Hacker News with Generative AI: Japan

Japan Post launches 'digital address' system (japantimes.co.jp)
Japan Post said Monday that it has launched a "digital address" system that links seven-digit combinations of numbers and letters to physical addresses.
Why Japan's Gen Z is 'quiet quitting' work (dw.com)
It is a far cry from their parents' generation, but 20-something Japanese are happy to sacrifice a career and better pay for an improved work-life balance.
Sharp X68000 (wikipedia.org)
The X68000 (Japanese: エックス ろくまんはっせん, Hepburn: Ekkusu Rokuman Hassen) is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation.
The legacy of the iconic Nakagin capsule tower (designboom.com)
The Nakagin Capsule Tower returns to public view this summer in a new light, as MoMA in New York opens an exhibition centered on its half-century lifespan.
The world of Japan's PC-98 computer (strangecomforts.com)
You’ve probably wondered where these otherworldly pixel-art images seen across the web are coming from. The answer is the PC-98.
A Spectre is Haunting Unicode (2018) (dampfkraft.com)
In 1978 Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry established the encoding that would later be known as JIS X 0208, which still serves as an important reference for all Japanese encodings. However, after the JIS standard was released people noticed something strange - several of the added characters had no obvious sources, and nobody could tell what they meant or how they should be pronounced. Nobody was sure where they came from.
Show HN: Infinite Hagakure (hagakure.space)
Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent.
How Japan Invented Modern Shipbuilding (construction-physics.com)
After the war, practitioners brought them to Japan, where they would continue to evolve, eventually allowing Japan to build ships faster and cheaper than almost anyone else in the world.
NTT Docomo, popularizer of emoji, ends own emoji set after 26 years (nikkei.com)
Tokyo Architect's 7 Level Compact Home, 59sqm/635sqft [video] (youtube.com)
“There are people who can see and others who cannot even look” (worldhistory.substack.com)
In 1862, Japanese travelers arrived in Europe for the first time in 240 years.
The Lost Japanese ROM of the Macintosh Plus (journaldulapin.com)
If you look for information about the Macintosh Plus and its ROM, you’ll usually find that the ROM has a capacity of 128 KB and that it exists in three revisions. But that’s incorrect: there’s a fourth ROM, 256 KB in size, which includes fonts for kanji (Japanese characters). And I found (and preserved) this ROM.
The Japanese method of creating forests comes to Mexico (elpais.com)
In English, the Japanese concept satoyama translates as “village” and “mountain.” These are rural environments where communities manage forests and farmland based on a sustainable system, harnessing their resources without harming them, in a kind of sacred pact between humans and nature for living in harmony.
10 Japanese Concepts That Will Change How You See the World (kanjimaster.ai)
Japan's language and culture are deeply intertwined, with kanji characters capturing ideas rich in philosophy and life wisdom. These unique concepts offer more than vocabulary—they provide insight into a distinctive worldview that can reshape your own perspectives. Here are ten influential Japanese concepts expressed through kanji that will inspire you and change the way you see the world.
Japan's IC cards are weird and wonderful (aruarian.dance)
While I was in Japan over winter, one thing that stood out to me was the incredible public transport system. Efficient and reliable, as expected, but the tap-in-tap-out gates at the stations were suspiciously fast. The London Underground gates don't work nearly as quick with Google Pay or any of my other contactless cards - what gives?
Title Register and Drive Kei Vehicles (colorado.gov)
A kei vehicle is the smallest road-legal, 4-wheeled vehicle in Japan and is imported into the United States as a used vehicle.
A Typical Workday at a Japanese Hardware Tool Store [video] (youtube.com)
Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon ahead of a June touchdown (phys.org)
A private lunar lander from Japan is now circling the moon, with just another month to go before it attempts a touchdown.
Tsunami Stone (wikipedia.org)
A tsunami stone is a stone monument that warns people to move upwards after a large earthquake to avoid a potential tsunami.
Ryukoku University FTP Server (ryukoku.ac.jp)
We May Be About to Lose a Powerful Force in Video Game Preservation (timeextension.com)
"Currently, in our bank account, we have £2100 (around $2800). It's not even enough to pay the rent for one month," explains Joseph Redon, head of the Japanese Game Preservation Society. He's describing the end of the non-profit organisation he set up in 2011 with the aim of properly safeguarding Japanese gaming history before it is lost forever.
Snake halts Japanese bullet trains after wrapping around power line (bbc.com)
One of Japan's busiest bullet train lines came to a halt after a snake tangled itself in a power line, causing a power outage.
Japan unveils first solar super-panel (japanenergyevent.com)
Once Shunned by Japanese Consumers, Korean Rice Now Flies Off the Shelves (nytimes.com)
Japanese consumers have historically steered clear of foreign rice. But facing high prices, they rushed last week to buy the first South Korean imports to Japan in decades, clearing the shelves within days, South Korean officials said.
Many cultures borrow. Japan transforms (nytimes.com)
Throughout its history, the country has taken imports and changed them into something else entirely.
Tokyo Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (japan.travel)
Explore Tokyo's depths at this underground marvel of modern engineering
Tokyo court fines Amazon Japan ¥35M over counterfeit products (japantimes.co.jp)
The Tokyo District Court on Friday ordered Amazon Japan to pay ¥35 million in damages to a Japanese distributor of a medical device, ruling that the platform’s failure to remove Chinese counterfeit products — which appeared on the site as if they were the same product — led to a loss in sales.
California overtakes Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy (cnn.com)
Japan embraces lab-made fuels despite costs and climate concerns (japantimes.co.jp)
For Japan’s largest utilities, lab-made fuels are a meaningful step toward greener energy that also extends the life of billions of dollars’ worth of existing fossil-fuel infrastructure.
California overtakes Japan to become the fourth-largest economy (cnn.com)