JAPAN WUT? Podcast

10 Episodes
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By: Matt Bigelow

Japan news analysis, AI markets in Tokyo, and rising conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

JAPAN WUT PODCAST 209 "THE UNCONNECTED CONNECTED"
Yesterday at 7:40 AM

Why are Japan’s automakers doing so poorly? Is it wise for Japan to use seized Russian assets to fund Ukraine? How will facial recognition be used to personalize your cancer medication?

SHOW NOTES

JAPAN 

Nissan to post biggest ever loss in fiscal 2024 amid restructuring

Toyota truck arm Hino posts record net loss for FY 2024 on data fraud

Quality scandal sends Toyota global output down for 1st time in 4 years

Mazda to seek early retirement volunteers as industry shifts

China's fast-growing EV makers pursuing varied rou...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 208 "MECHANIZED PTERODACTYLUS FROM THE FUTURE"
04/18/2025

Is the Osaka Expo being used as a technocratic training ground? How can supply chains can be weaponized asymmetrically? Would you talk to an AI-resurrected family member at their funeral?

SHOW NOTES

JAPAN DEPOPULATION / MIGRATION 

Japan’s Population Declines for Fourteenth Straight Year: Over-75 Cohort Continues to Grow

Japan faces severe shortage of carpenters as home prices soar

Teacher helps Myanmar people learn Japanese, escape hardships

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Japan 'deeply concerned' about global economic fallout from Trump's trade tariffs: Kato

Japan protests to...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 207 “TREACHEROUS A.I. DOGS”
04/09/2025

Where are the treacherous A.I. dogs coming from? How do N. Korean IT scams affect Japan? Are Japan’s business leaders asleep at the wheel?

ECONOMY 

Japan bankruptcies in FY2024 top 10,000

SUCKERS & TRAITORS

2 Japanese men suspected of aiding N. Korean IT impersonator

Taiwan jails four soldiers, including three who worked in presidential office, for spying for China

Intel and Microsoft staff allegedly lured to work for fake Chinese company in Taiwan

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Japan MoD and MHI sign contract for the dev...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 206 "DIGITAL BOOMERS"
04/02/2025

Can Japan escape its boomer trappings? How does control of the Panama Canal affect Japan’s long-term interests? Why are Japanese Farmers protesting in favor of rice-price hikes?

SHOW NOTES

JAPAN ECONOMY

Bank of Japan survey says big manufacturers gloomier

Japan enforces food supply emergency law amid soaring costs

Farmers march in downtown Tokyo, demand income security

20-40% of new apartments in the city center are purchased by foreigners. 

XRP For Real Estate? Leading Japanese Company Says Yes!

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR/SOCIETY 5.0

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JAPAN WUT PODCAST 205 "AI ATMOSPHERIC CONSCIOUSNESS"
03/28/2025

How did China surpass Japan as the world’s leading auto exporter? Is Japan poised for victory in the AI Chip War? Why are Data Centers being built near Nuclear Power Plants?

SHOW NOTES

Poland's adjusted income to overtake Japan's by 2026

Rapidus teams up with Singapore's Quest Global to produce AI chips

Battery materials plant in Finland starts construction; jv with China’s Easpring

U.S. blacklists over 50 Chinese companies in bid to curb Beijing’s AI, chip capabilities

SoftBank strengthens AI strategy by acquiring data center semico...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 204 "AI EXTRACTORS"
03/19/2025

Can Japan help financialize the Supply Chain War? Are missiles enough to deter grumpy neighbors? What are we supposed to pass down, if it’s all being extracted by someone else?

SHOW NOTES

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Japan eyes deploying long-range missiles in Kyushu

Japan commissions fourth Awaji-class minesweeper

Ship Wars: Confronting China’s Dual-Use Shipbuilding Empire
Marco Rubio Face the Nation on CBS 00:36-2:30

JAPAN SOCIETY 5.0
Sensory training robot helps pianists break skill limits

Kirin's "Harekaze" social contribution activities promote tree conservation with "Saku...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 203 "AI CUSTOMERS"
03/12/2025

Can Japan solve climate change with $3 million? Why are Japanese companies creating AI Customers? Why aren’t any of Japan’s Universities in the Global Top 100 for AI?

SHOW NOTES

JAPAN

IAEA Upbeat, but Niigata Governor Delays Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Restart

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Japan to give $3 mil to help Pacific islands fight climate change

China's EUV breakthrough: Huawei, SMIC reportedly advancing LDP lithography, eye 3Q25 trial, 2026 rollout

U.S. to levy fees on ships linked to China, push allies to do s...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 202 "DARK AI HOSPITAL"
03/08/2025

Should Japan turn to tech or migrants to plug its draining demographics? How do Japan’s AI markets compare to China’s? Is the US trying to force a change in the Japan alliance?

MIGRATION / POPULATION DECLINE

Number of Japanese Births Continues to Fall in 2024

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Japan brushes aside US demand to boost defense budget to 3% of GDP

Trump Japan Comment

Trump accuses Japan of currency manipulation, hints at tariffs

China and Russia Expand Cooperation on Antarctic Drilling

A Shot Across the...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 201 "DARK FACTORY"
02/28/2025

Should Japan be concerned about China’s patent for a undersea cable cutting device? Who stands to gain from Dark Factories? Can Japan’s AI startup hubs compete on the global stage?

JAPAN

ANA places mega-order of 77 new jets

Japan’s Civil Aviation College to Have Female Applicant Quota from 2027; Quota Hopes to Secure More Female Pilots in Domestic Airlines

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Will the Self-Defense Forces be introduced to a "shocking new weapon"? New images of drone swarms being "neutralized at once" have been released

Japan, Philip...


JAPAN WUT PODCAST 200 "A.I. HAPPY POINTS"
02/21/2025

Did Tokyo implement a social credit score? Why are Japan Banks using A.I. models with blue hair? Who steals a stomach?

SHOW NOTES

JAPAN

Japan's total debt hits record ÂĄ1.3 quadrillion in 2024

SUPPLY CHAIN WAR

Japan launches fourth Hibiki-class auxiliary ocean surveillance ship for the JMSDF

Seven cities in Fukuoka prefecture plan to accept 47,000 evacuees in case of Taiwan emergency;

Taiwan subsea cable breaks, Coast Guard probes nearby ships

SOCIETY 5.0 

Release of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's official app, "Tokyo App,"

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