Issue #28 - VR at Tokyo Game Show 🕹️, BOJ system hit by glitch 🏦, Buddhist metaverse 🧘
Issue #28 - VR at Tokyo Game Show 🕹️, BOJ system hit by glitch 🏦, Buddhist metaverse 🧘
Opening Remarks
This month, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. TÉKUNI is a newsletter about technology and Japan, but as a Londoner and a British person, I cannot help but dedicate the first few lines of this issue to her passing.
No matter what you may think of the monarchy as an institution, the queen's death is set to affect the future of the UK profoundly, and its effects may very likely go beyond its borders.
In a chat with Japanese celebrity Tetsuko Kuroyanagi at the British Embassy in Tokyo in 1975, the queen half-jokingly said that she was "preoccupied with computers," Kuroyanagi remembered in a recent social media post commemorating the monarch.
Following the meeting, it was decided that Her Majesty would be given a video recorder and a tape of her activities in Japan as a souvenir, according to Kuroyanagi.
More than forty years later, and weeks after the queen's death, technology in the world continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. And while there are certainly reasons to be preoccupied with some of its developments, it is also a force for good in many different ways.
Regular news down below.
Japan probed the possible involvement of a pro-Russian group in a series of cyberattacks against government websites this month.
The government also suggested setting up a panel for promoting nuclear fusion developments, and the transport ministry compiled its first guidelines for introducing self-driving trains.
Finally, Japan announced it is now shutting down its Covid contract-tracing app, and tightened security in Tokyo as foreign dignitaries arrived for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
❓ Want to find out more about the latest tech news in Japan?
🔗 Here is the newsletter’s link section:
The Good
Nissan, Honda boost battery procurement amid EV push - Kyodo
‘Cyborg cockroaches’ to help save people’s lives - Sora News
Japan to expand storage battery production - Yomiuri Shimbun
Honda to launch at least 10 electric motorcycles by 2025 - NHK
Metaverse, VR in spotlight as Tokyo Game Show opens - Kyodo
Honda to join lunar rover project by JAXA - Nikkei
Binance seeks permit to return to Japan - Japan Times
Volunteer fire corps to deploy drones - Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's push into 'deep tech' innovation - BBC
The Bad
Toyota, Honda, Nissan get Greenpeace thumbs-down - Reuters
BOJ’s settlement system hit by glitch - Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan sees 87% increase in ransomware attacks - Kyodo
Storm affecting mobile phone service in parts of Japan - NHK
Apple to raise app prices in Japan, eurozone, other markets - Kyodo
Japan Space Center Damaged by Typhoon Nanmadol - ITechPost
Japan’s cat robot waiters keep getting in fights - Grape
Russia's expels Japanese consul for alleged spying - Reuters
North Korea fired 2 ballistic missile into Sea of Japan - Kyodo
The Quirky
Japan declares 'war' on the humble floppy disk - Business Standard
Tokyo aims to make practical use of artificial rain tech - The Mainichi
JR East to release official train simulator on Steam - Sora News
Mos Burger opens metaverse branch - Grape
Buddhist metaverse in development at Kyoto University - Sora News
This hoverbike can fly 40 minutes - Channel IAM-English
Researchers develop rechargeable cyborg cockroach - Japan Today
These electric spoons and bowls can make food saltier - Sora News
New hires at Lawson to work remotely via avatars - Japan Today
What did you think of this issue? 🙋 Answer this email with any feedback! Was this mail forwarded to you? ✉️ You can subscribe here to support my work: