Japan Update – G7 & more –23rd May 2023

rd of May: 2023

The Group of Seven (or G7) Hiroshima summit began on Friday the 19th, bringing together some of the world's most powerful global leaders. On the first day, they discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and possible measures to fight back. They also discussed the global economy, including how advancing AI developments might impact it. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also brought the leaders to the Peace Memorial Museum, a site dedicated to the tragedy of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, in an effort to emphasize the need to move towards a world without nuclear weapons.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also went to the summit. Kishida invited him in hopes of swaying the leaders to aid war-torn Ukraine. Zelenskyy presented the G7 leaders with what he called a “Ukrainian Peace Formula,” which is essentially a plan to end the war while still being supported by U.N. resolutions. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz encouraged Zelenskyy to also meet with leaders from the Global South, especially countries such as Brazil and India that have not put the same restrictions on Russia as many western countries.

Though Zelenskyy did not see the president of Brazil during the summit, he met with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday the 20th. It was their first in-person meeting since the war began two years ago, and Modi stated that India would do everything it could to help Ukraine.

In the end, the G7 announced new sanctions against Russia, and various countries promised to send military aid to Ukraine.

On Sunday the 21st, somewhat on the side of the summit, Japan and the U.S. also signed a memorandum of cooperation in education, which launched multimillion-dollar educational partnerships in advanced technologies. Part of the agreement is to hold high-level dialogues on education every year. Government officials are hopeful that this will have a positive impact on both countries and the world at large. Tech giants IBM and Google are teaming up with the University of Tokyo and the University of Chicago for research and development, investing 100 and fifty million dollars respectively over the next ten years.

points, its highest since: 1990

Meanwhile, Wednesday the 17th saw record high temperatures for May in many places throughout Japan. At least ten students in Fukuoka Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture had to be sent to the hospital for heat stroke. High temperatures will continue as summer approaches, so locals should stay hydrated and should avoid long periods out in the sun.

On Thursday the 18th, famous Kabuki actor, Ennosuke Ichikawa, was also rushed to the hospital, but for very different reasons. His manager found him, collapsed but alive, along with his parents at their home in Tokyo, both of whom apparently died of an overdose. The police are investigating the incident as a suicide attempt due to the discovery of an apparent suicide note. The exact reason is not yet known, but it is likely related to the multiple allegations of bullying and sexual abuse the actor is currently facing. For the time being, the actor’s Kabuki performances have been canceled.

Moving on, on Tuesday the 23rd, a team of South Korean experts started a four-day survey in Japan to check the water safety from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the plant, will treat and dilute the water, to reduce radioactive elements and ensure the water is drinkable. Since the treated water will be released into the ocean, its safety is of special interest to Japan’s closest neighboring country, Korea. The South Korean team consists of about thirty Nuclear Safety and Security Commission officials and marine environment experts. The first part of the inspection is a two-day visit to the plant to examine how the treated water is stored. Japan hopes to assure Korea of the water’s safety in the survey.

ward was first established in: 2021

Japan isn’t just handing out awards, but making active progress in the realm of technology.

l do a full-scale roll out in: 2024

A Japanese group of universities and other organizations have also been hard at work trying to create an AI that’s good at handling the Japanese language. They’re doing this by developing Large Language Models (or LLMs). LLMs allows an AI to analyze words and automatically generate sentences. This would be specifically for Japanese, as the LLMs being used in other countries are mainly designed for English. One IT firm, CyberAgent, already made an LLM that had learned mainly Japanese, and made it public on Wednesday the 17th.

ion foreign tourists in April: 2023

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! We want to hear from you! Write to us at japan@rorshok.com

Mata Ne!