, has been welcomed by Japan's labor-short nursing care businesses, questions remain about how to provide sufficient Japanese-language education for foreign workers. Despite steps taken by the government in recent years to relax rules on foreign workers in the sector, language skills have been a major barrier. Vu Thi Thu Trang from Vietnam is among those who could obtain working status after the government eased the requirement for foreign nationals to work as caregivers. The 31-year-old certified caregiver, who came to Japan in 2014, said she first found out about nursing care work while studying at a Japanese language school. She then entered a caregiver vocational school and finished a two-year curriculum earlier this year.

Over 80 percent of people in Japan are positive about receiving nursing care from robots, according to a survey by Orix Living Corp., a nursing care service provider. The result suggested that people feel a psychological burden from being taken care of by humans, Orix Living said. The online survey, conducted in September, covered 1,238 people in their 40s or older across the country. The proportion of respondents who said they are ready to or want to receive nursing care from robots stood at 84.3 percent, hitting the highest level since a related question was introduced in 2011. Of the respondents who prefer not to use robotic nursing care, 46.9 percent, the largest group, said they want to be taken care of by humans.

If you think the digitisation of nursing is just about nurses filling out scores on a mobile device, it's time to think again because artificial intelligence (AI) could be about to revolutionise the way nurses do their jobs. Recent digital developments include bottles which automatically issue reminders to drink, diapers that sound an alert when wet and sensor-equipped stoma pouches. Heiko Mania, NursIT CEO, and a former nurse, believes AI will change the focus of nursing care: "Modern nursing expert software not only streamlines nursing documentation, it will automate it using AI, sensors and smart nursing aids. At the same time, professional nursing care will change from reactive to predictive, preventive nursing care." Mania said they had developed a nursing care expert system, CareIT Pro, which supports automation in nursing.