Category: Japan
KKR, Rakuten to acquire most of Walmart’s stake in Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu
Walmart announced today it will sell most of its shares in Seiyu, the Japanese supermarket chain it acquired 12 years ago, to KKR and Rakuten. The deal values Seiyu at about $1.6 billion and means Walmart will almost completely exit its operations in Japan. Under the agreement, investment firm KKR…
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Honda to mass-produce Level 3 autonomous cars by March
Honda claims it will be the first automaker to mass-produce vehicles with autonomous capabilities that meet SAE Level 3 standards, with plans to begin producing and selling a version of its Honda Legend luxury sedan with fully approved automated driving equipment in Japan from next March. Honda announced the news…
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are now officially certified for human spaceflight by NASA
SpaceX and NASA have completed the multi-year certification program for the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft launch system, the first ever human-rated commercial space system to be developed. The final stage in the certification process was the Demo-2 mission that SpaceX launched earlier this year, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken…
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Sega sells its arcade business due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The arcade industry has unsurprisingly taken a steep hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s leading Sega to bow out. Eurogamer reports that Sega Sammy Holdings has sold 85.1 percent of its Japanese arcade business, Sega Entertaiment, to the amu… Source
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Microsoft makes a last-minute Xbox Series S price cut in Japan
Seemingly out of nowhere, Microsoft has decided to change the price of the Xbox Series S in Japan. The next-gen console was originally going to retail for 32,980 yen (roughly $313), but that’s now been revised down to 29,980 yen (roughly $284). It’s… Source
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Japan will send an 8K camera to Mars and its moons
It’s difficult to justify 8K video here on Earth, but that isn’t stopping Japan from capturing ultra-high resolution imagery elsewhere in the Solar System. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and broadcaster NHK are developing 4K and 8K cameras (v… Source
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