BY YOSHIYUKI SAGARA   If Russia were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, would there be any health issues for Russian soldiers on the ground? When I put this question to a European researcher well-versed in the Russian military’s state of affairs, he said, “There would be no problem. Since the time of the Soviet Union, Russia has prepared for….Read more

YUKI NAKAMURA, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — A subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has launched a 20 billion yen ($136 million) fund investing mainly in overseas startups, with a focus on generative artificial intelligence technology that can be used by the group’s banking unit.   The fund being managed by MUFG Innovation Partners (MUIP) will look for….Read more

QSimulate, which provides materials and pharmaceutical companies with software to support their research and development, will open a Japan office in 2023. The company is producing simulation software that harnesses quantum theory to target the microscopic world of atoms and electrons for pharmaceutical companies, in particular. The company aims to have 100 companies, including mainly pharmaceutical companies, introduce the software….Read more

DAISHI CHIBA, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — The Japanese and British governments will sign a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a prototype of a high-temperature gas reactor (HTGR), Nikkei has learned.   HTGRs are expected to contribute to carbon neutrality, as they can produce hydrogen as well as generate electricity. The U.S., China and other nations are….Read more

KENTO FUKUI, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — A team of scientists in Japan has developed a new method of making all-solid-state batteries that could reduce the cost of mass production of this alternative to lithium-ion batteries.   The method, developed by a research group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, would allow battery materials to be exposed to air….Read more

OSAMI KINOSHITA, Nikkei staff writer   KITAKYUSHU, Japan — U.S. investment company Asia Pacific Land (APL) will invest 125 billion yen ($854 million) to build a data center in Japan’s Kitakyushu, as the city positions itself as an alternative nerve center to Tokyo.   The plans were revealed Friday in a city proposal, submitted to the city council, to sell….Read more

TAKEHIRO HASEGAWA, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — A U.S. startup developing an artificial intelligence program to accurately locate deposits of critical minerals is drawing investments from a wide range of investors, including energy companies and billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.   KoBold Metals, launched in 2018, has an AI platform co-developed by Stanford University that crunches private- and….Read more

SHOYA OKINAGA, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei aims to commercialize a new way to make a plastic ingredient from carbon dioxide and water using electricity, Nikkei has learned, offering a potential game changer for decarbonization in the plastics industry.   The technology can be used to produce ethylene, a material for plastics used in….Read more