How did China surpass Japan as the world’s leading auto exporter? Is Japan poised for victory in the AI Chip War? Why are Data Centers being built near Nuclear Power Plants?SHOW NOTES<a href="https://www.intellinews.com/poland-s-adjusted-income-to-overtake-japan-s-by-2026-333826/">Poland's adjusted income to overtake Japan's by 2026</a><a href="https://japantoday.com/category/tech/rapidus-teams-up-with-singapore's-quest-global-to-produce-ai-chips">Rapidus teams up with Singapore's Quest Global to produce AI chips</a><a href="https://www.eog-asia.com/battery-materials-plant-in-finland-starts-construction-jv-with-chinas-easpring/">Battery materials plant in Finland starts construction; jv with China’s Easpring</a><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/26/us-blacklists-50-chinese-companies-in-bid-to-curb-beijings-ai-chip-capabilities.html">U.S. blacklists over 50 Chinese companies in bid to curb Beijing’s AI, chip capabilities</a><a href="https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20250321-softbank-acquire-ampere/">SoftBank strengthens AI strategy by acquiring data center semiconductor company Ampere Computing for approximately 970 billion yen in cash</a><a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/03/27/companies/open-ai-funding-softbank/">OpenAI close to finalizing $40 billion SoftBank-led funding</a><a href="https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-cancels-up-to-2gw-of-data-center-projects-says-td-cowen/">Microsoft cancels up to 2GW of data center projects, says TD Cowen</a><a href="https://venturebeat.com/ai/deepseek-v3-now-runs-at-20-tokens-per-second-on-mac-studio-and-thats-a-nightmare-for-openai/">DeepSeek-V3 now runs at 20 tokens per second on Mac Studio, and that’s a nightmare for OpenAI</a><a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/China-s-SiCarrier-emerges-as-challenger-to-ASML-other-chip-tool-titans">China's SiCarrier emerges as challenger to ASML, other chip tool titans</a><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/10/asml_to_open_beijing_facility/">ASML will open Beijing facility despite US sanctions on China</a><a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15680674">Toyota delays electric vehicle battery plant due to weak demand</a><a href="https://japantoday.com/category/tech/china-ev-giant-byd-soars-after-5-minute-charging-platform-unveiled">China EV giant BYD soars after 5-minute charging platform unveiled</a><a href="https://xtech.nikkei.com/atcl/nxt/column/18/00001/10389/">Honda and Subaru team up with semiconductor companies to develop proprietary SoCs for AI autonomous driving</a>

Matt Bigelow

Japan news analysis, AI markets in Tokyo, and rising conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

Value for Value ⚡️

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