JAPON PERSPECTIVE

Japan observes the Zhongguancun Forum with deep strategic anxiety mixed with reluctant technical admiration. The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that Chinese humanoid robots now rival Japan's historic ASIMO and Pepper models, long considered global benchmarks. The Nikkei analyzes the threat to Japan's robotics industry, a historic pillar of the economy: Fanuc, Yaskawa and SoftBank Robotics see their market shares eroded.

The Asahi Shimbun, more critical, worries about security implications: the same AI and robotics technologies showcased at the forum have obvious military applications. The incident at Japan's Beijing embassy — where a Japanese soldier scaled the wall with a knife, causing a diplomatic incident — colors media coverage with unusual tension.

NHK covers the forum soberly, highlighting areas where Japan maintains an advantage (advanced materials, cutting-edge semiconductors via Rapidus). The Japanese debate crystallizes around an existential question: can Japan remain a leading technological power against China without massively increasing its R&D investments?

The American alliance dimension is omnipresent: Tokyo bets on the tech partnership with Washington (CHIPS Act, Quad Tech) to counterbalance Chinese critical mass. The simultaneously announced 'largest-ever release of oil reserves' reminds that Japan faces multiple crises.