Xi’s Japan visit, initially planned for this spring had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But China hawks in the ruling party have repeatedly raised issues over Abe’s invitation of Xi as a state guest, particularly amid unrest in Hong Kong since last year. … [Read more...] about Japan’s ruling party calls for government to cancel Xi visit
Japan
Japan flooding death toll rises to 53, a dozen missing as torrential rains spread through region
“We are racing against time,” Yutaro Hamasaki, a Kumamoto official, told Kyodo News on Tuesday. “We have not set any deadline or time to end the operation, but we really need to speed up our search as time is running out. We won’t give up to the end." … [Read more...] about Japan flooding death toll rises to 53, a dozen missing as torrential rains spread through region
Trump’s risky nose-to-nose challenge to China in the South China Sea
China has already invested heavily in building military emplacements, even tourist resorts, at times side by side, but in all cases designed to cement its hold over the region. On Woody Island, the largest in the Paracels, at least a thousand Chinese live alongside a 9,000-foot runway and launch sites for anti-ship cruise missiles with a 250-mile range, particularly the lethal YJ-12B anti-ship cruise missile. In 2017, a colorful artist's rendering titled "China Dream: Paracel Archipelago—Woody Island future development" also showed a vastly expanded island with skyscrapers, parkland, and a passenger jetliner preparing to land on an extended two-runway airfield. A May 2019 Pentagon report identifies at least eight "Chinese-occupied outposts" with 60 other potential outposts in the Spratlys alone. … [Read more...] about Trump’s risky nose-to-nose challenge to China in the South China Sea
People are cleaning more and that’s great news for Roomba maker iRobot
iRobot expects "robust growth" in orders for higher -end products such as its Roomba i7 and s9 models and Braava jet mops. The company added that sales in the United States and Japan were expected to be solid, helping to offset weakness in Europe. … [Read more...] about People are cleaning more and that’s great news for Roomba maker iRobot
Boston Dynamics’ robot dog is now on sale for $74,500
Boston Dynamics started in 1992 as a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was purchased by Google in 2013. Four years later, Google (GOOGL) sold the company to Japan's SoftBank -- one of the firms behind Pepper, which is billed as the world's first robot capable of reading human emotions. … [Read more...] about Boston Dynamics’ robot dog is now on sale for $74,500
