<h3><span class="strongInContent">What in the world is the AI story that the IT tone-deaf Prime Minister can discuss in 30 minutes? &#8230;&#8230;</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Zuckerberg, what brings YOU to Japan?</li>
<li>What did you and Kishida talk about?</li>
<li>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think talking to Kishida is going to lead to a meaningful conversation.</li>
<li>All I can think is that you are here to beg for money.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p>These were some of the tweets that flew around on social networking sites in response to reports that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, a major U.S. IT company, on February 27.</p>
<p>After the meeting, Zuckerberg told reporters, &#8220;We had a productive conversation about AI in the future of technology. I am really excited about the initiatives happening in Japan,&#8221; he reportedly said.</p>
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<figure id="attachment_361803" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 698px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-361803"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b8dc0ba6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/13e925fd22252e8dd704230ab690bf72.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-361803" class="wp-caption-text">Zuckerberg, CEO of U.S.-based Meta, speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Kishida on the afternoon of March 27 (PHOTO: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Speaking of Prime Minister Kishida, however, many in Japan have described him as &#8220;IT illiterate,&#8221; as symbolized by the mynah insurance card, whose utilization rate dropped to 4.3% last December due to numerous problems and glitches, despite his continued push for the card. Moreover, according to the Prime Minister&#8217;s daily schedule, the meeting lasted only a little more than 30 minutes, so it is not surprising that the Prime Minister, who is IT illiterate, could talk about AI in 30 minutes at &#8230;&#8230;.</p>
<p>Some people even questioned the purpose of his visit to Japan, but the prime minister himself was enjoying his time in Japan to the fullest.</p>
<p>On February 25, before the meeting, he visited the dojo of Shohei Kawasaki, a sword smith, and posted a video on SNS showing him hammering steel and cutting a rolled straw as a test. On February 27, the day of the meeting, he ate an egg double, shrimp filet, teriyaki burger, McNuggets, churros, and other items at a McDonald&#8217;s restaurant in Japan and wrote, &#8220;Japanese McDonald&#8217;s: 10/10 Give these guys a Michelin star. Japanese McDonald&#8217;s: 10/10 Give these guys a Michelin star. (Japanese McDonald&#8217;s: 10/10 Give these guys a Michelin star.)&#8221; The post became a topic of conversation.</p>
<p>These are already reported by many media outlets, but FRIDAY Digital has also obtained information that may be the true purpose of Zuckerberg&#8217;s visit to Japan this time. After the meeting, Zuckerberg headed to Niseko Town in Hokkaido. Mr. A, a local tourist businessman, said.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. A, a local tourist businessman, said, &#8220;Word of Mr. Zuckerberg&#8217;s visit to Niseko had been circulating since mid-February among some news organizations and hotel staff.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> But the Hokkaido Shimbun and other newspapers were not aware of it. But I heard that Hokkaido Shimbun and other newspapers searched around on skis but couldn&#8217;t find it.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In fact, it seems that he took more than a dozen people with him and stayed at a hotel in Niseko, where they enjoyed a fancy course meal and skiing for several tens of thousands of yen. Although I think they probably came here for investment or some other purpose.&#8221;</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Akie Abe and Mrs. Devi..."></div>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent">Akie Abe and Mrs. Devi&#8230;</span></h3>
<p>The Niseko area (Kutchan and Niseko towns) is a small town with a total population of about 22,000. Among them, the foreign population increased by 72.7% year-on-year to approximately 3,700 as of the end of December last year.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The number of foreign VIPs who come here on their own has been increasing for about 10 years, so for the residents it&#8217;s just like, &#8216;Hey, it looks like someone&#8217;s here again,'&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Overseas VIPs usually rent out a whole floor of a hotel and are served by a dedicated person who accompanies them on a sneak-peek tour.</span><span class="strongInContent"> They spend their time between the hotel and the ski resort, enjoying ramen and sushi, but not so much walking around town.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Japanese people such as Akie Abe, Mrs. Devi, Holliemon (Takafumi Horie), and the president of Uniqlo (Tadashi Yanai) are frequent visitors, and when members of the royal family or Diet come, they want to know the local standard of living, so they visit large supermarkets, etc.&#8221;</span></p>
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<p>The Niseko HANAZONO Resort has a limited-time Louis Vuitton store, and the gondolas are wrapped in Louis Vuitton design. There are also a number of luxury hotels such as the Park Hyatt, Hilton, and Ritz-Carlton, some of which have rooms that cost as much as 3 million yen per night.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg is said to have enjoyed his resort in Niseko, a small and special town in Hokkaido, where overseas VIPs flock to, and only a few wealthy Japanese are repeat visitors. However, it is a relief to know that the 30-minute meeting with the prime minister was probably just a bonus at the Niseko resort. &#8230;&#8230;</p>
<figure id="attachment_361805" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1290px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-361805"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cf59de7d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/af1b585b89d7744a035a38ffb725313d.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-361805" class="wp-caption-text">On Instagram on the 27th, the day of his meeting with Prime Minister Kishida, he wrote: &#8220;McDonald&#8217;s in Japan is 10/10. Give these people a Michelin star,&#8221; he posted.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_361807" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1290px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-361807"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="86679a34"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/ae12878d4820aa09f868c8e2f764128f.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-361807" class="wp-caption-text">On February 25, he visited sword smith Shohei Kawasaki&#8217;s dojo, where he hammered steel and test cut a rolled straw, as well as a video</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_361810" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1215px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-361810"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="98b05a97"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/7ebeee0a20ed1c277347d0061afc4ca1.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-361810" class="wp-caption-text">Image posted on Threads, with Niseko&#8217;s iconic Mt. Yotei in the foreground&#8230;</figcaption></figure>


 What the heck kind of AI talk can an IT illiterate prime minister have in 30 minutes? ...... "Zuckerberg, what did YOU want to talk about with Kishida?" What did you and Kishida talk about?" "I don't think talking to Kishida would be such a meaningful conversation." "Money

Mr. Zuckerberg Visit to Japan: Al Meeting with Prime Minister Kishida Raises Questions on True Purpose

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