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☆ In Contrast to China, Japan at G-7 Basks in Newfound Appeal to Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Japan’s central bank forecasts that output will grow 1.4% in the fiscal year ending next March, surpassing the prepandemic peak. Photo: kimimasa mayama/ShutterstockTOKYO—You would think this was the capital of a fast-growing Asian tiger economy the way American CEOs are flocking here these days. Apple ’s Tim Cook , Google’s Sundar Pichai , OpenAI’s Sam Altman , Intel’s Patrick Gelsinger and Warren Buffett are among the bosses to show up in recent months. Better reserve in advance if you want the hotel’s executive suite.

☆ NASA taps Blue Origin to join SpaceX in building lunar landers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Blue Origin will develop its lunar lander alongside partners Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics. Altogether, the price tag for Blue Origin’s lunar lander development program is likely worth more than $7 billion. Blue Origin has been fighting for a role in the Artemis lunar lander contracts — called Human Landing System — for years. A judge ultimately ruled against Blue Origin, though NASA later pledged to expand the number of companies with lunar lander contracts to two. NASA said from the beginning that it hoped to have more than one company working to develop lunar landers capable of carrying humans.

☆ IBM, Google Give $150 Million for U.S.-Japan Quantum-Computing Push as China Looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ibm-google-give-150-million-for-u-s-japan-quantum-computing-push-as-china-looms-26e614d4

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-hiroshima-biden-will-meet-leader-whose-family-knew-atomic-bomb-tragedy-db677b53

G-7 leaders are expected to visit Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park during their meeting that starts Friday. Photo: richard a. brooks/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesNearly 78 years ago, around a Hiroshima bridge not far from where President Biden is scheduled to meet world leaders this week, a 4-year-old boy named Eiji Kishida was walking with his mother. The U.S. atomic bomb dropped by the Enola Gay exploded above them, less than a mile away. An aunt of the boy who was also in Hiroshima that day recounted what she saw when she found Eiji soon afterward. He kept begging for water in a faint voice until his death released him from agony.”

☆ NASA researchers will spend a year living in a simulated Mars habitat
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Bill Stafford/NASAAiming for fidelity has resulted in a habitat that could feasibly built on Mars, Smith adds. MARK FELIX/AFP/AFP /AFP via Getty ImagesNASA is attempting to fill in what it calls “Strategic Knowledge Gaps,” that currently make a manned Mars mission too risky. A manned Mars mission will ship food to the planet in advance of humans, which means it will need a long shelf-life. Intended as a location for the emirate to develop technology for an eventual Mars mission, it was also designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, with 3D-printed buildings. Thankfully the crew entering CHAPEA in June will not have to concern themselves with that potentially deadly element of a Mars mission.

☆ SpaceX hires former NASA human spaceflight chief for Starship role
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX has tapped NASA's former human spaceflight boss Kathy Lueders to help oversee development of the company's moon and Mars rocket called Starship, a person familiar with the hire said on Monday. Lueders, the second former NASA human spaceflight chief to retire and move to SpaceX in recent years, represents another key hire for the company as it races to develop and use Starship for landing NASA astronauts on the moon within the next decade. As the head of NASA's human spaceflight wing, Lueders oversaw development of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, the company's flagship cargo and astronaut taxi that has become the agency's primary ride to and from the International Space Station. A major agency reorganization later in 2021 moved Lueders away from overseeing the moon program and placed her as NASA's space operations chief, a post with oversight on ISS activities. At SpaceX, Lueders will join her former NASA boss Bill Gerstenmaier, who in 2020 retired from the agency as its human spaceflight chief to join SpaceX for a similar Starship role.

CNN —China’s Zhurong rover on Mars has been in hibernation since last May due to an “unpredictable accumulation” of dust, mission designer Zhang Rongqiao said, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday. “According to our analysis, the biggest possibility is that because of unpredictable accumulation of Martian dust, its power generation capacity was reduced and it was too low to wake itself up,” Rongqiao said, explaining why the rover has since been dormant. This image showing the rover and the lander on the surface of Mars was taken by a separable camera deployed by the Zhurong rover in 2021. The NASA InSight lander’s mission came to an end in December after spending nearly 1,500 days on Mars. But a heavy accumulation of dust on its solar panels caused a steady drop in the lander’s power source.

☆ Japanese company ispace fears its probe crashed into the moon, failing to snag the first private lunar landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Japanese company ispace fears its lunar lander crashed into the moon on Tuesday. The HAKUTO-R M1 lunar lander dropped out of communications at the very end of its landing attempt. That operation was conducted by nonprofit SpaceIL, in its own attempt to claim the first private moon landing. Beresheet's engine went out as it descended, then SpaceIL lost communication with the spacecraft, indicating it had crashed into the lunar surface. NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University; Business InsiderJust months later, India's first attempt to land on the lunar surface met a similar fate.

☆ Commercial lunar lander presumed lost after historic moon landing attempt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A Japanese lunar lander, carrying a rover developed in the United Arab Emirates, attempted to find its footing on the moon’s surface Tuesday — and potentially mark the world’s first lunar landing for a commercially developed spacecraft. The lunar lander, called Hakuto-R, was carrying the Rashid rover — the first Arab-built lunar spacecraft, which was built by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai. Israel-based company SpaceIL was the first XPrize contestant to attempt to put its lander on the moon after the program ended. Its Beresheet spacecraft crashed in 2019 after ground teams lost contact with the lander as it approached the surface. That same year, the Indian Space and Research Organisation lost contact with a lunar lander shortly before it was slated to touch down on the moon.

☆ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Begins World Tour in Japan, Plays Down 2024 Bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is on a four-nation tour of U.S. allies. Ron DeSantis said he wasn’t a candidate for president, but he got a welcome worthy of an American political VIP Monday in Japan, his first stop on an around-the-world tour. Striding into the prime minister’s office holding the hand of his wife, Casey, Mr. DeSantis held a roughly 40-minute meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida . He said they discussed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ’s provocations and the Chinese Communist Party—the sort of issues presidents worry about.

☆ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Begins World Tour in Japan, Says He Isn’t Presidential Candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Japan’s Kishida Says He’ll Lead G-7 in Pushing for Protection of Journalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko/Associated PressTOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would lead the Group of Seven nations in advocating for greater protection for journalists and the release of Russian political prisoners after Moscow detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Japan holds the presidency of the G-7 this year and Mr. Kishida will host a summit of leaders including President Biden in Hiroshima from May 19 to May 21.

☆ Japan’s Kishida Is Targeted by Apparent Smoke Bomb, Escapes Unhurt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Miho Inada | Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO—A man tossed an apparent smoke bomb near Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday at a campaign stop. Mr. Kishida was unhurt and the man was arrested. Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed a commotion after the man threw an object into the air and he was wrestled to the ground by at least one bystander and security personnel. About 50 seconds after the commotion began, there was the sound of an explosion and smoke filled the air.

☆ Japan Prime Minister Kishida Evacuated After Sound of Bang; No One Reported Hurt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Wakayama prefecture on Saturday. TOKYO—Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was rushed away from a campaign stop on Saturday after the sound of a bang nearby, and a suspect at the scene was arrested, according to footage aired on public broadcaster NHK. NHK said no one was injured in the incident at around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

☆ China could start building a moon base with lunar-soil bricks in 5 years, amid NASA fears of a moon territory dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China could be ready to start building its lunar base within five years, scientists said. China has made major strides in space exploration, recently launching its own crewed space station. "We will be using real moon soil to make the first brick right there on the moon," he added, per SCMP. These could be used to make habitats on the moon using traditional Chinese building techniques, he said. The agency wants to build its own station orbiting the moon, as well as an Artemis lunar base.

☆ Japan Breaks With U.S. Allies, Buys Russian Oil at Prices Above Cap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Access to liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Far East is a priority for Japan’s government. TOKYO—The U.S. has rallied its European allies behind a $60-a-barrel cap on purchases of Russian crude oil, but one of Washington’s closest allies in Asia is now buying oil at prices above the cap. Japan got the U.S. to agree to the exception, saying it needed it to ensure access to Russian energy. The concession shows Japan’s reliance on Russia for fossil fuels, which analysts said contributed to a hesitancy in Tokyo to back Ukraine more fully in its war with Russia.

☆ Japan Restricts Semiconductor-Equipment Exports as Ties With China Chill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO—Japan said it would restrict the export of advanced semiconductor equipment, a measure that could hamper development of China’s industry and marks a further cooling of relations after the detention of a Japanese pharmaceutical-company employee in Beijing. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit Beijing Saturday to meet with his Chinese counterpart, the Japanese government said Friday. It didn’t disclose the purpose of the visit, the first by a Japanese foreign minister to China since December 2019, but Tokyo has called for the quick release of the detained Japanese man.

☆ Japan Curbs Semiconductor-Gear Exports as Ties With China Chill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Being able to set the nation’s own trade policy was a key economic draw for many who supported the U.K. leaving the European Union. The U.K. government said it had struck a deal to join the Pacific trade alliance the U.S. exited under former President Donald Trump, as Britain looks to diversify trade away from Europe after Brexit. The U.K. will become the first European country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, known as the TPP. The club of 11 countries largely spans the Indo-Pacific region and includes nations such as Japan, Canada, Chile and Vietnam.

☆ Toshiba Announces $15 Billion Plan to Be Taken Private
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Visitors explored the Toshiba booth at the International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference in Tokyo last month. TOKYO—Japanese industrial conglomerate Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to a deal worth ¥2 trillion, equivalent to $15 billion, to take the company private. Toshiba said the buyout would be led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc., a Tokyo-based investment fund. It said the buyers were offering ¥4,620 a share, about 10% above the closing price of ¥4,213 in Tokyo Stock Exchange trading Thursday. That values the company at about ¥2 trillion.

☆ Do Your Neighbors Paint Their Lawns Green? Increasingly, Yes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Eliza Collins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GILBERT, Ariz.—Mike Landers enjoys taking his dog, Luci, for walks along the lush communal grass in the Islands, the master-planned neighborhood where he lives. This year, the grass looks particularly verdant. It’s been painted. “Could you tell? It looks like green grass,” said Mr. Landers, who is 69, and came from Minnesota, adding that Luci doesn’t seem to mind.

☆ NASA awards Firefly Aerospace $112 mln contract for far-side moon lander
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - NASA on Tuesday said it had picked U.S. rocket builder Firefly Aerospace to put a lander on the moon's far side in 2026, under a nearly $112 million contract. "The commercial lander will deliver two agency payloads, as well as communication and data relay satellite for lunar orbit, which is an ESA (European Space Agency) collaboration with NASA," the U.S. space agency said. NASA handed a similar award of $73 million to spacecraft software firm Draper last year to deliver science and technology payloads to the far side of the moon in 2025. NASA awarded Cedar Park, Texas-based Firefly $93.3 million in 2021 to carry a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the moon in 2023. Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kenzaburo Oe, Nobel Prize-Winning Japanese Novelist and Pacifist, Dies at 88
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Peter Landers | Chieko Tsuneoka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kenzaburo Oe was the second Japanese writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature. TOKYO— Kenzaburo Oe , a Japanese Nobel Prize-winning novelist whose political works addressed what he saw as the danger of failing to learn the lessons of World War II, has died at age 88. Mr. Oe’s publisher, Kodansha, said Monday that he died of old age on March 3.

☆ China, Like Russia, Is Pressured by Reinvigorated U.S. Alliances
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine produced the opposite of what Moscow’s foreign policy had long sought by driving its neighbors into NATO. After boosting its military, China is now seeing a similar strengthening of U.S.-led alliances in the Pacific. The rapprochement between Seoul and Tokyo, reflected in a plan released Monday by Seoul to compensate South Koreans forced to work in Japan during World War II, marks the latest example of U.S. friends and allies in Asia building a network of ties in a way that is unwelcome in Beijing.

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