Uber has teamed up with UK self-driving car startup Wayve and Nissan to launch a pilot program for a robotaxi service in Tokyo in late 2026. The program will use Nissan Leaf EVs powered by Wayve's AI Driver automated vehicle technology, which will then be connected to Uber's platform. Trained drivers will be behind the wheel at first, as the deployed vehicles gather real-world data to be able to navigate Tokyo's driving conditions and complex streets that are also a lot narrower than the roads in the US. Another company backed by Uber, Nuro, will also test its vehicles on Tokyo's challenging streets soon. Nuro has been trialing its self-driving tech in the US for years now and plans to launch a robotaxi service, as well.

U.S. self-driving startup Nuro begins testing in Tokyo While Tokyo is becoming a kind of test bed for the world's leading robotaxi ventures, Japan is lagging when it comes to the regulatory framework needed for autonomous vehicles to gain traction. Self-driving car startup Nuro has begun testing its technology in Tokyo, the U.S. company's first location abroad after partnering with Uber Technologies and Lucid Group. Backed by the likes of Nvidia and Toyota Motor, California-based Nuro aims to compete with other driverless operators such as Google parent Alphabet's Waymo and Amazon.com's Obviously there are a number of Japanese OEMs that are very interesting potential customers to us in the future," Andrew Chapin, Nuro's chief operating officer, said in an interview, using an industry term for car manufacturer. He declined to name any possible partners or confirm if Nuro is currently in talks with a Japan-based automaker.

Deputy Tokyo Gov. Manabu Miyasaka speaks during a SusHi Tech pre-event in Tokyo on Monday. Tokyo's annual startup convention, SusHi Tech Tokyo, is growing to be Asia's largest startup event with this year's conference in April set to focus on artificial intelligence, robotics, resilience and entertainment. The fourth SusHi Tech Tokyo -- which stands for Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo -- is expected to be the largest to date, with over 700 startups in participation. It will be held from April 27 to 29, with the first two days reserved for businesses and the final day open to the public. "(SusHi Tech Tokyo) has grown into Asia's largest innovation conference," Manabu Miyasaka, Tokyo's deputy governor, said on Monday.

Foreign workers in Japan became one of the main topics of all parties in the Feb. 8 Lower House election, which took place just after a Jan. 23 Cabinet decision calling for 1,231,900 foreign workers by March 2029 in 19 sectors facing acute labor shortages. While some parties argued for strictly monitoring foreign nationals or setting quotas on their numbers, especially at the local level, an artificial-intelligence engineer-led party that went into the election with no seats and emerged with 11 proportional representation seats proposed the increased use of AI to replace workers, including foreign nationals, as a solution to concerns about more foreign workers. Team Mirai, founded in May and led by Takahiro Anno, won four seats in the Tokyo block and three in the South Kanto block, along with one seat each in the Tohoku, North Kanto, Tokai, and Kyushu blocks. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories.

University of Tokyo professor recommended for U.N. panel on AI Yutaka Matsuo, professor of the University of Tokyo's graduate school of engineering, has been named among 40 experts to sit on a U.N. panel on AI. | JIJI NEW YORK - Yutaka Matsuo, professor of the University of Tokyo's graduate school of engineering, has been named among the 40 experts who have been recommended by the United Nations' head to sit on the new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Wednesday the list of the 40 experts recommended for the panel set up under a General Assembly resolution that passed last August. The selection is expected to be approved by the General Assembly soon. Guterres said the panel would be the first global, fully independent scientific body dedicated to helping close the AI knowledge gap and assess the real impacts of AI across economies and societies. At a time of deep geopolitical tension and growing technological rivalry, we urgently need common ground, he said. That is what this panel can help deliver.

Police have arrested a 27-year-old male host on suspicion of violating the amusement business law by using a dating app to solicit female customers to a host club in Tokyo. The arrest marked the first crackdown in the country on cases involving soliciting customers to restaurants and pubs through dating apps, according to the capital's Metropolitan Police Department. The suspect, Takuto Takeoka, remained silent during questioning, people familiar with the investigation said. Takeoka allegedly contacted two women, ages 27 and 28, through a matching app between May and July last year while posing as an information technology industry professional. He then promised them romantic relationships, later disclosed his job and urged them to come to his host club, where male companions entertain women, in the Kabukicho district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.

SoftBank Group is in discussions to invest as much as $30 billion more in OpenAI, a sharp increase in commitment that reflects founder Masayoshi Son's ambitions to play a central role in developing artificial intelligence. The Japanese company, already one of the ChatGPT-maker's biggest backers, is in deliberations to commit more capital toward the fast-growing startup, people familiar with the matter said. The maximum amount SoftBank is considering is $30 billion, one of the people said, asking to remain anonymous to discuss private talks. They cautioned that the discussions are fluid and the amount of funding could change. SoftBank's shares rose 5.8% in Tokyo on Wednesday. Son has been unwinding positions to increase its stake in OpenAI and ready capital for sweeping investments aimed at injecting AI in all devices.

Cartoonist Mitsuru Yaku (center) and other executives of Freelance League of Japan announces their survey to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. More than one in 10 Japanese manga artists, illustrators and other creators say their income fell over the past year due to generative AI, according to a survey released Tuesday by a freelance advocacy group. According to the Freelance League of Japan, which studies working conditions for independent professionals, 12% of respondents reported a decline in earnings linked to generative AI. That includes 9.3% who said income fell by between 10% to 50%, as well as 2.7% who said their income has dropped by more than 50%. Among those who said their income had fallen, respondents cited being asked to accept shorter deadlines and lower fees on the assumption that AI would be used, or losing commissions altogether as clients opted to rely on generative AI instead. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

U.S. and Japan turn to drones to help offset China's military advantages Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area in November. Just a few years ago, it would have been almost inconceivable for U.S. forces -- the world's most advanced military -- to operate reverse-engineered Iranian drones. But times are changing fast, and so is the nature of warfare, a fact that is also prompting a shift in Japan. As Washington and its allies scramble for combat-proven and low-cost drones, the U.S. Central Command recently announced the launch of a squadron based on the LUCAS kamikaze drone, a system derived from Iran's Shahed-136 loitering munition, versions of which are being used by Russia in Ukraine. The autonomous LUCAS, which is also being tested by the U.S. Navy and Marines, is part of a broader Pentagon push to fast-track the adoption of various small drones across the military, treating them as "consumable or expendable" capabilities similar to bullets, hand grenades and other munitions.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) said Saturday that an alert system did not work during a test operation held the day prior as part of the restart of the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture. The company is working to identify the cause of the problem, but failure to resolve it soon may affect its plan to restart the reactor on Tuesday. According to Tepco, the problem was confirmed at 12:36 p.m., and it stopped the test operation. The alert system is designed to activate when a control rod is being pulled out of the reactor while another rod is already out. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactor would be the first of Tepco's nuclear reactors to be restarted since the March 2011 accident at its tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.