Internet of Things

Last December, Nature Innovation Group launched an umbrella-sharing service. Customers simply register their credit card information through Line, one of Japan's most popular messaging apps.

Japan's communications ministry started an initiative this month to screen networked "internet of things" devices for viruses, and says it is finding 100 infected gadgets a day.

Taisei Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp. are planning to use 5G networks to run autonomous and remotely operated construction machinery in land-reclamation projects in the Kanto region as early as autumn, the companies announced on Wednesday.

Mitsubishi Chemical announced Tuesday that it acquired Advanced Polymer Technologies, a California-based supplier of specialty plastic materials for such industries as semiconductors and aerospace.

Toyota Motor and Panasonic will merge their housing businesses into a joint venture next year to develop connected homes and services for next-generation vehicles, the companies announced on Thursday.

Hitachi will buy U.S. robotic system integrator JR Automation Technologies for $1.42 billion, the company said Wednesday.

Late February was a productive time for startups, with two important events taking place in Japan: Slush Tokyo 2019, a major nonprofit conference, and Tohoku Growth Accelerator Demo Day in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, a smaller festival that also offers advice to fledgling startups. Here are a few projects from the events that garnered attention.

Expectations have risen high for “smart agriculture” that makes full use of IoT (internet of things) to connect various elements through the internet, artificial intelligence and robots.

Like many in Sanriku, Iwate Prefecture, Kenichiro Yagi lost his waterfront business in the March 2011 Tohoku disasters. But in an imaginative bid to get his fishery company back online, that’s literally what he did: He connected to the internet.

Sony will spend 600 billion yen ($5.34 billion) over the three years through fiscal 2020 on raising output of image sensors and other chips, positioning itself for the rise of automated-driving technology and the "internet of things."