Transcript

Hello and welcome to today’s news from TotemoTech on July 16th, 2023. Mizuho Financial Group and Mizuho Bank have announced that they have submitted a progress report on their system improvement plan to the Financial Services Agency. The plan aims to address the system failures that have occurred since February 2021 and includes the utilization of AI for incident response and anomaly detection.

In a separate news story, NTT Communications has revealed that it will be conducting an experiment on the use of smart glasses in the nursing field. The experiment, conducted in collaboration with Smart Gate and Ishikawa Kinenkai HITO Hospital, aims to enable caregivers to have conversations while providing care, even with both hands occupied.

Moving on to other news, Fujitsu has announced plans to make improvements to its convenience store certificate issuance system, Fujitsu MICJET Convenience Store. This comes after incidents where certificates were issued to individuals other than the intended recipients. The company will begin applying the necessary fixes in mid-July, although the completion date is yet to be determined.

In the field of space exploration, the second stage motor of JAXA’s Epsilon-S rocket exploded during a ground combustion test at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Ground in Akita Prefecture. The test, which was scheduled to last 117 seconds, experienced a catastrophic failure approximately 57 seconds after ignition, resulting in the complete loss of the motor and severe damage to the test facility.

Shifting gears to the automotive industry, Rohm has announced the acquisition of assets from Solar Frontier’s former Kunimi Factory in Miyazaki Prefecture. The company plans to establish a production line for power semiconductors, with a focus on silicon carbide (SiC), and aims to begin operations by the end of 2024. This new facility will become Rohm’s largest domestic production base for SiC power semiconductors and is expected to increase its production capacity by 35 times compared to 2021.

In the world of luxury vehicles, BMW has released the fully redesigned 5 Series in Japan. The 8th generation of the mid-size sedan introduces electric vehicle (EV) and mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) options for the first time in the 5 Series lineup.

Moving to the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Groove Notes have announced a capital and business alliance. MUFG has acquired approximately 18% of Groove Notes’ issued shares, with the investment estimated to be worth several billion yen. The alliance aims to further leverage AI and quantum technology for advanced risk management and other applications.

Lastly, let’s discuss the limitations of AI. While conversing with ChatGPT and similar AI models, it’s easy to wonder if there’s anything they can’t do. Some believe that AI could eventually replace all job functions. However, it’s important to recognize and appreciate the unique value that humans bring, which goes beyond the capabilities of AI. And that’s all for today’s news. Thanks for listening to TotemoTech.

Keywords - japan, tech, news