Waymo and Toyota will begin testing autonomous bZ4X electric vehicles in Japan in 2027, the companies say. Toyota will build the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, where Waymo will install its self-driving hardware. The partnership follows a preliminary agreement signed 18 months earlier to explore an autonomous vehicle platform. The companies plan to later deploy the vehicles in the UK and other right-hand drive markets. Waymo also says it is testing Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in Japan and plans a Tokyo ride-hailing service.
Japan
3 stories since 29 October 2026, newest first
30 October 2026
29 October 2026
North Korea launched roughly ten short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on its east coast on Thursday, 29 Oct, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The projectiles flew about 250 km before landing in waters off the peninsula. Japan's Defence Ministry said it detected a suspected ballistic missile launch that did not appear to fall inside its exclusive economic zone. Seoul has tightened surveillance and is sharing information with Washington and Tokyo. The launch came less than a week after South Korea proposed military talks over a border row, which followed land mine blasts on 21 Sep that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul blames Pyongyang for the mines; Pyongyang denies responsibility.
Xreal has reduced the price of its Aura smartglasses to $1,099 through the end of the year, down from the $1,279 preorder price announced last month. Customers who preordered at the higher price will be refunded the difference automatically, according to Xreal general manager Ralph Jodice. The glasses weigh 95 grams, run Android XR on a tethered compute puck, and will ship in mid-November in the United States, Canada and South Korea, with Japan following on 2 Nov. Xreal and Google describe the device as offering more than 150 dedicated XR experiences.