News On Japan

Fujifilm to Introduce AI Diagnostic Reporting System by 2028

TOKYO - Fujifilm plans to put into practical use by fiscal 2028 an artificial intelligence system that automatically generates diagnostic reports based on medical images. The AI will analyze images, identify organs or potential diseases, and instantly draft reports that doctors can then review and edit as needed.

By streamlining the estimated 30 million annual reporting tasks in Japan, the system aims to ease doctors' workloads and ultimately improve the quality of patient diagnoses.

Dai Nippon Printing will launch an AI-powered virtual staff service for local governments, using avatars to respond to inquiries from residents. The company has independently organized and pre-trained administrative data to reduce the risk of inaccurate answers. The system will handle phone calls and in-person consultations on behalf of government staff, helping to lighten their administrative burden.

Fujitsu has started offering a monitoring service that uses radar instead of cameras to detect human movement, identifying incidents such as falls among elderly individuals or hospital patients. The system can be installed in spaces where cameras are difficult to set up, such as nursing home rooms or medical facility restrooms, allowing for careful monitoring while respecting privacy.

In corporate baseball, companies are increasingly viewing the sport as a symbol of their corporate culture. New participants such as real estate firm Samty have entered the field, bringing the number of company teams to levels not seen since the early 2000s. As remote work reduces face-to-face interaction among employees, corporate baseball offers a unique appeal by turning coworkers into heroes and reinforcing a sense of unity.

A growing number of airlines and railways are revising appearance regulations for staff. Skymark, starting in April, has allowed ground staff and flight attendants to wear sneakers while on duty at airports. Tokyo Metro followed suit in May. These changes reflect a focus on easing the physical burden of long shifts spent standing, aiming to improve both comfort and morale among employees.

In today’s 10-second business term segment from Nikkei Online, the term was "insider trading regulations." Insider trading refers to buying or selling stocks based on undisclosed information that could significantly influence investors' decisions, typically involving insiders of publicly traded companies. Such trades are prohibited under Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act because they give unfair advantages over ordinary investors and undermine confidence in the securities market.

In the Hello World global news segment, All Nippon Airways announced on June 17th that it will introduce fully private business class suites for its Boeing 787-9 mid-size aircraft for the first time. The new seats will be installed on long-haul international routes connecting Japan with destinations in Europe and North America beginning in fiscal 2026. The "THE Room FX" seats, unveiled at the Paris Air Show in France, were jointly developed with leading aircraft seat manufacturer Safran Seats of France. Each seat measures up to 194 cm in length, approximately 105 cm in width, and features a seat pitch of around 260 cm, which ANA describes as one of the world’s largest for business class on mid-size aircraft. The seats can be easily converted between chair, sofa, and bed configurations, and the doors and seatbacks have been slimmed down to reduce overall aircraft weight. Monitor sizes have been expanded by 40 percent compared to current models. ANA introduced the 787-9 in 2014 and, as of the end of March 2025, operates 44 of the model, the most in its fleet. The new seats will be installed on 19 aircraft, including upcoming new deliveries.

Finally, as host Sato Kako concluded the June 19th edition of Young Nikkei, she reflected on participating as an interviewer in mock job interviews at a university. She was impressed by students who, despite their inexperience, showed courage in expressing themselves even when stumbling. Drawing inspiration from NASA’s Apollo 13 mission—often called a "successful failure" due to the crew’s calm problem-solving after an accident—she encouraged embracing mistakes as opportunities for recovery and growth, both in interviews and in life.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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Large Typhoon No. 25 was moving northwest over waters south of Japan at 3 p.m. on September 19 and is forecast to strengthen as it approaches Kanto and the Izu Islands from September 20 through September 21, bringing the risk of torrential rain, violent winds and further damage in areas still recovering from last year's typhoon.

A black bear has been spotted near one of the most popular hiking trails on Mount Takao in western Tokyo, prompting authorities to urge visitors to take precautions ahead of the five-day Silver Week holiday and the approaching autumn foliage season.

Starbucks is considering selling a majority stake in its Japanese business, potentially valued at as much as $3 billion, or about 470 billion yen, as the U.S. coffee chain seeks to concentrate management resources on its struggling North American operations.

Japan's Halloween Jumbo Lottery went on sale nationwide on September 16, offering a combined top payout of 400 million yen for the first prize and its adjacent-number prizes.

A new top-tier "Supreme Class" offering fully private compartments above the level of Green Car service will debut on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen on October 1, with passengers able to experience the new seating at a demonstration booth at Shin-Osaka Station.

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The Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's largest gaming exhibitions, opened with a record 1,138 exhibitors as companies from a growing range of industries seek a foothold in Japan's expanding gaming market, with artificial intelligence emerging as one of the main attractions this year.

Police are warning of a nationwide surge in scams involving criminals posing as officers, with evidence emerging that generative AI may now be used to create fake identities during video calls and make the deception more convincing.

High school students in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, explored how humans and artificial intelligence might coexist in the future by interacting with an AI-powered humanoid robot during a class on September 11.

A medical institution opening in Nagoya's Showa Ward in October will use artificial intelligence-enhanced PET-CT and MRI equipment to produce clearer images and reduce the risk of cancer being overlooked during diagnostic examinations.

The rapid spread of generative artificial intelligence is fueling construction of data centers across Japan, but plans for two large facilities beside a residential neighborhood in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, are raising concerns over sunlight, noise and low-frequency sound as authorities confront gaps in rules governing the increasingly important infrastructure.

Expectations are growing for the wider use of "physical AI" robots, but concerns over hacking, breakdowns and maintenance are prompting companies to develop new security and support systems as the technology moves closer to everyday use.

Isuzu Motors has begun full-scale development of a second-generation "AI truck" capable of making driving decisions on its own, as Japan's largest commercial vehicle maker by domestic market share aims to introduce Level 4 autonomous driving in fiscal 2027 to help address a worsening shortage of truck drivers.

Toridoll Holdings, the operator of Marugame Seimen, has introduced an artificial intelligence system trained on the thinking and speaking style of President Takaya Awata, giving employees a way to consult a virtual version of the company's founder as the restaurant group expands to around 1,200 locations in Japan and overseas.