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☆ Hiroshima G7 marks costs of war and welcomes Ukraine's Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan May 20, 2023. Zelenskiy will receive a hero's welcome during the closing day of the G7 summit hosted in Hiroshima, Japan, where leaders debated how to respond to a conflict that many expect only to escalate after nearly 15 months of fighting. On Sunday, Japan and South Korea, two of China's wealthiest neighbours, will highlight their improved ties with a joint meeting. But Zelenskiy has pushed the countries to go further on both economic and military measures. "Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on Twitter as he arrived in Hiroshima.

The agreement came after the European Union, which participates in the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law that could form a precedent among the advanced economies. The G7 leaders said they "need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI", a subset of the technology popularised by the ChatGPT app. A month later, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to find ways to control AI technologies, saying they were developing faster than expected. The United States so far has taken a cautious approach on governing AI, with President Joe Biden last month saying it remained to be seen whether AI is dangerous. While acknowledging differences on how AI should be regulated, the G7 leaders agreed on Friday to create a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process" to discuss issues around generative AI, such as copyrights and disinformation, by the end of this year.

TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Saturday called for the development and adoption of international technical standards for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers of the rich countries focus on the new technology. The agreement came after European Union, which is represented at the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law. The G7 leaders mentioned generative AI, the subset popularised by the ChatGPT app, saying they "need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI." The heads of government agreed on Friday to create a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process" to discuss issues around generative AI tools, such as intellectual property rights and disinformation, by the end of this year. The summit followed a G7 digital ministers' meeting last month, where the countries - the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - said they should adopt "risk-based" AI regulation.

☆ South Korean experts to visit Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - A team of around 30 South Korean experts will visit Japan during May 22-25 to inspect facilities related to water release from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan's foreign ministry said on Friday. The visit was agreed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Seoul earlier this month as his counterpart, South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, is seeking to improve relations with Japan after years of tensions. Japan plans to release the water from Tokyo Electric Power Co's (9501.T) Fukushima plant, which was destroyed during the 2011 nuclear disaster, into the sea sometime "around this spring or summer, raising concerns in neighbouring countries. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Key excerpts from G7 leaders' statement on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Below are key extracts from the Group of Seven leaders' statement. "We will further target those operating in these key sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation as well as business services." PREVENTING CIRCUMVENTION"We will further prevent the evasion and circumvention of our measures against Russia, including targeting entities transporting material to the front." "We will further reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their supplies." "We will also continue efforts to reduce Russia’s revenue from metals."

"The international community is at a crossroads in history," Prime Minister Kishida told a briefing following his more than hour-long meeting with Biden. Japan, although a longtime buyer of Russian oil, has moved in tandem with G7 sanctions against Moscow following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. That military action has also raised fears among Japanese that China could be emboldened to take action against neighbouring, self-ruled Taiwan unless Russia is stopped. TIGHTEN SANCTIONSThe G7 will aim to tighten sanctions on Russia to prevent it skirting measures already in place, Germany's leader, Olaf Scholz, said on Thursday. Kishida later said he and Biden had agreed to continue "strict sanctions against Russia as well strong support for Ukraine".

☆ Ahead of G7, Japan PM welcomes more investment from global chipmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 18 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed and expected more investment from global chipmakers in Japan, which is striving to revive its chip sector, after meeting top executives on Thursday before a Group of Seven summit. Growing Taiwan and U.S. tensions with China have brought serious challenges to the semiconductor industry, with Taiwan a major producer of chips used in everything from cars and smartphones to fighter jets. "I am very pleased with your positive attitude towards investment in Japan, and would like the government as a whole to work on further expanding direct investment in Japan and support the semiconductor industry," Kishida said. In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp (4901.T). The G7 summit runs from Friday to Sunday, and Kishida is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden later on Thursday.

☆ Japan PM expects more investment from global chipmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, May 18 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he expected additional investment from global chipmakers in Japan after meeting top executives on Thursday ahead of a Group of Seven (G7) summit. Executives from Micron Technology Inc (MU.O), IBM Corp (IBM.N), Applied Materials (AMAT.O) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), among others, also met Kishida. The company is also poised to get about 200 billion yen in financial incentives from Japan to help it make next-generation memory chips in the country, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. read moreKishida also said the government would work on expanding foreign direct investment in Japan. read more($1 = 135.0500 yen)Reporting by Kantaro Komiya Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan Q1 economy expands annualised 1.6% qtr/qtr
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, May 17 (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew an annualised 1.6% in January-March from the previous quarter, as firm private consumption and an unexpected rise in capital expenditure offset shrinking external demand, government data showed on Wednesday. The first-quarter gross domestic product figures was much larger than economists' median estimate for a 0.7% annualised growth. Domestic private consumption, which makes up more than half the economy, grew 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in January-March, and capital expenditure, a key engine of growth, gained 0.9%, against economists' estimate for a decrease. External demand, or net exports, shaved off 0.3 percentage point off the first-quarter gain, which was more than offset by positive domestic-demand contribution of 0.7 percentage point. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kantaro Komiya Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ G7 plans new vaccine effort for developing nations, Yomiuri reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations is set to agree on establishing a new programme to distribute vaccines to developing countries at next week's summit of leaders, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said on Saturday. In addition to the G7, G20 nations such as India and international groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank will participate, it added, citing Japanese government sources. However, COVAX faced setbacks in ensuring equitable access, as wealthy nations prioritised shots for their citizens while insufficient storage facilities in poorer nations caused supply delays and disposal of millions of close-to-expiry doses. The new program aims to pool rainy-day funds for vaccine production and purchases, as well as investment in low-temperature storages and training of health workers to prepare for the next global pandemic, the Yomiuri said. Saturday's meeting of G7 finance ministers agreed to offer aid to low- and middle-income countries to help increase their role in supply chains for energy-related products.

☆ UK's Hunt says 'absolutely devastating' if US failed to raise debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NIIGATA, Japan, May 13 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday it would be "absolutely devastating" if the United States failed to reach agreement to raise its debt ceiling and had its gross domestic product "knocked off track". A standoff between President Joe Biden and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has raised the prospect of a first-ever U.S. debt default, posed a "very serious threat to the global economy," Hunt said. "It would be absolutely devastating if America, which is one of the biggest motors of the global economy, was to have its GDP knocked off track by not reaching agreement," he said. G7 members also agreed that any country that engages in economic coercion should expect a united response from advanced democracies, but gave no details on what that would entail. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] A Toyota logo is seen during the New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 5, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' DelgadoTOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Friday the vehicle data of 2.15 million users in Japan, or almost the entire customer base who signed up for its main cloud service platforms since 2012, had been publicly available for a decade due to human error. The issue, which began in November 2013 and lasted until mid-April, stemmed from human error, leading to a cloud system being set to public instead of private, a Toyota spokesperson said. It could encompass details such as vehicle locations and identification numbers of vehicle devices, but there were no reports of malicious use, the company said. Toyota said it would introduce a system to audit cloud settings, establish a system to continuously monitor settings, and thoroughly educate employees on data handling rules.

☆ Japan's spending downturn, wages decline heighten pressure on economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Japan's consumer spending unexpectedly fell in March at the fastest rate in a year, while real wages marked a twelfth month of decline on persistent inflation, highlighting the challenges facing the economy in mounting a strong post-COVID revival. Household spending fell 1.9% in March from a year earlier, the data showed, against economists' median forecast for a 0.4% rise and following a 1.6% gain in February. It marked the biggest decline since March 2022's 2.3%, when Japan was still trying to curb the spread of coronavirus. For the full fiscal year 2022 that ended in March, household spending rose 0.7%, slowing from 1.6% expansion in fiscal 2021. Separate data showed Japanese real wages falling 2.9% in March, marking the full year of declines that started in April 2022 on decades-high consumer inflation.

☆ EU tech tsar Vestager sees political agreement on AI law this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAKASAKI, April 30 (Reuters) - European Union tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday the bloc will likely reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world's first major artificial intelligence (AI) legislation. This would follow a preliminary deal reached on Thursday on the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act. In an interview with Reuters at a Group of Seven digital ministers' meeting in Takasaki, Japan, Vestager suggested legislative measures for the use of AI tools, such as "labelling obligations for AI-generated images". "There was no reason to hesitate and to wait for the legislation to be passed to accelerate the necessary discussions to provide the changes in all the systems where AI will have an enormous influence," she added, when asked about steps before any agreement takes force. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Takasaki, Japan; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ G7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan. EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology. Vestager, EU's tech regulation chief, said the bloc "will have the political agreement this year" on the AI copyright legislation, such as labelling obligations for AI-generated images or music. Japan, this year's chair of G7, meanwhile, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI. Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.

[1/6] Takeshi Hakamada, "ispace" 's founder and chief executive, is pictured at a venue to watch landing of the lander in HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program on the Moon, in Tokyo, Japan, April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, April 25 (Reuters) - Japanese startup ispace (9348.T) said its attempt to make the first private moon landing had failed on Tuesday after losing contact with its Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) lander, concluding it had most likely crashed on the lunar surface. The M1 lander appeared set to autonomously touch down about 12:40 p.m. Eastern time (1640 GMT Tuesday) after coming as close as 295 feet (90 meters) from the lunar surface, a live animation of the lander's telemetry showed. The company said in a statement Wednesday in Japan that it believes the spacecraft may have made a "hard landing" on the lunar surface. The M1 also carried an experimental solid-state battery made by NGK Spark Plug Co (5334.T), among other objects to gauge how they perform on the moon.

[1/6] Takeshi Hakamada, "ispace" 's founder and chief executive, is pictured at a venue to watch landing of the lander in HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program on the Moon, in Tokyo, Japan, April 26, 2023. But a lunar landing would be an ambitious feat for a private firm. The Japanese firm "determined that there is a high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing." In disclosure to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ispace said it did not expect an immediate impact on its earnings forecast. The lander completed eight out of 10 mission objectives in space that will provide valuable data for the next landing attempt in 2024, Hakamada said.

☆ Sudan fighting resurges as UN envoy says ceasefire partly holding
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Tuesday after negotiations mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. U.N. special envoy on Sudan Volker Perthes told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the ceasefire "seems to be holding in some parts so far." The fighting has paralysed hospitals and other essential services, and left many people stranded in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water. The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel were becoming "extremely acute", prices were surging and it had cut back operations for safety reasons. Since the fighting erupted, tens of thousands have left for neighbouring Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

☆ BOJ unlikely to move in April, most economists say: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The BOJ will likely keep YCC unchanged at next week's meeting as it awaits more evidence of sustained wage growth, sources have told Reuters. Only three of 27 economists, or 11%, said the BOJ will start to scale-back its monetary stimulus next week, whereas 11 (41%) opted for the June meeting, the April 12-19 poll showed. He added the lowered U.S. and Japanese yields after the financial turmoil also decreased the urgency to tweak YCC, which has previously faced market attacks to break the upper limit. Compared with the March poll, fewer economists expect a sudden abolition of YCC to come without warning. Half of the 24 respondents anticipated another YCC tweak, if not an outright end, in April-June.

☆ Japan approves Osaka as site of country's first casino
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The spinning wheel on a roulette table is seen at Japan Casino School in Tokyo, Japan August 4, 2018. Put forth by the city and Osaka prefecture, the project aims to open a casino, conference centre and other facilities in 2029 with 1.8 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) of initial investment. MUFG Bank (8306.T) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (8316.T) will provide 550 billion yen in project financing for the resort, the document showed. The national government's decision came after the pro-casino Japan Innovation Party retained both the office of prefectural governor and city mayor in Osaka on Sunday. Japan's casino plans have faced a number of obstacles such as the coronavirus pandemic and a bribery scandal.

☆ Japan, South Korea to hold first security talks in 5 years, Tokyo says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, April 14 (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea will hold security talks in Seoul on April 17, the first such meeting since March 2018, Japanese foreign and defense ministries announced on Friday. The talks among Japanese and South Korean defence and diplomatic officials will discuss topics such as strategic environments surrounding the two countries, the ministries said. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan approves $13.5 bln Osaka resort, country's first casino
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The spinning wheel on a roulette table is seen at Japan Casino School in Tokyo, Japan August 4, 2018. U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and local partner Orix Corp (8591.T) have spearheaded the Osaka IR project, with each owning a 40% stake in the company set up to manage the complex. The national government's decision came after the pro-casino Japan Innovation Party retained the prefectural governor and city mayor offices in Osaka on Sunday. Major casino operators Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS.N), Caesars Entertainment Corp and Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O) withdrew from planned projects. The government on Friday said it would need more time to review the Nagasaki plan, led by Casinos Austria International.

☆ Osaka casino resort's approval process is in final stage, Japan PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - A casino resort project in Osaka, western Japan, is in the final stages of the government's approval process, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Thursday. The Osaka integrated resort project, which includes Japan's first casino, has been put forward by U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and local partner Orix Corp (8591.T). Jiji news agency on Wednesday reported the government was set to approve the Osaka casino project as early as on Friday. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan will consider government adoption of artificial intelligence technology such as OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot if privacy and cybersecurity concerns are resolved, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday. The remarks from Matsuno, the top government spokesperson, came shortly before Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan, where Altman said his company is "looking at opening an office". Asked about Italy's temporary ban on ChatGPT - developed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) backed OpenAI - Matsuno told a news conference that Japan is aware of other countries' actions. Japan will continue evaluating possibilities of introducing AI to reduce government workers' workload after assessing how to respond to concerns such as data breaches, Matsuno said. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan to add $2.3 billion subsidy to Rapidus for Chitose chip plant, media report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan's industry ministry is finalising a plan to provide state-backed chip maker Rapidus an additional 300 billion yen ($2.27 billion) in funding to build a semiconductor plant in the northern island of Hokkaido, a local paper reported on Saturday. Rapidus, which in February picked Chitose, near Sapporo, as the site for a cutting-edge two-nanometre chip factory, previously secured an initial 70 billion yen funding from the government. The additional grant will be used to help Rapidus build a prototype line scheduled to launch in 2025, the Hokkaido Shimbun paper said, citing multiple unidentified sources. The Japanese government is also offering up to 476 billion yen in subsidies to a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW) plant in Kyushu, in which Sony Group Corp (6758.T) and Denso Corp (6902.T) each have a minority stake. ($1 = 132.3100 yen)Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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