Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a ritual 'masakaki' tree offering at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on Friday, much to the irritation of China and South Korea which see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past. Tottori Prefectural Government is planning to prohibit the use of AI chatbot ChatGPT while Russian authorities have banned an former residents of the disputed Northern Territories campaigning for Japanese sovereignty. The animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has smashed box offices in mainland China, and as polling boxes close in nationwide local elections, we wander the streets of Tokyo and listen as politicians & neighbouring street singers compete for attention. — Substack: notebookpodcast.substack.com Instagram: @notebook_pod Twitter: @notebook_pod — Get in touch: notebook.podcast@gmail.com Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook —