News On Japan

First Kyoto Conference Opens With Debate on AI Values

KYOTO, Sep 24 (News On Japan) - An international conference in Kyoto has brought together experts and industry leaders to debate the values that will shape society in the age of artificial intelligence.

The inaugural Kyoto Conference, organized by the Kyoto Institute of Philosophy with participation from major corporations and universities in Japan and abroad, opened at the Kyoto International Conference Center. Around 300 philosophers, scholars, and business executives from some 20 countries joined the two-day event.

While rapid advances in science and technology, including AI, have already sparked diverse discussions on social challenges, this conference is turning attention to values—a theme less often addressed directly. In the morning session, Osaka University professor of robotics Hiroshi Ishiguro led a discussion under the theme ‘AI and the Reconsideration of Humanity’.

The conference will continue in Kyoto over two days.

Meanwhile in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, visitors to Kinosaki Marine World are taking part in an event that lets them step into the role of dolphin trainers. Families and other participants observed the animals closely and gave signals by blowing whistles or swaying their bodies on the very stage used for regular shows. One participant said, “It made me happy to see the dolphins respond just as I signaled.” Another added, “They are so cute, and it was fun to meet their eyes.”

The dolphin trainer experience is offered by reservation through April 5th next year.

In Tokushima, residents marked the equinoctial holiday with the traditional ritual of suna-kyu, in which footprints left in sand are treated with moxibustion to pray for health and well-being. The practice, said to date back about 250 years when farmers learned it from a traveling monk, is performed at both spring and autumn equinoxes.

Visitors pressed their footprints into sand in a wooden box before receiving the ritual treatment. Some brought socks from family members unable to attend, believing that even imprints left in socks carry benefits. One participant commented, “It gives me a refreshing feeling. I’m glad I came with my whole family.”

Source: ABCTVnews

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A massive tornado-like phenomenon was observed late in the morning of October 2nd off the coast of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture’s Shonai region, with thick swirling clouds rising high into the sky as seawater was drawn upward.

Maebashi Mayor Akira Ogawa held a closed-door meeting with all city council members on October 2nd to explain her repeated hotel meetings with a married senior city official, but afterward she avoided stating whether she would resign.

A two-story wooden house collapsed in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward on the night of September 30th, with experts suggesting that the ground beneath the property, rather than the building itself, gave way, likely due to a cracked retaining wall.

Heavy rainfall battered parts of Hokkaido, with some areas receiving more than a month’s worth of precipitation in only six hours, prompting flood warnings and evacuation advisories. Meteorologists are saying the downpour was the result of a combination of unstable atmospheric conditions and moist air flowing in from the sea.

Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture has approved the introduction of a bathing tax, but the measure is drawing strong criticism from local hot spring operators since only two facilities fall under the new levy.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Web3 NEWS

More than 60 percent of parents with young children expressed interest in using artificial intelligence to support childcare, according to a survey released by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance.

With the rapid development of the cryptocurrency market, Wall Street tycoons are flocking to the market, and retail investors are facing unprecedented competitive pressure.

Motorola on September 30th announced the release of its new foldable smartphone series, the razr 60, which features an outer display that allows users to operate apps without opening the device.

Japan is facing a troubling rise in child suicides even as overall suicide numbers decline, with a record 529 elementary, junior high, and high school students taking their own lives last year, prompting the Agency for Children and Families to launch a nationwide investigation of attempted suicides from October.

As for the short answer, the best website to buy TikTok followers in 2025 is SocialWick.

Japan’s government is now weighing plans to develop humanoid machines capable of such roles by 2030, as breakthroughs in artificial intelligence make it possible for robots to undergo years of accelerated learning in virtual environments, mastering movement, reflexes, and adaptability that allow them to operate in unpredictable real-world conditions without relying on cameras or sensors.

Quantum AI just modeled the third confirmed interstellar visitor—3I/ATLAS—and the results don’t behave like any comet template we use. (Spacialize)

News no longer ends at the headline. It begins there. A story in Tokyo might start in a newspaper, but before the day is over, it is being reshared on Instagram, dissected in comments and reimagined in memes.