Asian Tech Roundup: Japan loosens rules on AI in education

Plus: UK denies new Indian immigration measures

Welcome to Computing's fortnightly roundup of tech news in Asia. This time we look at AI in Japanese schools, India's rising Western cooperation and the end of China's Big Tech crackdown.

India

• UK Business and Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said there will no new immigration measures for Indian tech workers following any trade deal. Source
• US space agency NASA has welcomed India as 27th signatory of the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations. Source
• HPE announced plans to begin manufacturing some of its high-volume servers in India, amounting to $1bn over 5 years. Source
• Apple supplier Foxconn has pulled out of a $19.5 billion joint venture with Vendata for fabs to produce semiconductor and display components in India. Source
• The Indian government has decided to impose a 28% tax on online gaming, sending shares in Indian gaming firms plummeting. Source
• Backers of troubled educational startup Byju's fear losses. "As long as the ride was hunky dory and the valuations were doing well, all the investors kept quiet." Source
• A Delhi court has summoned the BBC, Internet Archive and the Wikimedia Foundation in another challenge against the broadcaster's documentary on Prime Minister Modi's involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Source
• BP-backed ride-sharing firm BluSmart is taking on Uber in the cities of New Delhi and Bengaluru. Source
• The Department of Telecommunications has launched a campaign to move India towards becoming a major supplier of 6G mobile technology. Source
• An Indian court dismissed a petition by Twitter challenging government orders to block accounts and content. Source

Japan

• Japan has published guidelines allowing "limited" use of generative AI systems, like ChatGPT, in schools - although trying to pass off AI-generated work as your own will remain against the rules. Source
• The EU has sent European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton to Japan to discuss cooperation on chips and AI. Breton has said the two regions plan to deepen their cooperation in the chip market. Source
• Fujitsu has admitted "a failure in which data inconsistency occurred" in Japan's national ID scheme. Source
• The consulting giant also fell foul of the authorities over poor security in its FENICS cloud. "We instructed them in writing to promptly take measures" the Japanese government said. Source
• Japan is looking to create AI rules around things like copyright closer to those in the US, as opposed to the more stringent EU model. Source
• Toyota says it has made a technological breakthrough that should halve the weight and price of EV batteries. Source
• Japanese financial services provider SBI Holdings says it has partnered Taiwanese semiconductor firm Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) to establish a factory in Japan. Source
• Chipmaking consortium Rapidus, which is seeking to build a 2nm fab, represents the last chance in semiconductors for Japan, says its chairman. Source
• Cybercriminals have attacked the Port of Nagoya, Japan's busiest port, with a ransomware attack. The attack targeted the Nagoya Port Unified Terminal System, which controls all of the port's container terminals. Source

China

• China has announced new export controls on gallium and germanium, which are important for the construction of semiconductors. Source
• China fined Ant Group $984 million and Tencent $414 million for financial misconduct. Source But...
• Chinese tech stocks rallied after Premier Li Qiang met with tech chiefs to signal the end of a government crackdown on big tech and to push for innovation. Source
• Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger visited China in an attempt to gain approval of Intel's acquisition of chip foundry Tower Semiconductor. Source
• The USA is seeking to restrict Chinese access to Western cloud providers. According to sources, the government will require companies like AWS and Microsoft to seek permission before supplying cloud-based AI services to Chinese firms. Source
• Shipments to China by Dutch chipmaking equipment manufacturer AMSL are to be subject to stronger export curbs, after similar measures by the US and Japan. Source
• China is on course to hit its wind and solar power target five years ahead of schedule. Source
• An online travel agency is offering Rmb 1billion ($140million) in cash subsidies to encourage employees to have more babies, as fears about depopulation bite. Source
• A Reuters analysis has found China is increasingly relying on chiplet technology for semiconductor progress, in the face of its ongoing trade war with the USA. Source

Other Asia

• Australia's competition regulator is investigating the role of data brokers the country's digital platform services sector.
• A Vietnamese hacker was arrested for infiltrating the systems of a Ho Chi Min City bank and making off with $420,000. Source
• Vietnam has asked social media companies to use AI to detect and remove "toxic content" on their platforms. Source
• South Korean tech giant Samsung is suing Chinese rival BOE Technology for allegedly infringing five of its patents for displays used in mobile devices, including the iPhone 12. Source
• A North Korean threat actor called Andariel used a novel malware strain EarlyRat to infect machines by executing a Log4j exploit. Source