Photo ops of SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son sometimes show him chatting happily with his company’s humanoid robot, the childlike Pepper, or grinning as President Donald Trump heaps praise on him for creating American jobs. It’s clear Son, Japan’s richest person, stands out in Japan Inc. He is no “salaryman” president, those typical executives who…

Japanese telecommunications and internet company SoftBank Group Corp. is setting up a $25 billion private fund for technology investments with the potential to grow to $100 billion. The Tokyo-based company, the first carrier in this country to offer the Apple iPhone, said Friday the “SoftBank Vision Fund” is for global investments into the technology sector…

A group of lawyers asked by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to investigate mileage cheating at the Japanese automaker found a divided company that had set unrealistic goals, to which employees simply couldn’t say, “No.” The Tokyo-based automaker acknowledged in April it had systematically falsified mileage data on its eK wagon and eK Space minicars, also produced…

The twin earthquakes that struck southern Japan were having ripple effects far beyond the disaster zone, forcing Toyota to suspend production at most of its factories across the country, and affecting other manufacturers as well. The quake damaged Honda’s motorcycle plant in Kumamoto, the largest city affected by the two quakes that hit late Thursday…

Major Chinese consumer-drone maker DJI has its eyes on the potentially lucrative Japanese market after regulations on drones were relaxed here three months ago. DJI Japan General Manager Allen Wu launched the latest model, Phantom 4, Thursday in a fashionable mall in Tokyo. In a demonstration, the machine, which has propellers, cameras, sensors and automatic tracking…

Technology company Softbank’s Pepper robot is going on sale in Japan on Saturday, equipped with a “heart” designed to not only recognize human emotions but react with simulations of anger, joy and irritation. The robot, which has no legs and moves on wheels, was shown to reporters and guests at a Tokyo area theater Thursday.…

Yuichi Imahata’s 9-year-old daughter is thrilled her dad stands tall above her head. It’s an experience that is new to her. Imahata, 31, has been using a wheelchair to get around for seven years after a serious spinal-cord injury suffered in an accidental fall while working for a transport company. He completely lost sensation in…

Once at the leading edge of consumer electronics, Sony Corp. is now more lumbering giant than trend-setter after falling behind competitors such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. Sony watchers are urging the down-on-its-luck company to rediscover its pioneering ethos. Founded in 1946, Sony symbolized Japan’s rebirth after its World War II defeat, rising…

Tokyo (AP) — Japanese mobile carrier Softbank said Tuesday it will incorporate artificial intelligence technology from IBM into its empathetic robot Pepper that will be available to Japanese consumers around midyear. The AI engine “Watson” is already used in health care, travel and insurance services in English, but an adaptation was needed to make it…

Tokyo (AP) — The scientist behind a new talking robot in Japan says people should stop expecting robots to understand them, and instead try to chime in with robotic conversations. Hiroshi Ishiguro’s 28-centimer (11-inch) tall button-eyed Sota, which stands for “social talker,” is programmed to mainly talk with a fellow robot, and won’t be trying…

Tokyo (AP) — The boundary between the online and physical worlds got blurry last week when Sony’s PlayStation Network was disabled by an online attack, while simultaneously an American Airlines passenger jet carrying a Sony executive was diverted due to a bomb threat on Twitter. Experts say that’s a wakeup call for a world still…