Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Kyoto Prefectural Police and other authorities announced the arrest of seven individuals last month, including 36-year-old Randall Aaron Asher, an American national, for operating an illegal online casino site. It marked the first arrest of online casino site operators in Japan. The group is suspected of running a mahjong website called Dora Mahjong targeting Japanese players. Established around 2011, the site boasted over 70,000 members and claimed that its operation was legal due to being an overseas online gaming entity. The company allegedly collected approximately ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — After a series of embarrassing stumbles, Japan’s space program is putting some wins on the board again. There was a palpable sigh of relief at Tanegashima Space Station when H3 rocket No. 2 had a picture-perfect takeoff, smoothly performed its second-stage ignition, and then entered its planned orbit without a hitch. The H3 launch vehicle has been designed to become the successor to Japan’s current mainstay, the H2A rocket, providing a new level of capability to Japan’s space efforts. “We are very happy to see such great achievements in the space field following the su ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) declared success in its “main mission” of conducting a Moon landing near the targeted coordinates, but it was hardly an unqualified triumph. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed on the lunar surface on January 20, 2024, making Japan only the fifth nation to land a vehicle on the Moon. However, JAXA admitted that “at an altitude of 50 meters just prior to the start of the obstacle avoidance maneuver, the thrust from one of the two main engines was most likely lost” for unclear reasons. This caused t ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japan’s leading “flying car” (eVTOL) development company SkyDrive is highlighting its strategic move into India, which it has long viewed as market full of potential for its innovative aerial vehicle. SkyDrive’s alliance with Suzuki Motor Corporation, which has an established presence in the South Asian giant, has only enhanced these ambitions. The latest announcement concerns the signing of a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the western Indian state of Gujarat. The precise content of the agreement is vague, but is said to involve efforts to “explore the settings o ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — One of the most carefully planned initiatives to bring a casino resort to a Japanese regional city has ended in failure as the central government declines to issue a license for the project to go forward. The Japan Tourism Agency made the long-awaited announcement on December 27. The central government’s examination committee found that Nagasaki’s casino resort bid fell short of minimum requirements on two separate criteria. First, the examination committee judged that the prefecture and the casino resort consortium had failed to present sufficient evidence that it cou ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment Corporation is poised for a major expansion of its casino resort interests in the Philippines. It was revealed earlier this month that Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), the Philippine unit of the Japanese gaming and entertainment company, has signed a “preliminary agreement” that would see it take a majority interest in the Emerald Bay Resort in Cebu. The Emerald Bay project is currently under construction, but it has already received a provisional gambling license. It aims to become “an iconic and luxurious five ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Joby Aviation, ANA Holdings, and Nomura Real Estate Development have entered into a collaborative partnership to establish infrastructure for electric air taxi services in Japan. Joby Aviation, a key player in the development of all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, will work alongside ANA and Nomura, one of Japan’s leading real estate developers, to create vertiports, crucial for the deployment of Joby’s electric air taxi service. The partnership will focus on jointly exploring the design, location, operation, and financing of vertiports, initia ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada is out in the cold once again with another major legal defeat, while those whom he regards as his betrayers have been on a winning streak. Billionaire Okada’s ill fortunes began in early 2017 when he was accused of embezzlement at his own Universal Entertainment Corporation. His ex-wife and own children voted him out of authority over the pachinko and gambling company which he had founded. After a long series of legal defeats in Japan and elsewhere, Okada finally scored a stunning victory in late April 2022 when the Supreme Court of th ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — In a significant strategic move, Sega Sammy Holdings and its subsidiary Sega Sammy Creation have revealed plans to acquire GAN Limited (GAN), which is a Nasdaq-listed Software as a Service provider for casino operators in the United States as well as an online gaming operator in Europe and South America. This acquisition, set to be completed through a newly established special purpose company in Bermuda, has received support from GAN’s board of directors. However, the finalization of the deal is contingent upon approval from GAN share ..read more

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — SkyDrive has partnered with the Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) to develop electric charging facilities for flying cars (eVTOLs); this collaboration aims to install and operate charging facilities in the Osaka region in preparation for the 2025 World Expo. SkyDrive has been working to create an affordable eVTOL aircraft for daily mass transportation. As part of the Advanced Air Mobility Smart Mobility Expo Project, SkyDrive will showcase its main eVTOL aircraft model. KEPCO, the major regional utility firm, is looking to enter the eVTOL charging infrastructure se ..read more