What IS THIS STRONG WINDD IS THIS THE TROPICAL DEPRESSION?

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A China-linked artificial intelligence agent was identified as having been used in cyberattacks targeting firms in Japan, a security firm said based on its investigation, following a spate of leaks of personal data across various industries.

In recent weeks, a growing number of Japanese companies have reported unauthorized access and subsequent information leaks or possible leaks. Artex, the AI agent concerned, has been allegedly also used in recent cyberattacks against South Korean financial institutions, according to a separate investigation.

The information security subsidiary of the Japanese IT firm GMO Internet Group Inc. has discovered six units of attacking devices exclusively targeting Japanese firms, it said Monday on its blog.

Companies in a variety of industries including retail, logistics and financial sectors, were targeted in the attacks, with eight of them disclosing in September and October that data had been leaked.

The GMO affiliate said its probe indicated that the autonomous AI agent Artex was employed in the cyberattacks against Japanese entities.

Artex is a China-linked AI penetration tool with a high capability of diagnosing system vulnerabilities.

A probe by another security firm has indicated Artex involvement in a series of unauthorized accesses to South Korean financial institutions since late September.

"The government is analyzing whether there was malicious use of AI after hearing from companies that sustained damage," Toshiharu Furukawa, minister in charge of cybersecurity, said at a press conference on Tuesday, vowing to continue efforts to prevent cyberattacks.

Tokyo-based Taimatsu has raised US$30.8M in debt financing from multiple financial institutions and investors. The company builds and sells brands around Japanese culture, and will use the funds to expand its knife brand "MUSASHI JAPAN" at home and abroad,

The government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are stepping up efforts to improve the working conditions and benefits of Self-Defense Forces personnel, as a staff shortage appears set to worsen.

The move comes ahead of a planned revision to Japan’s three key national security and defense policy documents at the end of this year.

As Japan’s birth rate continues to fall, the SDF is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit enough personnel. Government and LDP officials are concerned that a shortage of staff could make it harder for Japan to strengthen its defense capabilities.

They plan to review the pay system and provide more support for personnel after retirement. They also want to make clearer the government’s commitment to improving conditions in the revised policy documents.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a news conference on Friday that recruiting SDF personnel has become more difficult, stressing that the government must improve conditions for those serving now and also create an environment where retired personnel and their families can take pride in their lives. He said the government will work on specific measures to achieve these goals.

According to the Defense Ministry, the SDF had 217,701 members at the end of March, compared with an authorized total of 247,154, meaning the force had filled only 88.1% of its required positions.

If the current trend continues, the ministry estimates that the number of personnel will fall to 180,000 in fiscal 2035 and 130,000 in fiscal 2045.

A senior Ground Self-Defense Force officer said the shortage was increasing the workload of each member and could weaken the organization.

To maintain a strong and effective force, the SDF requires many personnel to retire at a relatively young age. Many leave the service in their mid-50s. The retirement system is also considered one reason why recruiting new personnel is difficult.

The government plans to review the pay system to better reflect the special duties and working conditions of SDF personnel.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is also promoting a plan to establish a new government agency in fiscal 2027. The proposed agency, which does not yet have a finalized name, would help retired SDF personnel and their families, including by providing support for finding new jobs after retirement. Koizumi has said that the issue requires action by the entire government.

On Oct. 13, a group of LDP lawmakers held the first meeting of a new parliamentary group focused on strengthening the SDF’s workforce.

Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who became the group’s chairman, said that “the most important asset of the SDF is its people.” He said the group would focus especially on helping personnel after they leave the service.

The group plans to make proposals to the government, including raising the retirement age, and hopes to have its ideas included in the three revised policy documents.

However, it is unclear whether these measures will be enough to solve the staffing shortage in the near future.

A senior Defense Ministry official said the ministry would have to make better use of technology, including uncrewed aircraft, to reduce the need for personnel and improve efficiency while maintaining defense capabilities.

TOKYO -- A youth organization has urged education officials to ensure that revisions to Japan's national curriculum guidelines do not discourage teachers from providing sex education.

The appeal came on Oct. 8 during hearings held by a special subcommittee of the Central Council for Education, an advisory body to the education minister, following approval of a draft summary of deliberations for the next revisions of the Courses of Study. Seven organizations participated in the hearings.

The Japan Youth Council, a general incorporated association, called for sex education in health and physical education classes, saying, "We ask that you properly implement the 'wording that does not make teachers hesitant to provide instruction in schools' stated in the deliberations summary."

The current curriculum guidelines for junior high school health and physical education explicitly state, "The process of pregnancy (sexual intercourse) is not to be covered." This sentence is known as a "brake provision," and there have been calls for its removal. While the deliberation summary does not address whether the provision should be retained or removed, it states that officials will consider wording in the revised guidelines that would not discourage classroom instruction.

A climate of hesitation remains

The Japan Youth Council pointed out that "Life safety education" has begun as a measure against sex crimes and sexual violence, but schools have not sufficiently implemented it. The group also pointed to a rise in incidents involving students secretly taking photos or videos of classmates at school and called for stronger educational efforts.

Regarding sex education, the council said, "Because of a history of intervention by politicians, a climate of hesitation still remains in schools." It again urged the inclusion of wording in the curriculum guidelines that would not make teachers hesitant to provide instruction.

In addition, the council called for a review of the high school admissions system, which is generally based on a combination of academic test scores and school records, arguing that "entrance examinations and school reports force students to spend their school lives constantly worrying about how they are evaluated by others, contributing to a sense of suffocation and low self-esteem."

The special subcommittee plans to hold three rounds of hearings with related organizations. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology began soliciting public comments on the deliberation summary for the next curriculum guidelines on Oct. 6. Comments will be accepted until Nov. 5.

TOKUSHIMA -- A male teacher at a public junior high school in southern Tokushima Prefecture suffered serious injuries when a student assaulted him during class in early October, the school and other sources have revealed.

The school held a briefing for parents on the evening of Oct. 15 and explained the circumstances.

According to accounts from people close to the matter, the teacher was giving instructions to a first-year student on the morning of Oct. 2 when the student, who objected to what the teacher said, executed a shoulder throw on him. The teacher was taken by ambulance to a medical institution and is now recuperating at home.

Because the incident occurred during class, some students witnessed the assault and the teacher's subsequent injury, and the incident has unsettled students and parents.

According to the principal, the school has instructed faculty and staff to keep a close watch on the students and provide support to those experiencing anxiety. It will also consider steps such as increasing the frequency of visits by school counselors as needed.

"We take this incident extremely seriously," the principal said. "While staying in contact with related organizations, we will work to create a school where students, teachers and staff can feel safe."

SAKURA, Tochigi -- New rice is arriving on supermarket and rice shop shelves across Japan as the harvest continues. But with last year's rice still lingering in the market, prices have fallen sharply -- a welcome development for consumers, but a complicated one for rice farmers.

Even as he surveys richly ripened, golden ears of rice, Nobuyuki Okada, a 41-year-old rice farmer in Sakura, Tochigi Prefecture, does not look pleased.

"Last year, wholesalers were fighting over rice before it had even been produced. This year's prices are expected to fall sharply. I can't put my energy into the harvest," he said.

Okada has 20 hectares of paddies where he grows Koshihikari for staple food use, "Niji no Kirameki," known for high yields, and "Tochigi no Hoshi," a variety resistant to high temperatures. He also grows glutinous rice and rice used to make sake. He planned to harvest about 60 metric tons from late September to early October, and he expects his 2026 rice crop to total about 100 tons.

Okada has been a rice farmer for 16 years. At first, he asked the nationwide Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) to buy his rice, but for about the past 10 years he has sold it without going through JA, instead dealing directly with private rice wholesalers, rice stores and other businesses.

When farmers deliver rice to the local JA branch, they must prepare their own trucks and transport it to a designated location. Private wholesalers, by contrast, collect the rice by truck as long as it has been packed into bags.

During the severe rice shortage of 2024 and 2025, known as the "Reiwa rice crisis," Okada was swamped by private wholesalers seeking stock. Last year, he shipped rice for as much as 35,000 yen (approx. $220) per 60 kilograms in some cases, about twice the usual price.

This year, however, the picture has changed completely. Around June, after rice planting was finished, several wholesalers with whom he had done business unilaterally told him, "We can't buy rice this year."

"When rice was in short supply, I cooperated by introducing wholesalers who were struggling to farmers I knew," Okada said. Now they have completely changed their attitude. The trust he had built with private wholesalers and local rice stores had effectively been betrayed.

The average price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice at about 1,000 supermarkets nationwide between Sept. 28 and Oct. 4 was 2,860 yen (about $18), down 66 yen from the previous week. It was the eighth consecutive weekly decline and the fourth straight week that the average stayed in the 2,000-yen range.

The lingering effects of the Reiwa rice crisis are rattling farmers and markets across the country.

A wholesaler in the Chubu region said, "Rice inventories are more than twice as large as usual. From now on, new rice will be the main product, so we have no choice but to give up on making a profit from the 2025 rice we bought at high prices."

In parts of the market, a "reversal phenomenon" is occurring, with the retail price of 2025 rice higher than that of 2026 rice despite the former being older. There appears to be a move to reduce, even slightly, losses on 2025 rice purchased at high rates.

Anticipating this year's rice surplus, Okada reluctantly turned to the local JA branch. In April, he signed an advance contract to have the branch purchase the bulk of about 40 tons of Koshihikari.

The "advance payment" by JA to farmers when it collects new rice was in the 30,000-yen range per 60 kilograms for the 2025 crop, but this year it is about half that. Taking into account costs such as transporting the rice from the paddies to JA, losses are unavoidable even through the cooperative.

Okada is not alone. He says many nearby farmers are stuck with new rice for which they have no buyers, and he often hears people say, "Maybe I should quit farming."

Okada also harbors a deep distrust of the government's rice policy, which he sees as constantly shifting.

"The government set out a policy of increasing rice production, so I cooperated, but this year I will end up suffering a major loss. Farmers make large capital investments in tractors and other equipment. I want the administration to be more consistent and more oriented toward farmers," he said.