News Roundup - Week 43
Somehow, this week felt very long, every day felt like another Wednesday, it just wouldn’t end. But now it’s finally Friday again and I have the pleasure of once again sharing a couple of articles that I found interesting this week.
First, we have yet another article on Yoshihide Suga. It goes into detail about how Suga is essentially pushing the same vision as his predecessor Abe, which is hardly surprising, considering that Suga has only a little time left on his current term and that he was a close ally of Abe.
ABC NEWS
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/japans-populist-pragmatic-pm-suga-pushes-abes-vision-73669637
The next article is about the QR code winning an award. That’s not very interesting, but the reason I included this article is that it revealed to me that the QR code was actually invented in Japan in the 1990s, which I hadn’t known before. I guess it makes sense, considering how ubiquitous the codes are in Japan.
Kyodo News
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/10/f0901e8144c1-japan-invention-qr-code-wins-award-for-global-impact-in-electronics.html
Recently, government agencies have turned to closer monitoring of big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon. Japan has now seen a similar development, with its antitrust watchdog allegedly turning up the heat on Big Tech. These companies get away with way too much, so this can only be a good thing for consumers.
Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-antitrust-japan-us-europe-facebook-apple-amazon-google-2020-10
Next, we have an article about high-tech Japan, with JR central showing off their new and improved maglev (magnetic levitation) Shinkansen, which they say is going to be significantly faster than the current models. Besides, there are also going to be various improvements to comfort, although it remains to be seen how many of those make it into an eventual final version. It is still unclear when these new models might first see service, with Japan Rail recording record losses due to the pandemic it might take longer than they first predicted.
JapanTimes (use your browsers private mode if you reach the monthly stories limit)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/19/business/corporate-business/jr-central-maglev-shinkansen/
Lastly, the Japanese government is expected to unveil plans that they want to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The climate and global warming issues are one of the best examples of why most old men and women should not be politicians, or at least they should not be the only ones to hold power. It’s easy for someone like Suga, to give out an emissions target that will only be reached after he is most likely long dead. I wonder whether we will look back at politicians like Suga in the future and blame them for failing to deal with the climate crisis while there was still time.
Climate Home News
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/10/21/japan-set-announce-2050-net-zero-emissions-target-report/
That’s it once more. Have a nice weekend and a nice week 44. Take care.
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