51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Tag - virtual-reality

 
Menu
Search
 
July 24, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

VIRTUAL REALITY

The Justice Ministry setting up a study panel regarding the misuse of generative artificial intelligence comes amid a sharp rise in such cases and concerns legislation in Japan has not kept up with the rapid advancement of AI.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2026
Government to launch study panel for generative-AI misuse
With a meeting scheduled for late April, the group will examine civil liability for the unauthorized use of people¡¯s likenesses and voices.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech at an annual event at the company¡¯s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2025
Meta¡¯s Zuckerberg plans deep cuts?for metaverse efforts
The metaverse effort was once framed as the future of the company and was the reason for the company changing its name from Facebook.
Daiki Hama, lecturer at Tama University in Tokyo, shows his creation of a virtual Siberian internment camp and a virtual reality headset in April.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Aug 26, 2025
Japanese lecturer digitally re-creates post-WWII Siberian detention camp
The virtual camp has been used for hands-on events for children at a museum and training sessions for student storytellers at the Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum.
The Virtual Expo app lets users navigate a digital version of the 2025 Osaka Expo site by controlling avatars.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2025
Virtual access brings Osaka Expo to broader audience
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo hopes to bridge the ¡°experience gap¡± for those who wish to visit but are unable to make the trip to the site.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech during the Meta Connect event at in Menlo Park, California, in September 2023. The partnership between Zuckerberg's Meta and defense firm Anduril to build battlefield XR gear underscores how working with the military, once taboo in Silicon Valley, is now actively embraced.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg finally found a use for his Metaverse ¡ª war
Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception on the battlefield.
Artist Adrian Steckeweh 3-D prints otherworldly clothes and accessories for himself, in a way augmenting his reality with tangible objects.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 16, 2025
Augmented reality artist Omega C navigates a precarious scene for XR art
Just this year, XR art featured heavily in the digital art festival Dig Shibuya and is the focus of the ongoing ¡°Machine Love¡± exhibition at Mori Art Museum.
The rapid advance of artificial intelligence and technology threatens traditional human life and values, but finding a balance between innovation and preserving human connection may offer a path forward for humanity's future.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2025
Does humanity have a future in the virtual and AI age?
The virtual age and artificial intelligence are making traditional ways of life seem increasingly obsolete, and this will only grow with AI¡¯s spread.
One of the brighest spots of Japan's indie gaming landscape in 2024 was Sonokuni, and with more incubators and other avenues of support springing up, there may be more games like it in the future.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jan 21, 2025
Japan-made games part of a rising tide of indie greatness
With games developed by lone individuals rivaling the quality of major studios, it¡¯s time to reconsider what makes an indie game indie.
Students from Yamagata Prefectural Kamo Fisheries High School experience simulated pelagic tuna fishing using VR headsets in August.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Dec 10, 2024
VR used to stir young people¡¯s interest in fishing industry
VR headsets allow users to see how workers catch tuna and do other work with a 360-degree view from aboard a ship.
(From left) JR East President Yoichi Kise, Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke, and Shochiku President Toshihiro Takahashi at a joint news conference at the Kabukiza theater in Tokyo on Monday
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Nov 19, 2024
JR East and Shochiku to collaborate on regional revitalization
Under the 10-year agreement, the two companies will bring to life programs rooted in regional traditional culture
Sakuya Ishikawa (Sosuke Ikematsu) wakes up from a coma to find his mother gone and decides to virtually re-create her with harvested data in ¡°The Real You.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2024
¡®The Real You¡¯: Provocative dystopia combines sci-fi concerns with melodrama
In Yuya Ishii¡¯s drama, a young man¡¯s existential crisis amid the rise of artificial entities feels very much of the present moment.
Silver Rathalos was among several monsters in the Monster Hunter universe that debuted at an in-person Monster Hunter Now event in Shibuya hosted by developer Niantic on the weekend of Oct. 13.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 16, 2024
Gamers hunt for monsters in Tokyo as Niantic searches for a hit
In Monster Hunter Now, the San Francisco-based company behind Pokemon Go is looking to emulate the success of the immensely popular 2016 game.
Taxis wait for fares outside the airport in Wuhan, China. Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers globally to face the threat of job loss from artificial intelligence, experts say.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 9, 2024
China¡¯s drivers worry as robotaxis pick up pace ¡ª and passengers
Automating jobs could benefit China in the long run given a shrinking population, economists said.
While MyDearest's games are understably digital, employees also joke that sometimes they known coworkers only by their avatars used during meetings.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jun 21, 2024
Action drives VR, but Japan prizes anonymity and plot
A far cry from origins as a tech novelty, Japan¡¯s virtual reality industry is currently valued at $3.9 billion (about ?615 billion).
A customer tries his Vision Pro at the launch of the product at a store in Los Angeles on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 4, 2024
Vision Pro headset is Apple¡¯s next Mac and TV combined
The $3,500 headset, which blends 3D content with a view of the outside world, landed in the company¡¯s physical U.S. stores on Friday.
By the end of the decade, nearly 700 cities are likely to have rolled out some version of urban metaverse technologies, including virtual and augmented reality applications, according to ABI Research.
WORLD / Society
Jan 22, 2024
Realities collide as ¡®augmented cities¡¯ emerge around the U.S.
AR can enhance life in cities, particularly for marginalized communities.
Apple is entering its first major new product category since the company began selling smartwatches in 2015, and the Vision Pro may take years to catch on.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 22, 2024
Apple Vision Pro deliveries delayed to March in sign of early demand
The device is also sold out for Day 1 in-store pickup at many locations despite preorders having just begun on Friday ahead of its Feb. 2 rollout.
Kanji Matoba offers a prayer in front of a touch screen displaying a portrait of his late wife, at a columbarium in Sendai.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Sep 4, 2023
New types of graves and services reflect changes in tradition
The COVID-19 pandemic made such services as grave visiting in place of families or ones using virtual reality technology take root.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2023
Apple likely to find a receptive market for its Vision Pro in Asia
VR has found greater favor in the region, with Japan, South Korea and China ranking among the most advanced markets for headset adoption.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 6, 2023
Apple¡¯s $3,499 Vision Pro headset will test marketing might
The wearable device mixes virtual and augmented reality, meaning it can fully engross a user in content with high-resolution displays or overlay apps on top of the wearer¡¯s field of view.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE 51³Ô¹ÏÍø

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER