CICC TOKYO DAYORI
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.96
April to May are months of good weather, and we get outside and becomemore active in Japan. Bears also come out of hibernation and move aroundactively in search of food.In recent years, there have been many reports of bear attacks in variousregions from Hokkaido to western Japan. In FY2023, a record 219 peoplewere affected, with Akita Prefecture having the highest number ofaffected people at 70. In Akita Pref., last month, two police officers,who were trying to transport a man who had entered the mountains to pickbamboo shoots and died after being attacked by a bear, were alsoattacked by a bear and seriously injured.Originally bears were afraid of humans and lived […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.95
In daily life in Japan, identity verification is required in varioussituations such as payment, point allocation, member confirmation,check-in, entrance and exit, etc.I also use the service using an IC card, smartphone, etc., but everytime I use it, I have to go through the trouble of searching for the app.It's such a waste of time and a pain for me. There is also the risk oflosing my card or smartphone if I carry it around. I believe there isa growing desire to use services more safely and easily. It also takesa lot of work on the part of the store to check.Meanwhile, Hitachi Ltd., one of Japan's leading electronics manufacturers,is proposing […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.94
There is an athlete who involved Japan into a vortex of enthusiasm last year.His name is Shohei Ohtani, who led the national baseball team of Japanto the victory by beating the world's strongest team “USA” at the finalmatch of the “World Baseball Classic (WBC)”, held March last year where20 national teams had participated from their own countries.He is a real top MLB (Major League Baseball) player in the USA who wonthe MVP award twice and very much famous as the real two-way player inpitching and hitting, and he captivated even people, who had no interestin baseball until the WBC.Since the WBC, Shohei has been featured in the Japanese media almostevery […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.93
Less than a month remains in this year.As the saying goes, "time flies like an arrow," and as I have gottenolder, I really feel the time passing quickly.Here's a bit of a look back at this year.I think 2023 was the year of AI.AI has been a sophisticated and difficult technology that onlyscientists could handle. Now, however, AI is making inroad into many aspects of ourdaily lives. A news reports showed Japanese companies develop AI system foreducation.An AI-assisted system launched by “A” company in May analyzes theresponses of students using images taken during lessons. It compilesdata on the concentration levels of students based on the direction of theirgaze and the […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.92
Designing Future Society for Our Lives～Saving Lives・Empowering Lives・Connecting Lives～ Not many may be aware but the phrase spelled out in title aboveis the main theme held up for upcoming World Expo (referred to asthe WORLD’s FAIR) to be held in Osaka, Japan from April 13 throughOctober 13, 2025. It was approved at the General Assembly of theBureau International des Expositions (BIE) back on December 1, 2020.This would be the second time Osaka hosts a World Expo, overhalf century after previously hosting in 1970.World Expo is an international exhibition held every five yearswhere nations showcase their latest and best inventions across awide range of industries, including but not limited to technology […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.91
Prologue to Expectations of Digital Talent from Abroad The IT sector is not the only industry in need of digital talent. Allfields that have never been associated with IT before are in need ofdigitally literate people. Not only engineers, but also digitallyliterate human resources are in demand. The construction of a digital society and digital economy through rapiddigital transformation has become an urgent need in both developed andemerging countries, and therefore the development of digital humanresources is being strongly promoted. In Japan, the declining birthrate and aging population in all industriesare causing a serious decline in the workforce, which is becoming asocial problem. Japan is considering the introduction of foreign […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.90
CICC moved its office in July last year. It will have been almost oneyear since we moved to our current location in Nihonbashi-Kobunacho inTokyo. The literal English translation of Nihonbashi-Kobunacho is“Bridge of Japan - Town of Small Boats”. It is a business districtabout a 20-minute walk from Tokyo Station with the Nihonbashi Riverflowing nearby. From around 1720 during the Edo period (1603-1868), this area was alanding place for small boats to unload their cargo on the NihonbashiRiver. During this period, water transportation played the mostimportant role in transportation. A large amount of goods from all overJapan gathered to the port of Edo, and the nearby Nihonbashi area wasvery busy as a […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.89
I found that Hitachi, Ltd., a leading Japanese general electronicsmanufacturer and IT company, has developed an application that allowsyou to use subways, buses, cable cars, pay elevators, car sharing, etc.in Genoa, Italy, without having to bring anything.https://social-innovation.hitachi/en/article/genoa-maas/That app, so called “GoGoGe " on your smartphone and put yoursmartphone in your pocket or bag, you don't need to operate the app. Inaddition, this app can also display the degree of congestion ofvehicles, so you can check the degree of congestion before boarding thesubway or bus, so you can avoid congestion.Furthermore, with this app, the fares used on that day will be billedtogether the next day. It seems that the cheapest fare […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.88
We are currently having the criminal case which is making noise in Japan now.The case has been taken up by Japanese media every day, and the public is closely watching the progress for police investigation.The case is a series of robberies aiming at rich people, especially for seniors.It has occurred widely in Japan, and serious injuries and murders have been occurred due to robbery. The culprit is a special confidence man group, and the number of cases has been increased rapidly.The characteristics of this criminal case are the followings. Criminal groups are composed of “instructors” and “executors”. The “instructors” are Japanese, and said to be outside of Japan (probably in […]
CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.87
The voice recognition systems have become popular. I put "Alexa" at mybedside and every night I ask her by voice what time to wake me up thenext morning. When I first experienced voice recognition, I was surprised anddelighted, as if a fairy tale had come true. Still, I didn't ask sillyquestions like "Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?" The latest AI analyzes not only human voices but also various sounds.AI has made sounds visible to people with hearing impaired. JR East launched the test operation at Ueno Station, a commuter hub inTokyo.I also use Ueno station for my commute. So, I saw what it is reallylike. AI […]