Artificial Intelligence

Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will set up a venture fund of around ¥20 billion ($185 million) with a Daiwa Securities Group Inc. unit to invest in prospective startups.

Thanks to the growing influx of foreign travelers, immigration procedures often keep international visitors waiting in long queues at Japan’s airports.

Japan will expand use of artificial intelligence in the defense sector, where the country lags far behind the U.S., China and other nations.

The lines foreigners have to stand in to depart Japan may be eased -- just a little -- as automated gates will be introduced at airports across the country to speed up immigration checks. As a result, arrival lines might also be shortened.

NEC Corp. shareholders Monday approved a proposal to amend the company’s articles of incorporation to promote healthcare business using artificial intelligence technology.

Line Corp. has unveiled new services, from credit scoring to an AI-powered robot receptionist, as the operator of Japan’s dominant messaging platform seeks to expand beyond chat.

Many universities are establishing departments to help foster students in the age of artificial intelligence and big data, which refers to the collection of huge data sets that are often analyzed to reveal trends in human behavior. Amid calls from the government to accelerate efforts to train individuals in such fields, prestigious institutions are getting on board.

NEC Corp. said Thursday that it will experiment with using fingerprint recognition technology to promote vaccination among infants in developing nations.

The education ministry will create a nationwide curriculum this autumn covering the basics of artificial intelligence, suitable for use at all the nation’s universities.

For those new to the world of sake, one of the hardest questions to answer is, “What style of sake do you like?”