Japan

Intelligence for Better Decision Making

Apple’s Strategic AI Spending Reshapes Market Leadership and Investor Sentiment

Dec. 11, 2025 | Competitiveness

In 2025, investors have closely watched how leading technology companies allocate resources to artificial intelligence.

**Apple’s shares fell 18 percent in the first half of the year amid criticism of its unclear AI strategy.**
However, a 35 percent rally in the second half outpaced AI-focused peers such as Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia, lifting Apple’s market capitalization to about $4.1 trillion and making it the S&P 500’s second-largest constituent—overtaking Microsoft and closing in on Nvidia.

**Amid widespread concern over runaway AI spending, Apple has kept tight control of its investments and steered clear of the high-cost arms race.**
Investors see that restraint as a defensive stance that could reward shareholders once AI technology reaches mass adoption.

**Yet despite its strong late-year performance, Apple now trades at roughly 33 times projected earnings for the coming year—well above its 15-year average valuation of under 19 times.**
Analysts warn that this premium may be excessive and question whether investors are overpaying for perceived defensiveness in an uncertain AI landscape.

**Apple’s enduring consumer brand and the potential for AI to enhance its devices and high-margin services underpin its appeal.**
In a market where heavy AI budgets face scrutiny, the company’s measured approach offers a lower-risk path for investors seeking exposure to AI without the costs associated with aggressive spending.

Japan Moves Forward with Maiden Name Usage Reforms for Married Couples

Dec. 11, 2025 | Governance & Law

Japan’s government is advancing proposals to allow married individuals to retain and use their maiden names in both social and official settings.

**Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to submit a bill in the 2026 ordinary Diet session that would let spouses continue using their former surnames, while preserving the requirement for married couples to share a legal surname.**
Under her proposal, individuals could use their maiden names as “common names” in everyday life, and those names would appear in parentheses on official documents such as passports.

**This initiative stems from the coalition agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Nippon Ishin no Kai.**
Despite that partnership, some LDP members—who favor an optional separate-surname system—are expected to challenge the plan, and opposition parties continue to push for a more comprehensive framework that fully legalizes separate surnames. Takaichi, holding to a traditional view of family unity, has consistently resisted proposals that would grant married couples full surname autonomy.

**In May, Nippon Ishin no Kai introduced its own legislation to allow former surnames to be recorded either alone or alongside current surnames on public records.**
Government and ruling-party officials are still negotiating how those entries would function across administrative databases, official registries and various legal forms.

**Critics argue that merely permitting maiden names in parentheses fails to address deeper concerns about personal identity and social recognition.**
Business groups such as Keidanren continue to lobby for an optional separate-surname system, citing gains in international competitiveness and workplace efficiency. Amidst this pressure, internal resistance within the LDP suggests it will be difficult to reach a broad consensus on the scope and mechanisms of surname reform before the 2026 session.

**Takaichi has vowed to coordinate closely with coalition partners and relevant ministries as they conduct technical reviews and draft the legislation.**
On December 9, 2025, during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session, she drew on her experience as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications to stress the importance of removing the disadvantages spouses face when mandatory surname changes follow marriage.

Monitored Intelligence for Japan - Dec. 12, 2025

News
Media
415

Government
Releases
51

City/State
Releases
132

Embassy
Releases
1

Foreign
Service
Advisories
0

Academic/
Think
Tank
16

Podcasts
0

Videos
0

Social
Media
0

Business
Releases
0

Erudite Risk takes an all risks approach to intelligence reporting. We categorize key intelligence into one of 40 different risk intelligence categories.

The goal is to provide intelligence that allows decision makers to avoid being blindsided by what they may have missed, while informing them to make better decisions as well.

Risk Categories Reported on Today

Risk Category

Items Reported On

Product Recalls

Natural Disasters

North Korea

Crime

Regulation

Privacy

Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

Regulatory Enforcement Actions

Extreme Weather Events

Epidemics and Pandemics

Communal and Religious Strife

Shifting Geopolitical Alliances

Corporate Corruption or Fraud

Critical Infrastructure Failure

Accidents

South China Sea

Political Scandal or Corruption

Erudite Risk also includes operations categories so you can monitor the environment for better decision making. Everything is tied together--what happens in risk affects operations and what happens in the market impacts risk profiles.

We categorize key intelligence into one of 30 different operations intelligence categories.

Different roles and functions within the organization can monitor different key issue areas. HR may monitor employment, wages, regulations, labor and management relations, etc., while P&L leaders may monitor overall developing trends.

Operations Categories Reported on Today

Operations Category

Items Reported On

Employment

Taxes

Operating Results

Asset Price Change

Investor Sentiment

Real Estate

Budgets-Budgeting

Trade Issues and Numbers

Economic Growth

Bizdev-Partnering

Tech Development/Adoption

Initiative

Political Policy Resistance

Politics and Elections

Energy Prices

Wages and Compensation

Financial System Problems

Demographics

Inflation

Mergers & Acquisitions

Takaichi Keen to Meet with Trump Soon amid Chinese Pressure

Nippon | English | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Shifting Geopolitical Alliances

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed her desire to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump as soon as possible amid escalating pressure from China. She made this statement during a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting, responding to opposition leader Yuichiro Tamaki's call for stronger Japan-U.S. cooperation.

Tamaki noted that Trump is expected to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January and suggested this as a potential meeting opportunity. Takaichi responded by saying the meeting is not limited to Davos and could take place in Washington or during any of Trump's overseas trips.

The increased Chinese pressure follows Takaichi's November parliamentary remarks that China’s possible use of force against Taiwan could be considered a survival-threatening situation for Japan, justifying Japan's right to collective self-defense.

米禁輸の先端半導体使用かＡＩ開発で中国新興企業

Chinese startup uses advanced semiconductors banned by US in AI development

Tokyo Shimbun | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Regulation

A Chinese startup called DeepSeek is reportedly developing AI models using Nvidia's latest AI semiconductor, the Blackwell chip. This advanced semiconductor is subject to a U.S. export ban to China. However, DeepSeek is said to have obtained it through smuggling via a third country where the sale was allowed.

The U.S. government enforces the export ban on advanced semiconductors to prevent China from using improved AI capabilities for military purposes. According to reports, the Blackwell-equipped servers were initially installed at an overseas data center, inspected by a server handling company, then disassembled and brought into China.

In a related development, former U.S. President Trump announced on social media that exports of Nvidia’s previous-generation AI semiconductor, the H200, would be allowed to China. The ban on exporting the more powerful Blackwell chip remains in effect, though Trump's decision to permit the H200 has faced criticism from members of Congress.

China, Russia Bombers Fly Together off Japan's Shikoku for 1st Time

Nippon | English | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

Chinese and Russian bombers conducted their first joint flight off Japan's Shikoku region. Two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers met over the East China Sea and flew a long-distance formation between the main Okinawa island and Miyakojima before reversing course off Shikoku to return to the East China Sea. Chinese J-16 fighters joined the formation during the flight.

Additionally, Russian Su-30 fighters and an A-50 early warning aircraft were spotted over the Sea of Japan. In response, Japan scrambled Air Self-Defense Force fighters. Despite the provocative joint flight, the Chinese and Russian aircraft did not enter Japanese airspace. Japan has lodged strong diplomatic protests, expressing "grave national security concern" to Beijing and Moscow. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara described the flight as a coercive action against Japan.

Try the Daily Briefing

Try the Daily Briefing for your country of choice for two weeks--free of charge and with no obligation.

Have a service or subscription question? We'd be happy to hear from you.

How can we help?

Full Name:

Email Address:

Type of Inquiry:

Country of Interest:

Contact us for a free trial of the Daily Briefing for your country of choice.

We currently cover:

South Korea
Japan
China
Taiwan
Vietnam
India

info@eruditerisk.com

The Daily Briefing is delivered Monday through Thursday via email.

Each day's reports include a combination of:

Takes
Takes are our deep dives into a topic of enduring interest or concern. Takes include copious references to all the media resources we gathered to build them.

Developments
Developments are key issues and incidents being heavily reported on in country. These are the centers of local thought gravity around which everything else revolves.

Risk Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important risk issues reported on in media, arranged by risk category. Learn about risk trends and issues while they are developing--before they blow up.

Ops Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important operational issues reported on in media, arranged by operations category. See what's changing in your market, and what's not.

Government Releases
Government press and data releases on key economic data, regulation, law, intiatives, incidents. Straight from the government's press to your eyes in less than a day.

Embassy and Business Association Releases
Statements and news releases from foreign embassies and business/industry associations, including chambers of commerce.

The Daily Briefing is comprehensive!

The Daily Briefing can run 50-100 pages each day!

Luckily, Erudite Risk tailors every report specifically to you.

Content Filtering
We try hard to ensure that every piece of information included in each day's reports will be of interest to our readers.

To fulfill our goal of comprehensively monitoring the intelligence landscape and also keeping reports readable, we build big reports--then deliver only the information that applies to you.

Each Daily Briefing is a bespoke report matched to your concerns. Tell us what you want in it, or we can match it to your professional needs. It's that easy.