Hacker News with Generative AI: Japan

Testing DVD-R and CD-R 25 years later: optical disks from Japan (goughlui.com)
As it turns out, “thrift shopping” in Japan via the internet can be both very enjoyable as well as very dangerous.

Technology, Reviews, Japan

175 points by csdvrx 2 days ago | 81 comments

Japan warns 'big one' earthquake could kill 300k people (ft.com)

Japan, Earthquakes, Natural Disasters, Prediction, Safety

8 points by marban 3 days ago | 2 comments

Kyoto so packed with tourists that Japanese are staying away (asahi.com)
KYOTO--Japanese on sightseeing trips seem to be avoiding key landmarks in this historic city due to the hordes of foreign visitors that residents also gripe about.

Tourism, Japan, Kyoto

6 points by rntn 4 days ago | 0 comments

TSMC, Intel and other top chipmakers slow Japan, Malaysia expansions (nikkei.com)
Leading chipmakers and packagers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel have slowed the pace of their expansions in Japan and Malaysia due to lackluster demand for older chips and tariff uncertainties, Nikkei Asia has learned.

Semiconductors, Manufacturing, Japan, Malaysia, Global Economy

36 points by pdyc 5 days ago | 11 comments

Typed Japanese (github.com/typedgrammar)
If you can write TypeScript, you can understand Japanese!

Programming Languages, TypeScript, Japan, Learning, Open Source

120 points by Philpax 6 days ago | 37 comments

Japan is 3D printing train stations now (theregister.com)
You've seen small 3D printed models, heard about 3D printers being used to make guns, and even read news about printed food, but a 3D printed train station? Where else could this be but Japan?

3D Printing, Japan, Infrastructure, Transportation

11 points by LorenDB 6 days ago | 1 comments

Is This Sex Offender Map in Japan Legal? (unseen-japan.com)
Beset by a rash of repeat sex offenders and abusers, Japan is finally implementing a national sex offender registry for organizations whose employees work with children and other vulnerable populations. However, some parents say they want more tools to identify potential offenders in their neighborhoods.

Japan, Law, Crime, Sex Offenders

16 points by gnabgib 6 days ago | 26 comments

Japanese scientists create new plastic that dissolves in saltwater overnight (newatlas.com)
Scientists at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that’s just as stable in everyday use but dissolves quickly in saltwater, leaving behind safe compounds.

Science, Materials Science, Environmental Technology, Chemistry, Japan

194 points by bentobean 7 days ago | 121 comments

In Japan, an Iceless Lake and an Absent God Sound an Ancient Warning (nytimes.com)
For at least six centuries, residents along a lake in the mountains of central Japan have marked the depth of winter by celebrating the return of a natural phenomenon once revered as the trail of a wandering god.

Japan, Environment, Culture, Folklore, Mythology

6 points by occamschainsaw 7 days ago | 1 comments

Abel Prize Awarded to Japanese Mathematician Who Abstracted Abstractions (nytimes.com)
Masaki Kashiwara, a Japanese mathematician, received this year’s Abel Prize, which aspires to be the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in math. Dr. Kashiwara’s highly abstract work combined algebra, geometry and differential equations in surprising ways.

Mathematics, Awards, Japan, Algebra, Geometry

12 points by donohoe 9 days ago | 0 comments

Tokyo court orders former Unification Church to disban (nhk.or.jp)
A court in Japan has ordered the group once called the Unification Church to disband as a religious corporation. The group is expected to appeal.

Religion, Japan, Law, Court Cases

7 points by nipponese 10 days ago | 3 comments

Experts in Japan urge preparations for major eruption of Mt. Fuji (nhk.or.jp)
A government-appointed panel in Japan has come up with measures on what to do if Mount Fuji erupts on a massive scale and spews large amounts of ash.

Volcanoes, Japan, Natural Disasters, Disaster Planning

10 points by baxtr 11 days ago | 0 comments

Tatsuo Horiuchi, 77-Year-Old Artist 'Paints' Japanese Landscapes with Excel (2017) (thisiscolossal.com)
For over 15 years, Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi has rendered the subtle details of mountains, cherry blossoms, and dense forests with the most unlikely tool: Microsoft Excel.

Art, Technology, Japan

6 points by noja 17 days ago | 0 comments

At 95, He's the World's Oldest Speedskater. He's Gunning for 100. (nytimes.com)
When Iichi Marumo competed in his first international race seven years ago in Moscow, the Japanese speedskater moved down the ice at about the pace of a brisk jog. It took him three times as long to cross the finish line as most of the other skaters that day.

Sports, Aging, Japan

14 points by bookofjoe 18 days ago | 3 comments

Cat-Eared Robots Are Waiting Tables in Japan's Restaurants (bloomberg.com)

Robotics, Japan, Food Service

43 points by xqcgrek2 26 days ago | 41 comments

NTT Com says hackers accessed details of almost 18,000 organizations (techcrunch.com)
Japanese telecom giant NTT Communications (NTT Com) has confirmed that hackers accessed the data of almost 18,000 corporate customers during a February cyberattack, affecting an as-yet-unknown number of individuals.

Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Japan, Telecommunications, Corporate Security

3 points by hassanahmad 27 days ago | 0 comments

Sony and Suntory build US stockpiles as Japan faces tariff threat (japantimes.co.jp)
Japanese electronics giant Sony and drinks maker Suntory are stockpiling inventory in the United States while their peers shift production or supply chains in efforts to fend off an evolving threat of U.S. tariffs on the export-reliant economy.

Trade, Tariffs, Japan, Business, Economics

3 points by anigbrowl 28 days ago | 0 comments

Japan's Clever Anti-Snow Roadways (core77.com)
Niigata, Japan gets a lot of snow. Way back in the 1960s, they figured out a way to keep the roads clear of snow without requiring plows. Groundwater warmed by geothermal heat is pumped through a network of pipes below the road surface, and sprayed onto the asphalt using sprinklers:

Japan, Infrastructure, Engineering, Sustainability

12 points by surprisetalk 28 days ago | 3 comments

The Japanese App Where Everyone Speaks Chinese (But Not Really) (sixthtone.com)
In December 2024, a solo Japanese software developer known as asa quietly uploaded a new program to the Apple and major Android app stores. Called Tsuita, it’s essentially an ultra-simple online platform with just a single, rudimentary function: allowing users to post short, text-only messages.

Japan, Social Media, Mobile Apps, Language Learning

20 points by hunglee2 31 days ago | 3 comments

3 Yrs on, Ukrainian evacuees help ballet project grow in Japan (kyodonews.net)
Ukrainian ballet dancers Nelia Ivanova and Svitlana Shlikhter were deeply moved when the audience gave a standing ovation during their Japan-based troupe's performance in Latvia ahead of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine, Ballet, Japan, Culture, Refugees

3 points by rawgabbit 31 days ago | 0 comments

China tells Japan not to disrupt Taiwan Strait peace after ship passage (japantoday.com)
China on Monday urged Japan not to disrupt peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait following revelations over the weekend that a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer sailed through the area in February.

China, Japan, Taiwan, International Relations, Military

8 points by etiam 31 days ago | 1 comments

Fish-gathering plate proves a big hit with anglers (japantimes.co.jp)
Showa Kogyo, a metal processing firm in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, has developed a fish-gathering plate to attract thread-sail filefish as its first attempt in its 76-year history to create its own product.

Fishing, Japan, Product Development, Innovation, Manufacturing

3 points by PaulHoule 31 days ago | 0 comments

The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022) (stlartsupply.com)
It was the summer of 1952, and the executives of Tombow Pencil were about to revolutionize the Japanese pencil industry—or, possibly, fall flat on their faces.

Japanese Pencils, History, Business, Japan

392 points by apokryptein 31 days ago | 113 comments

Sayonara, R35: Nissan Japan has stopped taking orders for the GT-R (topgear.com)
After nearly two decades of embarrassing supercars, Nissan has officially stopped taking orders for the indomitable R35 GT-R in Japan.

Cars, Japan, Nissan, GT-R

153 points by teleforce 31 days ago | 154 comments

JPN Govt to Consider Blocking Access to Online Casino Sites (yomiuri.co.jp)
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will consider such measures as blocking access to websites hosting online casinos after discussing the matter with experts and others, it was learned Friday.

Gambling, Japan, Legislation, Online Gaming

5 points by enpera 32 days ago | 0 comments

Ruby not dead it seems (gitlab.io)
Ruby is an easy to learn programming language, it was invented by a guy named Matz [1] in Japan. Ruby is a free [2] software and can be used by anyone for zero cost. Ruby’s popularity was initially confined to Japan, later it slowly trickled out to rest of the world. Things changed with the emergence of Ruby on Rails [3] which is a popular web-development framework written with Ruby.

Programming, Ruby, Web Development, Japan

36 points by puuush 33 days ago | 5 comments

Japan births fall to lowest in 125 years (ft.com)

Demographics, Japan, Population, Births

29 points by marban 36 days ago | 161 comments

A 'joyful' Japan? Ishiba's slogan sparks the opposite feelings (japantimes.co.jp)
When Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addressed parliament on Jan. 24, he sought to lay out a vision for a new Japan.

Japan, Politics, Elections, Prime Minister, Social Commentary

5 points by PaulHoule 36 days ago | 2 comments

ALPS CP10SJ550A Kanji Keyboard (2019) (deskthority.net)
This just arrived from in the mail from Japan and wanted to share. I haven't done a full teardown yet but here are some poor quality pictures and a little information on what I have learned about it.