TOKYO - Meta has opened an interactive event in Tokyo's Shibuya district that deliberately makes convenience-store shopping difficult, using the unusual setting to demonstrate how artificial intelligence could make everyday tasks easier.
The U.S. technology company began the event, called Worlds Most Inconvenient Convenience Store!?, on August 28, marking Meta's first consumer-oriented experiential event of its kind in Japan.
Although convenience stores are normally designed around speed and ease, the temporary store does the opposite. Staff members may not speak Japanese, while some products have packaging that customers cannot read.
Visitors are encouraged to overcome those obstacles using Meta's AI applications and devices.
In one demonstration, a visitor takes a photograph of an onigiri package whose labeling cannot be understood. Meta AI analyzes the image and identifies the rice ball as kombu-flavored.
Another feature allows visitors to generate an advertisement-style image based on a photograph of themselves. When the image is held up to a camera installed above a display shelf, a lock opens and the customer can retrieve a product.
At the checkout counter, staff members speak Spanish, creating another deliberately inconvenient situation. Visitors can put on Meta's AI glasses, which translate the foreign language in real time and allow them to communicate with the employee.
Meta said the event is intended to make AI feel as familiar and accessible as a convenience store by allowing consumers to experience directly how the technology can assist with everyday activities.
Masahiro Ajisawa, representative director of Meta's Japanese subsidiary, said Meta AI has been available in Japan since November 2025, but the company wants consumers to better understand how easily it can be incorporated into daily life.
"We want people to experience how Meta AI can support their convenience by showing them that it can be used in familiar, everyday situations," Ajisawa said.
Source: フジテレビ 報道【公式】
