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☆ Japan aging: Women’s participation in ‘naked festival’ a sign of how aging is forcing changes to male-centric traditions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Himari Semans | Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Tokyo/Hong Kong CNN —With a history spanning more than 1,200 years, “hadaka matsuri,” or the naked festival, is Japanese masculinity on full display. Some women in Japan still battle deep-rooted cultural expectations that require them to take the role of “shufu,” or housewife, experts say. But in the naked festival, women have recently found hope. Men strip naked — except for a delicate piece of crotch-covering white loincloth — to take part in the naked festival at Konomiya Shrine on February 22, 2024. Women — donning happi, a traditional festive coat — are responsible for carrying a bamboo offering during the naked festival at Konomiya Shrine on February 22, 2024.

Persons: —, Saudi Arabia —, “, Christopher Gallagher, ”, we’ve, ” Haruhiko, Atsuko Tamakoshi, Chris Gallagher, Enyukai, Ayaka Suzuki, Mitsuko Tottori, Yoko Kamikawa, Fumio, Kaori Katada, Hiyori Kon, Sumo, won’t Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Economic, Japan, Reuters, Mikiko, Hosei University, pre, CNN, ”, Ministry of Health, ” Eto, Organization for Economic Cooperation, Development, Japan Airlines, Netflix, Little Locations: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Japan, jostle, Germany, Britain, United States, India, Saudi Arabia, Konomiya Shrine, Konomiya

☆ Super-aged Japan now has 9 million vacant homes. And that’s a problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Chris Lau | Mayumi Maruyama | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“This is a symptom of Japan’s population decline,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba. “It’s not really a problem of building too many houses” but “a problem of not having enough people,” he said. According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 14% of all residential properties in Japan are vacant. “When an earthquake or a tsunami occurs, there is a possibility that vacant houses will block evacuation routes as they break down and get destroyed,” he said. In other rural areas with a high concentration of vacant houses, akiya have stalled development, the professor said.

Persons: ”, Jeffrey Hall, “ It’s, don’t, Akio Kon, it’s, “ They’re, Buddhika Weerasinghe, Yuki Akiyama, Akiyama, ” Akiyama Organizations: CNN, Kanda University of International Studies, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Kanda University, “, Bloomberg, Getty, Ministry, Internal Affairs, Communications, Tokyo City University, Homes Locations: Japan, New York City, Tokyo, Kyoto, Chiba, Kanda, Yato, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa prefecture, Tambasasayama, Noto, Ishikawa, Europe, West, “

☆ Another perk of weight-loss drugs? Eli Lilly's Zepbound may alleviate sleep apnea, too
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GLP-1 drugs were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. Drugmakers are discovering the injections may also aid weight loss, heart issues, and sleep apnea. AdvertisementAnother new indication for injectable GLP-1 drugs: better sleep. On Wednesday, drugmaker Eli Lilly announced positive results from a large, phase-3 clinical trial, testing Zepbound (the drug name for tirzepatide) as a treatment for sleep apnea. Related storyAlready, GLP-1 drugs have been indicated for the treatment of:ObesityHeart diseaseAdvertisementIn clinical trials, GLP-1 drugs have also shown some promise for treating other conditions, including:Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseaseAddictionDepressionParkinson's and Alzheimer'sCancerThese breakthroughs may be tied to the gut-brain connectionScientists think that the main reason GLP-1 drugs work well is because of their effect on our body's gut-brain connection.

Persons: —, drugmaker Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly, KATERYNA, Daniel Drucker, GLP, Eric Topol Organizations: Service, Food and Drug Administration, American Diabetes Association, University of Toronto

☆ 'The frenzy continues’: Researcher names 3 new signs of an AI bubble amid Nvidia hype
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Katrina Bishop | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

He outlined three recent events that give him cause for concern: Cohere valuation The first is that generative AI company Cohere is reportedly on track to raise funds at a $5 billion valuation. "Another red flag was Microsoft's ability to hire the CEO and 70 staff from the AI start-up Inflection AI," he said. Amazon investment Emphasizing the "FOMO effect" around AI, Windsor noted that even tech giant Amazon isn't immune. Amazon's largest-ever investment will see it continue to pump money into the generative AI start-up, which has a chatbot Claude that competes with OpenAI 's ChatGPT. He added that he already owns chip stock Qualcomm , which is in a "very good position to benefit as generative AI starts to be implemented at the edge."

Persons: Richard Windsor, Cohere, Windsor, Martin Kon, Claude, OpenAI, Stocks, —, Kate Rooney Organizations: Radio Free Mobile, Mar, CNBC, Nvidia, Google, Windsor, Nomura Securities, Microsoft, Qualcomm Locations: Amazon's

☆ OpenAI rival Cohere says some AI startups build Bugatti sports cars, 'We make F-150s'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"We don't comment on rumors," Kon told CNBC. Although Cohere is often mentioned alongside AI heavyweights like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft , the startup's focus on enterprise-only chatbots has set it apart. In November, Cohere told CNBC it saw an uptick in customer interest after OpenAI's sudden and temporary ouster of CEO Sam Altman. Cohere's relationships with strategic investors are another area where it differs from generative AI competitors, Kon said. Search, Kon said, is a key piece of generative AI that's getting less attention than other areas.

Persons: Martin Kon, Kon, OpenAI, Cohere, It's, Anthropic, Claude chatbot, who's, Sam Altman, it's, Nvidia –, Lina Khan, That's Organizations: Bugatti, CNBC, Google, Nvidia, Cohere, Salesforce, Oracle, Company, White, Microsoft, Enterprise, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Cohere's

☆ Nikkei briefly breaches 38,000 for the first time since 1990 as it rallies 3%, nears all-time high
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Signage for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), displayed outside the bourse in Tokyo, in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesJapan's Nikkei 225 briefly crossed the 38,000 mark for the first time since the asset bubble burst in 1990 as it rallied about 3% and pushed 34-year highs. However, it was unable to sustain its run above 38,000 points, falling minutes before its close to end at 37,963.97, while the Topix climbed 2.12% to 2,612.03, also at a 34-year high. Other Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose as more markets return to trade from the Lunar New Year holiday, including South Korea and Singapore. Japan's corporate goods price index rose 0.2% in January, beating the 0.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Persons: Akio Kon Organizations: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan Exchange Group Inc, bourse, Bloomberg, Getty, Nikkei, Reuters Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Gaza, Asia, Pacific, South Korea, Singapore

☆ Sam Altman chaos helped OpenAI rivals, says Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OpenAI rivals say Sam Altman's ousting and reinstatement as CEO has created opportunities. Hugging Face and Cohere say they've had more customer inquiries following the chaos. Josh Gartner of Cohere told CNBC that clients want "reliable business solutions, not soap operas." AdvertisementOpenAI's rivals say the chaos of ousting Sam Altman as CEO only for him to return days later has helped them attract more interest from potential customers. "I think a lot of companies, organizations now are kind of wondering about the risk about outsourcing their AI to just one AI provider," Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue told CNBC.

Persons: Sam Altman's, they've, Josh Gartner, Cohere, —, Sam Altman, Altman, it's, Clément Delangue, Aidan Gomez, Martin Kon, Google's Anthropic, That's Organizations: CNBC, Service, Nvidia, Salesforce, Oracle Locations: Toronto, OpenAI

☆ OpenAI rival Hugging Face says it's seeing more client interest after Sam Altman fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Hugging Face CEO Clement Delangue (R) departs the closed-door "AI Insight Forum" outside the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Artificial intelligence startup Hugging Face says it's seeing increased interest from potential customers following the chaos at rival OpenAI. "I think a lot of companies, organizations now are kind of wondering about the risk about outsourcing their AI to just one AI provider," Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue said Tuesday on a call with reporters. Multiple companies told CNBC they'd considered switching from OpenAI to competitors' services as the confusion swelled inside the company. OpenAI has a unique structure in that the parent entity is a nonprofit, with a so-called capped-profit company underneath that umbrella.

Persons: Clement Delangue, Clément Delangue, Sam Altman, Josh Gartner, Gartner, CNBC they'd, Aidan Gomez, Martin Kon, OpenAI, Altman, Cohere, it's, Google's Bard, OpenAI's ChatGPT Organizations: Russell Senate, Companies, CNBC, Google, Nvidia, Salesforce, AMD, Intel, IBM, Qualcomm, Anthropic, Google's Locations: Russell, Washington ,, Toronto, OpenAI, New York, China

At his startup Log10, Bansal oversees the production of tools that third-party developers can use to build LLM-powered applications. Since the OpenAI drama unfolded, Bansal told CNBC the startup's instability was a reason customers cited. A spokesperson for OpenAI declined to comment but said the startup's services are working again following three hours of issues. One founder of an AI startup, who asked not to be named in order to discuss internal matters, said he uses multiple application program interfaces from OpenAI and has considered switching to offerings from Anthropic, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI executives with backing from Amazon and Google . The source, who previously worked alongside Shear, said Shear is "very smart" and admires his integrity.

Persons: Jaap Arriens, Sam Altman, Arjun Bansal, Bansal, Altman, Emmett Shear, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, There's, Shear, he's, Martin Kon, Kon, Anthropic, Srinivas Narayanan, Steven Heidel, Nadella, CNBC's Jon Fortt Organizations: Nurphoto, CNBC, Microsoft, Amazon, Google Locations: OpenAI, LLMs, Anthropic

☆ China Arrests Japanese Executive Despite Tokyo’s Appeals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Miho Inada | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The arrested Astellas Pharma executive disappeared in late March. Photo: Akio Kon/Bloomberg NewsTOKYO—China formally arrested a Japanese pharmaceutical executive who had been detained since March, Tokyo said Thursday, in a move likely to further chill business travel to the nation. Hirokazu Matsuno , Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said the Astellas Pharma executive, whom China has previously identified as Hiroshi Nishiyama , was arrested in mid-October. Matsuno said Tokyo had made strong appeals to Beijing for the early release of the executive and would continue doing so.

Persons: Astellas, Akio Kon, Hirokazu, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Matsuno Organizations: Astellas Pharma, Bloomberg News TOKYO Locations: China, Tokyo, Beijing

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images2008: iPhone 3G, meet the App StoreWith the second version of the iPhone, Apple introduces the App Store and 3G connectivity. Stephen Lam/Reuters2016: iPhone SE, a budget optionTaking a step back, the iPhone SE is a cheaper, smaller device than the 6S, giving customers a chance to enjoy Apple’s phones at a much lower cost. People handle the new Apple iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max during a media tour at an Apple office in Shanghai, China, on September 21, 2018. Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg/Getty Images2020: iPhone 12 Mini, small but mightyThe iPhone 12 mini is smaller than the usual iPhone but packs a powerful punch. Mike Segar/Reuters2021: iPhone 13 Series, same price for more spaceThe iPhone 13 stays at the same price as the iPhone 12 with double the storage space, as well as featuring a much smaller top notch.

Persons: Steve Jobs, John Green, ” Jobs, Leon Neal, Justin Sullivan, Siri, FaceTime, “, ”, Jobs, Michael Nagle, Apple, Seth K, Hughes, Akio Kon, David Gray, Tim Cook, Josh Edelson, Stephen Lam, David Paul Morris, Phil Schiller, Aly Song, Max, Jason Lee, Pro Max, Phil Barker, Brendon Thorne, Mike Segar, Gabby Jones, Andrew Kelly Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, Macworld, Bay Area, Getty, Lightning, Bloomberg, Apple Inc, Worldwide, Steve Jobs, Steve, Pro, Future Publishing Locations: New York, San Francisco, London, AFP, San Francisco , California, New York City, Cupertino , California, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, Sydney, Shanghai, China, Beijing, Australia, Manhattan , New York

July 18 (Reuters) - Consultancy giant McKinsey said it had struck a partnership with artificial intelligence startup Cohere in an effort to provide AI solutions to its enterprise clients. We found Cohere to be one of the great solutions out there," Ben Ellencweig, senior partner at McKinsey, told Reuters in an interview. McKinsey said it was working with Cohere to build customized solutions to help improve customer engagement and workflow automation for clients. Cohere competes with OpenAI with a focus on generative AI solutions for enterprises. It also announced a partnership with Oracle, which will embed Cohere's generative AI technology in its products.

Persons: Ben Ellencweig, Cohere, Martin Kon, PwC, Bain, Krystal Hu, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Consultancy, McKinsey, Microsoft, Reuters, Google, Nvidia, Oracle, Salesforce Ventures, Cohere, Accenture, Company, Deloitte, Thomson Locations: New York

The Tokyo Tower, left, and commercial and residential buildings at night in Minato district of Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets are set to rise on Friday after more inflation data out from the U.S. came in softer than expected, raising optimism that inflation could come down without weakening the labor market. "Most stock and bond index prices rose today as economic data indicates inflation has fallen quickly and the labor market remains strong," Bill Merz, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. June's producer price index rose less than anticipated, climbing 0.1% year on year, compared to the 0.2% expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also looks set to continue its rally after surging more than 2.5% on Thursday.

Persons: Akio Kon, Bill Merz, Dow Jones Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images, U.S, Bank Wealth Management, Core PPI, Nikkei Locations: Tokyo, Minato district, Japan, Getty Images Asia, Pacific, U.S, Chicago, Osaka, Australia

☆ Can Japan's Nikkei benchmark hit an all-time high of 40,000? One strategist thinks so
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJapan's Nikkei 225 can reach 40,000 points in the next 12 months as fundamentals are "pointing in the right direction," according to market strategist Jesper Koll. Should the prediction come true, this would mean that the Nikkei would have breached its all-time high of 38,195 achieved on Dec 29, 1989. Japan's central bank has maintained an ultra-loose monetary policy for more than 20 years. He said that while there is more upside in the Nikkei, "a lot of good news is already priced in." That's on the expectation that the BOJ will move to tighten monetary policy.

Persons: Akio Kon, Jesper Koll, CNBC's, Koll, Kazuo Ueda, Tony Sycamore Organizations: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Bloomberg, Getty, Nikkei, Monex Group, Bank of Japan, CNBC Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Japan's, Koll, Sycamore

☆ A Dessert Recipe So Good, I Was Sworn to Secrecy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ligaya Mishan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The base was always strawberry, the rosy slush whorling down into the cup. Halfway through, Mr. Young would stop the machine and spoon in the liquid skimmed off a jar of li hing mui, a local snack of preserved plums soused on a brew of sugar and licorice. Neale Asato loved that li hing Icee, too. It was the inspiration for his li hing float, a meld of strawberry sherbet and vanilla ice cream with hidden seams of li hing sauce, one of the best sellers at Asato Family Shop in downtown Honolulu. Freeze to a slush, then whip on high speed, letting in the air until it expands, a pink cloud rising.

Persons: Kon Ping, Mr, Young, —, hing mui, He’d, Neale Asato, Asato, Gunji Locations: Honolulu, Hawaii, Waikiki, Green, Iowa, Maui, Jokichi, Japan

☆ SoftBank shares drop after its Vision Fund tech investment unit posts a $32 billion record loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this article 9984.T-JP Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTSoftBank's Vision Fund posted a record loss in the year ended Mar. The flagship tech investment unit has been hit by the falling prices of tech stocks. Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesShares of Japanese tech investor SoftBank fell on Friday after the company reported a record loss at its Vision Fund tech investment unit. The company said on Thursday that its Vision Fund segment lost a record 4.3 trillion Japanese yen ($32 billion) for its fiscal year ending Mar. The $100 billion Vision Fund was launched in 2017 under the stewardship of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and shook up the tech investing world.

☆ In China, a Detention and a New Espionage Law Have Businesses Worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Yoko Kubota | Miho Inada | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China’s detention of a Japanese executive at Astellas Pharma is one of a string of incidents that have sparked new concerns among foreign companies. Photo: Akio Kon/Bloomberg NewsBEIJING— Hiroshi Nishiyama , a veteran Japanese executive at Astellas Pharma Inc. and a prominent member of his country’s business circle in China, spent late March wrapping up his assignment there and preparing to head home. He never made it. Mr. Nishiyama disappeared on what was supposed to be his last day in China. A few days later, China’s Foreign Ministry said he had been accused of espionage and detained.

☆ Japan's business mood sours to 2-year low as global slowdown bites, Tankan survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Japan's business sentiment soured in January-March to hit the worst level in more than two years, the closely-watched tankan survey showed on April 3, 2023. Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJapan's business sentiment soured in January-March to hit the worst level in more than two years, a closely-watched central bank survey showed on Monday, as slowing global growth clouds the outlook for the export-reliant economy. The service-sector mood, by contrast, recovered as easing border controls and an end to Covid-19 curbs heightened hopes for a rebound in tourism and consumption, the Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed. It was the fifth straight quarter of deterioration and the worst level hit since December 2020. Given the fragile nature of Japan's recovery, the BOJ is not in a situation where it can normalize monetary policy anytime soon.

☆ Humanity has decided it can say 'no' to AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The latest development in AI: humanity has decided it can say "no." Elon Musk was one of more than 1,000 people to sign an open letter calling for a six-month pause on advanced AI development. The letter cited several potential risks to humanity and society, including the spread of misinformation and automation of jobs. Bosses have forgotten how to say "good job" — and it's driving employees to quit. Big Tech's big downgrade.

☆ Crypto is banned in China, but Binance employees and support volunteers tell people how to bypass the ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

The messages CNBC reviewed come from accounts identified as Binance employees or Binance-trained volunteers known as "Angels." Whatever the method, Binance's Chinese users take on a significant risk: In China, crypto exchanges have been outlawed since 2017, while crypto itself was outlawed in 2021. But Chinese customers have continued to seek ways to trade on Binance, which include using instructions provided by employees and volunteers. "'Binance does not offer a 'Binance Chinese Android app," a spokesperson said. In addition, hours after Binance responded to CNBC, messages apeared on Twitter suggesting that some customers' Binance debit cards had been frozen.

Hong Kong/Tokyo CNN —Masatoshi Ito, the Japanese billionaire who turned 7-Eleven convenience stores into a global empire, has died aged 98, closing the chapter on one of Asia’s most storied retail entrepreneurs. A 7-Eleven convenience store in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, on January 9, 2023. So, how did 7-Eleven become synonymous with the Japanese convenience store culture as we know it today? He renamed the company Ito Yokado and started running the business like a US supermarket. Ito Yokado was renamed Seven & I Holdings in 2005, and Ito remained its honorary chairman until his death.

☆ Kazuo Ueda nominated to lead Japan's central bank in possible move away from ultra-easy policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —The Japanese government has nominated Kazuo Ueda to lead its central bank, in a surprise move that could pave the way for the country to wind down its ultra-loose monetary policy. Accommodative is a term used to describe monetary policy that adjusts to adverse market conditions and usually involves keeping interest rates low to spur growth and employment. As part of that program, the central bank targeted some short-term interest rates at an ultra-dovish minus 0.1% and aimed for 10-year government bond yields around 0%. But as prices rose and interest rates elsewhere went up, pressure has grown on the BOJ to wind down YCC. But Kuroda later dismissed a near-term exit from his ultra-loose monetary policy.

☆ AI startup Cohere in talks to raise funding at $6 bln plus valuation -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Generative AI aims to make human-like creations through computer code that has processed vast amounts of data. FOCUS ON NLPFocusing on training natural language processing (NLP) models, Cohere competes with a group of foundation model providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Gomez said the company differentiates itself by focusing on serving enterprise users, and Cohere has been talking to companies from marketing, consulting and tech to help them incorporate generative AI. Cohere is powering some consumer applications including Hyperwrite, which helps people write faster and generate articles using AI. Other foundation model providers such as Anthropic is also in talks to raise funding at multi-billion valuations, investor sources said.

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