Tag - tech

 
Menu
Search
 
July 09, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

TECH

Despite Donald Trump’s celebratory claims that TikTok’s U.S. odyssey is over, the formerly Chinese-owned app now faces mounting challenges around growth, competition, governance, user trust and execution that could quickly erode its immense value.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2026
The TikTok U.S. saga isn’t over — it’s just beginning
To call the saga over — as many headlines did — would be unwise. Its challenges are only just beginning.
Hiroo Oota, incoming chief executive officer of Kioxia Holdings, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2026
Memory maker Kioxia names new CEO to navigate AI chip boom
Shares of Kioxia, which are up more than twelvefold since their initial public offering at the end of 2024, reversed losses and rose 1.6% after the announcement.
China’s DeepSeek received extensive technical assistance from Nvidia as a legitimate commercial partner hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, it has been revealed.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 29, 2026
Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China’s military
When Nvidia provided DeepSeek help, there was no public indication that its technology was ​being used ‌by the Chinese military, U.S. lawmaker John Moolenaar says.
Masashi Jinbo, head of the Japanese Electrical Electronic and Information Union, speaks at a union meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2026
Japanese electronics unions to demand pay scale hike of over ¥18,000
Last year, member unions of the Japanese Electrical Electronic and Information Union demanded an increase of at least ¥17,000.
TikTok is moving to settle a lawsuit with a woman who claimed that the social media giant and others designed their platforms to addict young users.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2026
TikTok joins Snap settling youth addiction suit before trial
TikTok is moving to settle a lawsuit with a woman who alleged that the company and other social media giants designed their platforms to addict young users.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, at a conference in Tokyo in December
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2026
SoftBank in talks to invest $30 billion more in OpenAI, report says
The increase in commitment that reflects Masayoshi Son’s ambitions to play a central role in developing artificial intelligence.
A vehicle carrier cargo ship is docked near the Hyundai Motor plant in Ulsan, South Korea. The carmaker would be severely affected if the U.S. raises its tariffs on South Korea to 25%.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 28, 2026
U.S. trade spat with South Korea driven by tech laws and gridlock
South Korea is the latest nation to be singled out by U.S. President Donald Trump for moving too slowly on its trade promises.
An Alibaba logo is displayed at the company's booth at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing on Sept. 10, 2025. Price wars are holding back earnings estimates for Chinese internet platform companies while artificial intelligence hardware makers are pulling ahead.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2026
China AI hardware firms trump internet giants in growth outlook
The AI boom is propelling upward revisions for hardware names in contrast with internet platforms held back by price wars.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 22.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 27, 2026
California’s Newsom accuses TikTok of suppressing content critical of Trump
The Democratic governor launched a review of the platform’s ‍content moderation ⁠practices to determine if they violated state law.
A billboard organized by the corporate accountability group Eko passes through Westminster urging Britain's prime minister to stand up to Elon Musk and ban X and Grok in London on Jan. 14.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2026
Too many kids already know someone who’s been deepfaked
The increasing availability of AI nudification tools has fueled skyrocketing reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority Asia conference in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2026
SoftBank hits the brakes on talks to buy data center firm Switch
The two sides remain in active discussions about a partial investment or a partnership.
Fiction writing, commercial photography, radio, music and — most ominously — journalism face a reckoning with artificial intelligence. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2026
The takeover of all media by artificial intelligence is coming
Not only is AI already upending the filmmaking industry, but Hollywood is just one example of how the technology will cause enormous social and economic pain.
A viral check-in app that alerts contacts if users fail to confirm they are alive has exposed rising loneliness, demographic anxiety and unmet eldercare needs, showing the next breakout tech hit may come from confronting social isolation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2026
Forget DeepSeek, dying alone is China’s latest tech obsession
The interface is almost aggressively plain. Users, largely people living alone, tap to confirm they are still alive.
Waymo autonomous taxis on Bush Street in San Francisco on Dec. 17
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2026
Waymo-backed robotaxis quietly ply the streets of Tokyo as tests continue
The service could be rolled out in Japan in 2026, though no target date has been set.
The office of ByteDance, which owns TikTok, in Singapore in January 2023
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 24, 2026
TikTok in the U.S. goes American, but questions remain
Whether the 200 million users in the United States will notice any difference in their online experience remains unclear.
An employee works at a solar cells and modules manufacturing facility in India. The nation is electrifying faster than China did when it was at similar levels of economic development, according to a new report from the think tank Ember.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jan 23, 2026
India is using cheap green tech to electrify faster than China
The nation is electrifying faster and using fewer fossil fuels per capita than China did when it was at similar levels of economic development, a think tank says.
Sony is leaning on color and style to differentiate its new LinkBuds Clip earbuds from Apple’s all-white AirPods line.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 22, 2026
Sony unveils clip-on earbuds, joining a growing trend
Sony’s LinkBuds Clip, around ¥30,000, join a subcategory of open-style earbuds that sit outside the ear canal, promising better situational awareness than regular buds.
A Mos Food Services employee places an order via a microphone at an artificial intelligence drive-thru facility, which was unveiled to members of the media in Yoshikawa City, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2026
Mos Food unveils AI system for drive-thru orders
In the hamburger industry, the use of mobile and touchscreen ordering systems is spreading, but the adoption of AI has been slow.
Cartoonist Mitsuru Yaku (center) and other executives of Freelance League of Japan announces their survey to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 21, 2026
One in 10 Japanese creatives see income fall due to generative AI
Survey respondents cited being asked to accept shorter deadlines and lower fees, or losing commissions altogether.
Sony Group is spinning off control of its home entertainment business to Chinese rival TCL Electronics.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2026
Sony to cede control of Bravia TVs to China’s TCL
The PlayStation-maker said Tuesday it will sell a 51% stake in its home entertainment arm to TCL.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Restaurant list highlights Japan’s emerging contours
Restaurant list highlights Japan’s emerging contours

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER