A: Hey there! Have you heard the latest news? B: Not yet, what's up? A: So, it seems that Chinese military is upset with Japan over something. Seems like Japanese fighter jets were flying in China's training area without permission. B: Oh, wow! That sounds serious. Did they cause any problems? A: Yeah, apparently they got in the way of China's activities there. The Chinese spokesperson said Japan distorted the facts and even accused them of blaming China for something they didn't do. B: Oooh! Sounds like a disagreement to me. What did Japan say about it? A: Well, their chief cabinet secretary denied China's claims about the incident. But the Chinese spokesperson repeated what they said and even lodged a strong protest over it. They claim that China shouldn't be criticized for this.

A: Hey there! Did you catch the news today? B: Not yet, what's up? A: Well, our Buddhist monks at Horyuji Temple did something special yesterday! B: Oh yeah? What was that? A: They were cleaning off dust from some really important Buddha statues as part of their year-end ritual. B: That's cool! Which temple is this in? A: It's in the old Japanese capital, Nara. Specifically, in Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture. B: Oh, I know that place. So, what did they clean? A: They cleaned the Shaka Triad and other statues at the main hall! It's a big deal because the Shaka Triad is a national treasure of Japan. B: Wow, that sounds important. And who helped them out? A: Worshipers were there too, putting their palms together during the ritual. There was even a visitor from Hokkaido who said it was her first time in Nara and she found the experience great. She hopes to be healthy next year! B: That's nice. What did the chief priest have to say? A: He conducted services wishing everyone a peaceful transition into the New Year. And he's praying for world peace next year, just like all of us!

A: Hey there! Guess what? Did you hear about our fellow Japanese friends winning Nobel Prizes this year? B: No, I haven't! Tell me more! A: Sure thing! So, we have Sakaguchi Shimon who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He gave a lecture about regulatory T cells in Stockholm. B: Whoa, that sounds cool! What are those? A: Regulatory T cells help control our immune system and they can help treat things like allergies and immune disorders. Sakaguchi's research could also improve cancer treatments and vaccines. B: Wow, that's amazing! And the other laureate is Kitagawa Susumu who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating these metal-organic frameworks. A: Yes! He took questions from the media about investing in basic research and its impact on a country's economy. He mentioned that it takes around 25 years for basic research to be applied practically, but governments often can't wait that long. B: That makes sense. I hope more funding goes towards basic research so we can see even more advancements like these! A: Absolutely! By the way, both Sakaguchi and Kitagawa signed chairs at the Nobel Prize Museum for their contributions. It's a tradition for laureates to contribute an item related to their research. B: That's really neat! I want to visit that museum someday and see all those amazing things!

A: Hey there! (Wow!) You won't believe it, but Japan's economy took a hit in the last quarter! B: No way?! What happened? A: Well, it seems corporate investment slowed down a lot. They didn't spend as much money as expected. The numbers say the GDP shrank 2.3% compared to last year. And that's even worse than the first guess! B: That's rough... I see companies weren't the only ones affected, right? A: Exactly! Housing starts before April fell because of tougher energy-saving standards. Residential investment dropped a lot too. And exports to the US saw a 1.2% decrease due to tariffs on cars and other goods. B: Ouch, that hurts... But there's some good news, right? A: Yeah! Despite everything, private consumption went up slightly. People spent more on dining out and food delivery services, which saved the day a bit. Even though it was just a 0.2% growth, every little bit helps, right?

A: Hey there! Did you check out the new stuff at the convenience store lately? B: No, not really. Why? What's new? A: They've got these 3D Fruit Ice Creams from China! They look like real fruit and people are going crazy for them on social media. B: Really?! I haven't seen those yet. Do they taste good too? A: Yeah, I tried one myself and it was pretty amazing! The flavor is rich and the texture is similar to a sherbet, perfect for hot days like these. B: Wow, that sounds cool! How much are they? A: They're a bit pricey at 537 yen, but people don't seem to mind because of the trend. I think I'd rather get mini tubs of Häagen-Dazs instead though. B: Alright, I might check it out sometime then. Sounds fun!

A: Hey there! Heard any cool news lately? B: Not much, just the usual stuff. What's up? A: Well, check this out! OpenAI revealed some amazing stats about their AI tools usage in businesses. Their ChatGPT messages increased 8 times since November last year and workers are saving around an hour every day! B: Whoa, that's impressive! I wonder how they're doing compared to others. A: Oh, it looks like they're ahead of Anthropic, a rival AI firm. Around 36% of U.S. businesses are OpenAI customers while it's only 14.3% for Anthropic. But most of their revenue still comes from consumer subscriptions, which could be under threat by Google's Gemini. B: So, they have a strong position in the market but face competition too? A: Exactly! They also need to worry about open-weight model providers for enterprise customers. But here's the good part - OpenAI is planning to invest $1.4 trillion over the next few years on infrastructure, so they really need to grow in the enterprise sector. B: That sounds like a lot of pressure! What did their report say about enterprise usage? A: Well, it appears that larger enterprises are adopting and integrating AI tools more than ever. Companies are using more reasoning tokens, which suggests they're using AI for complex problem-solving. However, the increase in reasoning tokens could be expensive and unsustainable in the long term. B: That's interesting. What about the way companies use these tools? Are they just sending messages or is it something more? A: Companies are using OpenAI's API to create custom GPTs, which codify institutional knowledge into assistants or automate workflows. They found that this accounts for 20% of enterprise messages now. BBVA, a digital bank, reportedly uses over 4,000 custom GPTs regularly! B: Wow, AI is really transforming the way companies operate. Do you think it'll make work easier or bring new challenges? A: It seems like both. On one hand, workers are reporting meaningful time savings with OpenAI's enterprise products. On the other hand, more people coding could lead to security vulnerabilities and flaws. But OpenAI is working on tools to detect bugs and vulnerabilities. B: That's good to know! Lastly, what about adoption of advanced AI features? Are companies making full use of them or still experimenting? A: Most active ChatGPT Enterprise users aren't using the most advanced tools yet, like data analysis, reasoning, or search. It seems that fully adopting AI systems requires a mindset shift and deeper integration with enterprise data and processes. So, companies are gradually retooling their workflows to take advantage of what AI can offer.

A: Hey there! Guess what's new? B: New stuff? What is it? A: China's exports to America dropped even more in November! It seems the extra tariffs from Trump's admin are playing a big role. B: Woah, really? How much did they drop? A: They fell about 28.6% compared to last year! That's bigger than October's decline. B: And their imports from America too? A: Yeah, that dropped by 19.1%. It's a big contraction, but interestingly, it happened even after Washington reduced some extra tariffs as part of a deal in late October. B: So, they cut the tariffs on some American products like soybeans, but still saw a drop? A: Exactly! It's quite intriguing, isn't it? Makes you wonder what will happen next, doesn't it?