Business & Economy
Sakai Chemical weighs more capacity as AI-server capacitor demand surges
Sakai Chemical Industry’s high-purity barium titanate has become a fast-growing input for multilayer ceramic capacitors used in AI servers. Bloomberg reports that orders for some products have doubled and the Osaka company is assessing additional capacity. The story matters because a specialty-powder capability with roots in traditional cosmetics is becoming part of the AI infrastructure supply chain.
Source: The Japan Times / Bloomberg
Japan’s corporate services inflation accelerates to 3.7%
Japan’s services producer price index rose 3.7% year on year in August, the fastest increase since June 2024. Freight, advertising and leasing were among the areas showing broader price pressure. The index is closely watched by the Bank of Japan for evidence that higher labor costs are feeding into business-to-business service prices.
Source: Reuters
KYUDEN Holdings launches October 1 as Kyushu Electric’s new parent
Kyushu Electric Power will establish KYUDEN Holdings on October 1 through a share transfer, making the utility a wholly owned subsidiary of the new parent. Kyushu Electric was delisted September 29 and the holding company is due to begin Prime Market trading. A larger operating-company reorganization is planned for April 2027.
Source: Kyushu Electric / JPX
Science & Technology
Wafer-scale SiC transistor process moves high-temperature electronics closer to manufacturing
Kyoto University and Phenitec Semiconductor produced SiC JFETs capable of 600°C operation on a six-inch wafer. Threshold-voltage variation in the wafer’s central region had a standard deviation below 0.07 V. Moving the process from laboratory chips into a mass-production fab is an important step toward integrated circuits for extreme environments.
Source: Kyoto University
Shared neural noise may slow information growth without imposing a ceiling
Researchers from Kyoto University, UCLA and Harvard reanalyzed recordings of roughly 18,000–21,000 neurons per mouse in primary visual cortex. Their scaling analysis indicates shared neural fluctuations can slow information growth without forcing it to saturate, challenging a three-decade expectation in population coding.
Source: Kyoto University
Nine-year genome study tracks species boundaries rebuilding after the 2011 tsunami
Hokkaido University researchers followed hybridization between stickleback species in tsunami-altered habitat in Otsuchi, Iwate, for nine years. The project captured a gradual loss of foreign genomic regions, offering evidence for how species boundaries can re-emerge after an ecological disturbance temporarily increases interbreeding.
Source: Hokkaido University
Communities
More than 1,500 remain in shelters two months after Kumamoto quake
Two months after the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake, 1,514 people were still living in 32 evacuation centers. Authorities had recorded damage to 71,518 homes, including 9,540 completely or partially destroyed. Temporary housing and transport recovery are progressing, but rebuilding and publicly funded demolition remain major tasks.
Source: The Japan Times / Jiji Press
Tokyo immigration office swamped before October 1 fee increases
Applicants at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau faced waits of as long as 7½ hours as foreign residents tried to complete procedures before new fees take effect. Permanent-residency permission rises from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000, while change-of-status and renewal fees can reach ¥75,000 depending on the period granted. The new schedule applies to applications filed from October 1.
JR West targets October 5 for Etsumihoku Line recovery
JR West is working toward resuming train service from the first trains on October 5 after heavy rain that began August 29 disrupted the Etsumihoku, or Kuzuryū, Line. Replacement buses are operating between Miyama and Echizen-Ōno, while no substitute bus is provided between Echizen-Ōno and Kuzuryūko. Travelers should continue checking the recovery notice.
Source: JR West
Sports
Mako Fukube wins Asian Games 100-meter hurdles gold
Mako Fukube won the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with fellow Japanese hurdler Hitomi Nakajima taking silver. The one-two finish gave the host nation another major athletics result during the September 27 program.
Source: Japanese Olympic Committee
Hayato Katsuki takes Asian Games marathon race-walk title
Hayato Katsuki of the Japan Self-Defense Forces Physical Training School won the men’s marathon race walk on September 27. The 35-year-old added a home Asian Games title in a discipline where Japan has built sustained international depth.
Source: Japanese Olympic Committee
Yuma Maruyama wins decathlon gold after Hangzhou bronze
Yuma Maruyama won the men’s decathlon at Aichi-Nagoya, improving on his bronze medal from the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou. The two-day event tests athletes across ten running, jumping and throwing disciplines, making the title a broad measure of combined-event strength.
Source: Japanese Olympic Committee
Culture
Ten Seike’s Tonari wins PFF Award 2026 Grand Prix
Ten Seike’s independent film Tonari won both the Grand Prix and the audience-based Film Fan Award at the 48th Pia Film Festival. The competition received 834 submissions, the second-highest total in its history, with 23 selected films. PFF remains one of Japan’s best-known routes for discovering emerging directors.
Source: PFF / Pia
Maha Harada’s directorial debut wins FIPRESCI prize at San Sebastián
Novelist Maha Harada’s first film as director, Muyou no Hito (In My Father’s Room), received the International Federation of Film Critics award alongside the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival. Based on Harada’s own short story and starring Yu Aoi, the film is scheduled for Japanese release in January 2027.
Source: Nippon.com / Jiji Press
NOHO Theatre Group marks 45 years of cross-cultural performance in Kyoto
Kyoto’s NOHO Theatre Group completed its 45th-anniversary Still Here season at THEATRE E9 KYOTO, with eight performances across September 24–28. The programs paired Noh and kyogen technique with Samuel Beckett, bilingual kyogen, dance and new work—continuing a project founded in Kyoto in 1981 to connect classical Japanese performance with Western and contemporary theater.
Source: NOHO Theatre Group
