Michi Tohma - OHYASHIMA

Vol. 13 | Ohmi Shonin on the Move — Overland Routes

Not every Ohmi Shonin shouldered a carrying pole. Vol. 13 looks at how these merchants actually travelled overland in the Edo period—from hikyaku shipping to a surprising fact about horses that most Japanese get wrong.

2026.06.11

SeriesThe Jodo Ethic and the Spirit of the Ohmi Shonin

JR East Unveils New Paper Tickets Carrying QR Codes, to Launch Next Spring

JR East and seven other Tokyo-area railway operators are replacing magnetic paper tickets with QR-code tickets from spring 2027. The move targets maintenance costs and environmental load — but with an estimated 90 to 95 percent of JR East passengers already using Suica, physical tickets may see little use regardless.

2026.06.10

Business

Blossom Energy, Set to Mass-Produce Its Graphite Thermal Storage Boiler, Raises USD 2 Million

Blossom Energy, a startup developing graphite thermal storage boilers and high-temperature gas reactors, has raised 300 million yen (roughly USD 2 million). The company plans to begin mass production of its G-TES boiler in late 2026.

2026.06.08

Technology

Japanese Government and Financial Institutions Gain Access to “Claude Mythos Preview,” Finance Minister Katayama Announces

Finance Minister Katayama announced that the Japanese government and some of the country's financial institutions have gained access to Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview, following a request made to U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent during his mid-May visit to Japan.

2026.06.05

Policy & Regulation

Vol. 12 | How Much Profit Were the Ohmi Shonin Really Making?

The Ohmi Shonin were not merely virtuous merchants — they were profitable ones. This installment examines the evidence: from the survival of Ohmi Shonin-founded companies such as Itochu, Marubeni, Nishikawa, Takashimaya, Nippon Life, and Wacoal, to the remarkable personal fortune of Genzaemon Nakai, who grew his assets from 2 ryo at age nineteen to 115,000 ryo by his late eighties. Drawing on a 2021 academic paper by Shiga University's Yukari Matsuda, the piece also shows that the Nakai family maintained a bookkeeping system closely resembling double-entry accounting — more than seventy years before Western double-entry bookkeeping reached Japan in 1873.

2026.06.04

SeriesThe Jodo Ethic and the Spirit of the Ohmi Shonin

TriOrb, Developer of Sphere-Based AMR Platform, Raises $18M in Series B Round

TriOrb, a Japanese startup developing a sphere-based AMR platform, has raised ¥2.88 billion ($18M) in a Series B round backed by SPARX Asset Management, Mizuho Bank, and MUFG Bank. Proceeds will fund mass production, U.S. expansion, and R&D.

2026.06.03

Technology

What Companies with Japan Operations Should Know as Typhoon JANGMI Approaches Major Urban Areas

Typhoon No. 6 (JANGMI) is approaching Japan's Tokai and Kanto regions, including Nagoya and Tokyo, with its peak impact expected on June 3. Here is what residents and companies with Japan-based operations need to know — from official information sources to practical steps you can take now.

2026.06.02

Living

MJOLNIR SPACEWORKS Raises $11M in Series B Round

MJOLNIR SPACEWORKS, a Sapporo-based hybrid rocket engine developer, has raised up to ¥1.7 billion ($11M) in a Series B round. The startup uses a plastic-fueled engine design pioneered at Hokkaido University, with backing from Z Venture Capital and Shoko Chukin Bank.

2026.06.01

Technology

Two AI-Related Events That Unfolded This Week

When Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe was arrested for assaulting his 18-year-old daughter, the trigger was a ChatGPT recommendation that set off a chain of events no one anticipated. On the same day, Pope Leo XIV issued an encyclical warning of AI's risks. What both moments reveal about AI literacy — and who bears responsibility for teaching it.

2026.05.29

Opinion / Column

Atom, Developer of Robots and AI, Raises $19 Million in Seed Funding

Atom, a Japanese startup developing humanoid AI robots, announced on May 27 the closing of a $19 million (3 billion yen) seed funding round. The company, founded in January 2026 by former Turing co-founder and CTO Shunsuke Aoki, aims to raise Japan's GDP by 1 percent through the development and mass production of dual-arm, bipedal humanoid robots for use in manufacturing and logistics. The seed round was led by ANRI, Beyond Next Ventures, and JAFCO Group, with participation from other investors including Sumisho Venture Partners. Funds will be used primarily for talent acquisition.

2026.05.28

Technology