A chatbot developed by Elon Musk's multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence startup xAI appeared to be suffering from a glitch Wednesday when it repeatedly brought up white genocide in South Africa in response to user queries about unrelated topics on X. Grok, which competes with other chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, is directly integrated into the social media platform that Musk also owns. Numerous examples of the phenomenon could be found by searching the official Grok profile for posts containing the term "boer," a word used to refer to people from South Africa of "Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent." It is sometimes used by Black South Africans as a pejorative against white Afrikaners, or people associated with the apartheid regime. In response to topics ranging from streaming platform HBO Max's name change to Medicaid cuts proposed by US lawmakers, the chatbot often seemed to initially stay on topic before veering back to white genocide in South Africa, completely unprompted. When asked to confirm the salary of Toronto Blue Jays player Max Scherzer, for example, the generative artificial intelligence chatbot launched into an explanation of white genocide and a controversial South African anti-apartheid song.

The death of a Sri Lankan woman detained at a central Japan immigration facility has been in the spotlight as the Diet debates a controversial bill to revise the immigration law, with critics fearing the revision will worsen conditions for asylum-seekers in Japan. While ruling parties aim to pass the bill during the current Diet session through mid-June to resolve the long-term detention of foreign nationals facing deportation orders, opposition forces have called for its abolishment as the government has yet to figure out the circumstances surrounding the Sri Lankan's death. Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, 33, who had been detained since August last year at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau in Aichi Prefecture for overstaying her visa, died on March 6 after complaining of a stomach ache and other symptoms from mid-January. In an interim report over the incident released on April 9, the Justice Ministry did not determine the cause of her death, while her supporters allege the tragedy was caused by the insufficient medical treatment provided by the immigration facility. Opposition lawmakers have argued the bill currently being deliberated at the Diet is meant to expand the immigration authority's power and discretion and that similar problems could happen again as long as the cause of the Sri Lankan woman's death remains a mystery.

Fast Retailing Co., the parent company of major retailer Uniqlo, has put out the welcome mat for Japan's small number of recognized refugees, offering job opportunities for some who might dream of careers in fashion or sales. Even so, for most refugees, language barriers and other issues remain hurdles as they try to establish their lives in Japan, often far from home. Refugees sometimes get jobs in factories, including auto manufacturers, and in the construction and nursing industries, but most are employed in washing and cleaning jobs, according to data from the Tokyo-based Refugee Assistance Headquarters (RHQ), which helps legally recognized refugees find jobs. "They work at places where work can be done without speaking Japanese," said Hiroaki Ito, an official at RHQ. As of March 2016, RHQ, which also provides Japanese language and basic lifestyle education to refugees in the initial months after they arrive in Japan, had helped 396 refugees get work in Japan. Until 2016, Fast Retailing was the only high-profile company in the country employing refugees in Japan and abroad.