Japan Tech News

SoftBank partners with the University of Tokyo to establish an R&D facility focused on AI: known as Beyond AI Institute, the facility will support 150 researchers looking at AI applications for healthcare, infrastructure, manufacturing, and more; SoftBank has committed more than $180M over 10 years to the scheme.

Japan’s coast guard says it will stop using Chinese-made drones from fiscal 2020 due to data security concerns; China-based DJI says the security of its drones has been independently verified; follows moves by the Japanese government to block Huawei tech from its agencies.

Some banking execs have raised doubts about Masayoshi Son’s management of SoftBank, reports Bloomberg; SoftBank’s lenders are reportedly questioning Son’s strategy of investing large sums in startups; SoftBank is seeking a $2.7B loan; the company and its affiliates currently have at least $15B in loans.

Mitsubishi and NTT to buy 30% stake in digital map provider HERE Technologies; BMW, Audi, and Daimler bought Nokia's HERE unit for ~€2.8bn in 2015.