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Mario Ho Fails to Silence Wakayama IR Misgivings

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Prefectural Assembly Passes Osaka Casino Resort Plan

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The Osaka Prefectural Assembly approved on March 24 the development plan for the Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino on the manmade island Yumeshima, despite lingering doubts over potential soil liquefaction and only conditional commitment by the private companies.

With the backing of the locally dominant Osaka Restoration Association led by Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui, the Osaka City Council is also expected to give its nod to the project on March 29.

In order to be considered for licensing, the IR proposal must be submitted to the national government before the April 28 deadline.

Development costs for the IR are expected to reach ¥1.08 trillion (US$9 billion), including ¥530 billion (US$4.4 billion) in direct investment the MGM Resorts-Orix Corporation led consortium, and the remaining ¥550 billion (US$4.6 billion) through bank loans.

This figure appears to be separate from the ¥79 billion (US$660 million) needed to strengthen and decontaminate the Yumeshima soil, which will be ponied up by Osaka taxpayers.

The passage of the IR plan through the prefectural assembly finally spurred local anti-casino groups to action, with a referendum petition now appearing imminent.

However, this grassroots reaction is likely coming much too late to impact events, and in any case it has no chance to succeed with the pro-IR Osaka Restoration Association dominating the local political offices.

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JoJo’s All-Star Battle R Release

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Bandai Namco and CyberConnect2 have announced the remaster release of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, which will be launched in the early fall of 2022.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle is a 3D fighting game originally released for the PlayStation 3 in 2014, featuring forty characters from the show’s previous animated seasons. The new remaster of the game will expand to a roster capacity of more than fifty characters, to accommodate the characters taken from the new season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean.

Japanese video game publisher and developer Bandai Namco and CyberConnect2, which did the original All-Star Battle, will collaborate once again to work on the remaster of the video game to maintain the authenticity of the creator Hirohiko Araki’s captivating art styles.

The remastered game modes will remain largely unchanged from the original release. However, the remaster does feature a revamped and improved fighting system, with new combos, dashes, and a new tag-team battle system called “Support Attack.”

With over one hundred battles with varying settings and conditions from their revamped All-Star Battle Mode, along with several special cosmetic skins and unique illustrations of the characters, the options have grown considerably.

The precise release date of the new video game remains unknown, but the firms have stated that it will hover between September and October 2022.

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Testing Self-Piloted Ships

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — An Artificial Intelligence-piloted ship successfully performed an extended test voyage along the coast of Japan, a first-of-its kind event at the end of last month.

The AI-piloted container ship, Suzaku, sailed from Tokyo Bay to Ise Bay from February 26 to March 1, without human intervention.

The 790 kilometer voyage was the fifth in a series of tests by the Nippon Foundation’s autonomous ship program.

Program director Satoru Kuwahara told national broadcaster NHK that the ship “was developed to solve the problem of labor shortages on domestic ships as society ages.”

There are still some labor demands even in the case of fully autonomous voyages, but far less manpower is needed compared to conventional shipping.

The tests are backed by the Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ship Consortium, which includes over thirty companies from an array of fields.

The ship was equipped with numerous cameras to scan the coastline and to avoid maritime collisions. The AI piloted its course by measuring the height of waves and taking into account local weather reports. In this way it plotted the safest path to its destination.

In the event of technical failures or emergencies, the AI can switch to a remote manual piloting system.

Since roughly five hundred commercial ships navigate through Tokyo Bay on a daily basis, avoiding collisions was a particular concern of the developers, but the automated ship was able to perform its tasks flawlessly.

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The First Year of Robot Delivery

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Eight Japanese firms came together in mid-February to declare that 2022 is “the first year of robot delivery” as their industry is now making strides toward widespread use within society.

The eight firms used the occasion to establish the Robot Delivery Association. It’s founding members are Honda Motor, Japan Post Holdings, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Panasonic Corporation, Rakuten Group, TIS, Tier IV, and ZMP.

Each of the firms demonstrated their own model delivery robots, some of which are already in practical use.

The robots are expected to roll in to help solve manpower shortage issues in Japan both within indoor use cases and outdoors.

In regard to the latter, one of the first tasks of the Robot Delivery Association will be to establish voluntary safety standards and to create a certification system in the industry for robots utilizing public roads. The government is also moving to set new rules for low-speed, small-sized automated delivery robots.

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Red Tokyo Tower eSports Park

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japan’s largest esports park “Red Tokyo Tower” is preparing its grand opening on April 20, 2022, within the iconic Tokyo Tower of Minato Ward.

The facility will take up five floors of space.

The operator, Tokyo eSports Gate, is an entertainment company that prides itself on the promotion and expansion of the esports industry.

At the moment, only the fifth floor of the facility, the “Ultimate Zone” is open to the public. The other four floors are reserved for the day of the grand opening.

Red Tokyo Tower will include dedicated PC areas with 32 gaming PCs with the most advanced specs, e-motorsport simulators with the latest game titles, streaming rooms for live performances, card and board game arenas, and a food court.

The fourth floor, or the “Attraction Zone,” will cater to people who enjoy mysteries and problem solving.

The third floor, or the “Inspiration Zone,” will be primarily for retro and virtual reality game enthusiasts.

Finally, the first-floor “Wonder Zone” is targeted at families with children, including playgrounds and puzzle-related challenges to stimulate intellectual curiosity.

The first floor will also offer a cafe restaurant for family experiences.

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ACSL Launches LTE-Compatible Domestic Drone

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — ACSL has developed an LTE-compatible drone that can be remotely operated throughout all of Japan.

ACSL recently announced that it will start offering and developing drones that can be remotely steered through LTE-compatible PF2-LTE. The combination of technologies allows users to control drones from any location within Japan via LTE.

ACSL is known for its domestic industrial drones and autonomous control technologies, which are used in a variety of fields such as logistics, disaster, and infrastructure inspection. With the demand for LTE flight options significantly increasing, specifications for the LTE flights through PF2-LTE have been significantly improved.

The biggest and most important feature of the LTE is that it no longer requires direct communication between the drone and the ground station, thus enabling unassisted non-visual flight from all locations via internet connections.

It is also important to note that since these LTE drones are compatible with multiple carriers, it is technically possible to operate several drones at the same time.

Otherwise, the PF2-LTE drones have a size under 1.2 meters in total length including the propellers, 65 centimeters in height, and just over 7 kilograms in weight with the two batteries included. The drone has maximum flight time of around 30 minutes with a payload, and 15 minutes with a maximum payload capacity of 2.75 kilograms. The drone is also dust-proof and waterproof.

The domestic version of PF2-LTE will become available for purchase sometime this spring.

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Mario Ho Fails to Silence Wakayama IR Misgivings

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The appearance on March 17 of Mario Ho and other representatives of the Clairvest Group-led consortium aiming to build the ¥470 billion (US$4 billion) Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino in Wakayama city failed to quell the misgivings of some members of the IR Countermeasures Special Committee of the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly.

Clairvest is gradually filling some of the details about the shape of the consortium and its financing arrangements, but even at the eleventh hour information gaps remain.

What is currently public is that 30% of the needed construction funds—¥145 billion (US$1.2 billion)—are expected to come from the direct investment of the partners, and the remaining 70%—¥325 billion (US$2.8 billion)—is to be covered by borrowing.

The facts are not entirely clear with regard to either portion.

As for the investment segment, 27.5% is expected to be put up by Clairvest Neem Ventures, 27.5% by the Canadian mother company Clairvest Group, 5% by casino giant Caesars Entertainment, and 40% by “minority shareholders.”

And who exactly are these minority shareholders? Nishimatsu Construction is the only one that has been specifically named, and it is not clear how much money they would be investing.

Similarly, there are now three financial institutions that have been named in regard to the provision of loans—Credit Suisse, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Hanwha Investment & Securities—but it is not evident exactly how much they would loan to the project, and it does not appear that they have yet made firm commitments beyond letters of intent.

Nevertheless, Mario Ho (a son of the late Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho) gave an upbeat account to the committee through a video link from China, declaring that he has full confidence in the plan.

Ho also promised that if construction expenses turned out to be greater than anticipated, or other similar problems emerged, then he would not seek compensation from the taxpayers of the prefecture.

“I decided to move forward after understanding the political risks,” he says.

Takeshi Kaji of Clairvest Neem Ventures, when asked about the impact of the Covid pandemic, speculated that the local economy will likely pick up by the latter half of this decade when the facility opens its doors.

Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka, who has been the main booster for IR development since the beginning, pronounced himself satisfied, telling the committee, “The certainty of the investment has increased considerably. I think this will work.”

Others are not so sure. Committee Chairman Masaki Fujiyama said, “The plan is moving forward, but I want them to respond more sincerely and to make it a more concrete and persuasive plan.”

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Air Traffic System Passes Yumeshima Test

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — An air mobility integrated flight management system was successfully tested on the manmade island of Yumeshima, Osaka, in mid-February.

The consortium which conducted the tests is made up of Terra Drone, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Mitsui & Co., and Aero Asahi. These partners first came together in August 2021.

The aim of this particular test was to confirm that real-time traffic data can be safely transmitted between various forms of air transport, such as the helicopters, drones, and eVTOL that may share the skies at the same time, even when emergencies strike and require quick changes to flight plans and evacuation orders.

The specific scenario posited for the test was an emergency that might occur during the 2025 World Expo in which a security alert is issued. An airspace control center was sited at the Sakishima Government Building.

JAXA contributed support through its Disaster Relief Aircraft Information Sharing Network (D-Net) technology, and Terra Drone offered its own expertise in aerial traffic management.

The consortium reported that all tests of the system proved successful.

The Osaka Prefectural Government is planning for the 2025 World Expo to be the effective launch of the eVTOL industry in Japan, with companies offering air taxi services from the city center to the fairgrounds at Yumeshima.

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Elden Ring Holiday in Japan

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Employees of Japanese video game developer company Pocket Pair were granted days off to play the latest, hottest video game Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is a fantasy action roleplaying video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, known for its development and publication of other popular action roleplaying video game series such as Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

Dark Souls 3, in particular, was the series’ biggest hit, with over 10 million units sold across the globe.

However, Elden Ring has now demolished that sales record.

In fact, the game is so popular that sone companies in Japan took notice and even provided their employees with time off work to focus on the game.

Pocket Pair was one of the companies to formally announce an “Elden Holiday” for all of its staff members, as the human resources department noticed that several of its employees neglecting their work as they were too distracted by Elden Ring.

Last year, Japanese tech company Mark-on announced a “Monster Hunter Holiday” following the release of Monster Hunter Rise

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Shaky Ground! Osaka’s Casino Resort Plans

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The project to build a major Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino on the manmade island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay has at certain periods appeared to be rock solid, but the most recent developments underline the fact that while its prospects for advance are reasonable, it remains on shaky ground.

In fact, one of the biggest controversies at the moment literally concerns the ground upon which the MGM-Orix resort may be built.

Public enthusiasm for the project definitely cooled near the end of last year when Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui belatedly conceded that local taxpayers would have to pick up an additional ¥79 billion (US$680 million) tab to strengthen and decontaminate the soil earmarked for the development.

Matsui had long insisted that local taxpayers would face no financial burden for the project beyond what had been previously outlined, only to later reveal an unwelcome US$680 million surprise.

It turned out that scientific surveys revealed both that arsenic and fluorine exceeding the standard amounts were found in the soil of the planned construction site, as well as the fact that the manmade island may be particularly vulnerable to liquefaction in the event of a major earthquake, and will need to be reinforced.

While Matsui’s effective control of the local government through the Osaka Restoration Association means that he will most likely be able to gain political approval, the Osaka City Council has nevertheless invited MGM Resorts Japan CEO Ed Bowers and Orix Executive Officer Toyonori Takahashi to appear at their next meeting on March 16 to discuss the matter.

It also emerged in February that the new basic agreement between Osaka and the MGM-Orix consortium includes an unusual “escape clause” that allows the operators to withdraw from the project later if they decide that it no longer makes financial sense for their firms, such as if they determine that the lingering impact of the Covid pandemic may cripple the IR’s future prospects.

This sort of “escape clause” is a far cry from the usual practice in the IR industry. It reflects the strong bargaining position of the MGM-Orix within the context of being the only candidate IR operator that bid for Osaka, as well as lingering concerns about Japan’s overall regulatory and taxation plans.

Should they choose to trigger the escape clause and give up their IR construction project, the MGM-Orix consortium would be on the hook for only a ¥650 million (US$5.6 million) fee, which is hardly very painful for corporations of this size.

The IR consortium is supposed to make its final decision on whether or not to proceed with the Yumeshima project thirty days after the national government licenses the casino resort (itself by no means an absolute certainty).

However, there is also provision for the local government and the consortium to delay the final decision to an undetermined, later date, meaning that, potentially, the period of uncertainty could drag on for months or even years after the IR license is received, if conditions make that seem a wise course of action.

The most recent projections call for the Yumeshima IR to open its doors in late 2029.

Panasonic, Suntory, and JR West are among the roughly twenty other companies expected to participate in the consortium, holding a combined 20% share, while MGM Resorts and the Orix Corporation each hold a 40% share.

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JAL-KDDI Drone Venture Lifts Off

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japan Airlines (JAL) and telecom titan KDDI are combining their efforts to bring drones to Tokyo skies. The partners have announced that they’ve signed a joint venture to “build the social infrastructure” of the industry, in large part through a drone traffic management system.

Last month, the two firms conducted test flight deliveries of pharmaceutical supplies in Japan’s capital. Drones flew two kilometers over the Sumida River from pharmaceutical wholesaler Mediceo’s distribution center to St. Luke’s International Hospital. The delivery was executed in approximately ten minutes.

The drone proved capable of carrying up to 2.75 kilograms, plateauing at a height of 80 meters over the Sumida River, crossing three bridges.

KDDI’s Smart Drone Tools, a 4G LTE communication system, may be implemented in future tests.

These experiments are being conducted over Tokyo with an eye on the anticipated lifting of the ban on Level 4 drone flights in Japan, which will allow beyond visual line of sight flights in populated areas under certain conditions.

JAL and KDDI expect their venture to produce revenue of ¥10 billion (US$86 million) in the next three years.

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eVTOL VR Flight Experience

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Deloitte Tohmatsu, the volunteer organization Dream On, Mitsubishi Estate, and Tokyo Marunouchi Innovation Platform held a demonstration experiment related to eVTOL using a VR experience vehicle.

This event was held for two consecutive days on February 28 and March 1 at 3×3 Lab Future in Marunouchi, central Tokyo. This event targeted businesspeople in Marunouchi district.

The purpose of the experiment was to gauge the degree of social acceptance that eVTOL may enjoy in Japan. This impacts their possible utilization and deployment in the future. Also, it expands awareness within Japanese society of the rapidly developing eVTOL industry.

The VR scenario was an eVTOL trip from a local airport to a hotel. It is thought one of the uses of eVTOL in Japan will be airport transportation. Participants wore the VR headsets and experienced a series of processes within the eVTOL boarding experience.

This included, first of all, checking in for a flight, receiving a ticket, and passing a security check.

Then, passengers “boarded” an eVTOL. After the flight, the passengers transferred to the next stage of the overall transportation network, and so forth.

By demonstrating what an eVTOL flight may feel like through this VR experience, the organizers aimed to reveal the potential business opportunities in related fields.

The next steps toward social acceptance are being considered, with the objective of eventually bringing eVTOLs closer to a practical reality for urban transportation.

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Japanese eSports Athletes Fired On Ethical Grounds

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Xordac Prime

By J J Orallo

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Following the firing of former Cyclops Athlete Gaming professional gamer Kana “Tanukana” Tani for offensive remarks against people’s physical characteristics, its Call of Duty manager “Kbaton” was also released for verbal misconduct.

Cyclops Athlete Gaming is a Japanese esports organization based in Osaka which was created by the merger of Infinity Osaka and Cyclops Osaka in 2017. The organization is well-known for its involvement in fostering young esports talents in popular first-person shooters such as PUBG, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Valorant, and Rainbow Six Siege (R6S). The organization also participates in fighting games like Tekken as well.

The organization’s overall performance is subpar, with its most noteworthy achievements coming in local tournaments, including a first-place finish in the R6S Japan League 2021, R6S PAC-CUP Season 8 Japan, and a seventh-place finish in the Call of Duty Challengers 2021 Asia Pacific Finals. A majority of their international placements usually hover in the lower brackets.

In spite of this rather mediocre record, the organization did manage to accomplish some international successes, especially through their now former Tekken representative, Kana “Tanukana” Tani. Her most recent and meaningful contribution to the organization was her first-place finish in the Female World Electronic Sports Games 2019 Chongqing Tekken 7 Invitational, giving the team her winnings of ¥230,000 (US$2,000).

This performance brought her local and international recognition in the female gaming community, and allowed her to be featured in the mainstream Japanese press.

However, her rise to fame and recognition came to an abrupt end after she made several inappropriate remarks during one of her livestreams on February 15. Specifically, she stated, “Men under 170 centimeters (5 feet, 7 inches) should not be allowed human rights. Girls who are A-cup also.”

Tanukana’s ill-considered comments enraged the online community of Japan, with many users criticizing Cyclops Gaming for tolerating her bigoted statements.

Tanukana was already on thin ice for past instances of verbal misconduct.

In 2018, when co-streaming with South Korean Tekken player “Kkokkoma,” Tanukana made several distasteful comments about her cohost, implying in a demeaning manner that he was a homosexual. In a 2020 livestream, she told several of her fans to “kill themselves” and referred to them as “the trashiest trash of society.”

Tanukana released a public apology on Twitter for her latest comments, stating that she deeply regretted what she had said and is remorseful. But the damage was done, and it seems that her career as a professional Tekken player may have come to a conclusion.

Shortly thereafter, another firing occurred at Cyclops Athletes Gaming. This time is was Call of Duty manager Kbaton, who has found to have a long history of homophobia and bashing the LGBT community.

Kbaton’s verbal misconduct came to light shortly after the firing of Tanukana, as Cyclops conducted an internal survey of bigoted behavior by its athletes and staff.

Kbaton’s offenses were discovered mainly on Twitter, where he not only mocked the LGBT community with hurtful slurs but also made slurs against disabled people. Kbaton’s social media outlets were quickly deleted after he was let go by the team.

The organization’s struggle with inappropriate statements are not entirely limited to the recently fired pair. Their current R6S starter Taiyo “Ayagator” Hirayama was found to have made discriminatory claims regarding people of Chinese and Korean descent before joining Cyclops.

Cyclops Athletes Gaming has made several public apologies for their inattentiveness to background checks, and for not taking immediate action on their player’s and staff’s inappropriate statements.

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Drone License Center Opening

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japan UAV License Center (JULC), focusing on education, guidance, certification, and certification tests for drone operations, will launch from next month.

Japanese laws and regulations have been changing in line with the growing need for drone flights. The Civil Aeronautics Act was revised last June, establishing a pilot competence certification system.

In the short term at least–before systems become fully automated–proper drone pilot education will become more in demand.

JULC is headed by Yoshiharu Nakamura, a pilot from DJI Japan, who has been promoting the safe use of drones for many years, and oversees a team of pilot instructors.

JULC will offer three training curriculums: industrial utilization courses, functional learning courses, and online seminars.

Industrial utilization courses include flight training such as education about flight methods, flight plans, and camera use, as well as industrial application classes.

Functional learning courses allow students to learn not only the piloting techniques, but also the many functions of drones in order to operate them more safely and securely, such as how to utilize the latest drone models and to gain a deeper understanding of the models that they are currently using.

Online seminars allow students to learn about various drone-related topics, as taught by experts from companies and organizations throughout Japan.

JULC will open schools in Aomori, Kanagawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, and Tochigi prefectures. The plan is for the number of schools to expand in future years.

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Sega Sammy Still Boosted by Video Games

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Even though it has been forced to ditch its line of Sega branded arcades, Sega Sammy is surviving the woes of the pandemic largely on the basis of brisk sales of video games.

In the nine month period between April-December 2021, the company’s digital entertainment segment brought in the cash, while its pachinko-pachislot segment, too, nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The firm’s resorts segment, however, continued to struggle.

Consolidated net sales totaled ¥237 billion (US$2.48 billion), and ordinary profits of ¥34 billion (US$296 million).

This was largely due to its entertainment contents efforts: ¥178 billion (US$1.5 billion) of the sales, about 75%, came from this area.

The company highlighted the particular success of the video games Shin Megami Tensei V, the newest entry in this series in roughly eight years, Football Manager 2022, and Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, which appeared on Nintendo Switch, among other platforms.

Commercial merchandise was also cited as a substantial contributor to sales.

Pachinko and pachislot machines contributed ¥51.8 billion (US$449 million) during the period. This was a 39% increase in sales from the previous year.

However, the company added a note of trepidation, stating “there are concerns about the impact from the emergence of the new variant of Covid-19.” (The report accounted for the period up to December 31 of last year, and so the impact of the Omicron wave is yet to be known.)

The resorts business is where Sega Sammy continues to stumble. Resorts accounted for only ¥6.6 billion (US$57 million) of the firm’s net sales, still operating at a significant loss of ¥4.6 billion (US$40 billion).

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Aeronext’s CEO Reappointed to Government Committee

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Aeronext CEO Keisuke Toji has been reappointed for a third consecutive term as a member of the Cabinet Office Concept Committee of the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, and has furthermore received a new appointment to the Study Group on the State of the Intellectual Property Ecosystem Centering on Startups and Universities.

The Cabinet Office Concept Committee, upon which Toji is currently serving, focuses on the creation, protection and exploitation of intellectual property for the benefit of the Japanese nation.

The Study Group on the State of the Intellectual Property Ecosystem Centering on Startups and Universities, as the name suggests, aims to identify problems and solutions related to the intellectual property ecosystem for startups and universities, as well as large corporations.

Intellectual property lay at the core of Aeronext’s business. It’s basic income derives from patent monetization, with the 4D Gravity series, essentially a drone gimbal, serving as its leading product. Since its establishment in April 2017, Aeronext has applied for more than three hundred domestic and international patents.

Before he was brought in as Aeronext CEO, Toji had a decades-long career at Dentsu, in the course of which he gained deep experience in intellectual property issues.

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Eve and Skyports to Assist Japanese Regulators

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Eve Air Mobility, a Brazilian subsidiary of Embraer, and UK-based Skyports have linked up with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau to provide a shared vision for airspace design, operations, infrastructure, and other benefits in order to enable advanced air mobility operations in Japan.

Also affiliated with the initiative are Kanematsu Corporation, a major Japanese trading company with interests in the aerospace industry, and Japan Airlines (JAL), one of the two major national carriers.

In regard to this initiative, Duncan Walker, CEO at Skyports, said, “Our partnership with Eve continues to provide an important means of helping authorities around the world understand and develop the optimum conditions to enable commercial electric air taxi operations. We are honored to be able to bring our unique knowledge of infrastructure provision to bear for the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau to accelerate the adoption of advanced air mobility across Japan.”

Among its other activities, Eve Air Mobility is developing its own eVTOL models, aiming for type certification by the end of 2025. Its first-generation eVTOL is expected to hold a pilot and up to four passengers.

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Quintessential Quintuplets Video Game

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The anime series Quintessential Quintuplets will soon become both a movie and a video game.

It has been announced that the animated film version of the globally and locally well-received anime and manga series Quintessential Quintuplets, created by respected writer and manga artist Haruba Negi, will be joined by a video game adaptation following its release.

The new video game will be titled Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie: Five Memories of My Time with You. It is being developed by Japanese video game company Mages.

The video game will be available for consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, following the release of the movie on May 20.

The game is expected to be launched in Japan on June 2, with both standard and limited editions. Both feature fifteen possible different endings, although the limited edition of the game will come included with a five-disc CD set.

At the moment, there are no announcements regarding the release of the video game outside of Japan.

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Joby Aerial Services in Tokyo

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Xordac Prime

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — California-based Joby Aviation has tightened its links with the Japanese market by forming a partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest airline, and existing patron Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan’s largest automaker.

Through this agreement, Joby and ANA are expected to collaborate on all aspects of establishing aerial ride-sharing services in Japan, including the development of infrastructure, pilot training, flight operations, and air traffic management systems. They will also collaborate to gain public acceptance of eVTOLs, and to assist the authorities in establishing the needed regulatory framework.

Integration with ground transportation will also be considered, with Toyota supporting this effort should it materialize. (Toyota is Joby’s largest outside investor, with nearly US$400 million invested to date.)

Joby founder JoeBen Bevirt commented, “Joby exists to help people save time while reducing their carbon footprint. Japan offers us a spectacular opportunity to do just that with 92% of the population living in urban areas and Tokyo registering as one of the top twenty most congested cities in the world.”

Koji Shibata, ANA’s representative director and executive vice president, added, “ANA has seventy years of experience delivering safe and reliable flights to customers across the world. We’re proud to bring that operational experience to the table as part of this partnership and to be at the forefront of introducing this revolutionary form of transport to Japan.

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