【ニュース小話 #237】PHPに重大な脆弱性。AIによってネット社会は揺らぐのか

Large-Scale Protests Erupt in France, Historic Buildings Set Ablaze

On October 17, demonstrations broke out across France, with the government reporting 550,000 participants and labor unions putting the figure at 800,000. The immediate trigger was public anger over the country's deteriorating education environment. In the 2024–25 school year, only one-tenth of the needed teachers could be secured, leaving classes unable to function, and France's scores on the PISA learning achievement survey have been on a declining trend. Budget cuts driven by fiscal deterioration are cited as the primary cause.

Parts of the protests turned violent. In Limoges in central France, a city hall built in the 19th century was set on fire. In Lyon in the southeast, the city's tourist information office was burned, and in Marseille in the south, a crowd stormed city hall — violence that media described as the worst in decades. Black-clad members of the so-called "Black Bloc," who conceal their identities during unrest, were confirmed among the rioters, and France's prime minister condemned the disturbances as the work of "far-left forces and criminals."

From a One Piece Flag to a Japan–Europe Copyright Clash

Video of a protester wielding a One Piece pirate flag during looting spread on social media, sparking a bilingual backlash on X: "Don't use Luffy for looting." The controversy then broadened into a debate over the rampant piracy of Japanese anime and manga across Europe.

The European side justified piracy by arguing that access to art is a people's right and that morality takes precedence over law. The Japanese side countered that creators cannot make a living — and their works get cancelled — without fair compensation. The two sides talked completely past each other. The program also offered the perspective that this clash may run deeper than copyright law: European art historically grew under the patronage of major capital like the Medici family, whereas Japan has a grassroots culture in which large numbers of ordinary people become creators, producing a fundamentally different relationship between artists and their audiences.

Ukraine Launches 1,000-Drone Strike; StarShield Suspension Raises Alarm

Leading into October 18, Ukraine sent more than 1,000 drones into Russian territory, with confirmed strikes on an oil terminal and a logistics center in Saint Petersburg. Russia's Defense Ministry announced that 1,015 drones had been shot down or neutralized. Ukraine carried out the operation citing Russia's failure to honor an agreement to stop attacking energy facilities. President Trump criticized the strikes for pushing up global oil prices, and the United States moved toward partially easing sanctions on Russia.

Meanwhile, StarShield — the military version of Elon Musk's Starlink — was reportedly suspended, causing Ukrainian drone guidance and attack-and-defense planning to break down, with casualties reported as a result. Whether the suspension came as a presidential order or was Musk's unilateral decision remains unclear, but the episode once again drew attention to a situation in which a single private-sector executive can arbitrarily influence a nation's defense.

JAXA's MMX Successfully Launched on H3 Rocket

On October 20, JAXA successfully launched its MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) probe, which aims to collect and return samples from Phobos, a moon of Mars. The 4.5-tonne spacecraft — fuel included — was lifted into space by the domestically developed H3 rocket built by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The probe will travel through interplanetary space for ten months, arriving in Martian orbit in August next year. After collecting sand and rock from the surface of Phobos, it is scheduled to leave Martian orbit in 2030 and return its sample capsule to Earth in 2031. Drawing on sample-return technology refined through the Hayabusa series, the mission is expected to illuminate the origins of the moon and potentially uncover traces of life.

Blackstone to Invest 6 Trillion Yen in Japan Over Three Years

Blackstone, one of the world's largest investment funds with assets under management exceeding 200 trillion yen, announced it will raise its investment in Japan to approximately 6 trillion yen over the next three years. The firm specializes in alternative investments centered on leveraged buyouts (LBOs), generating returns by investing in private equity, real estate, and infrastructure, boosting corporate value, and then relisting or selling those assets. The backdrop is the historically weak yen, which makes Japanese assets look attractively priced, along with expectations that more than 1,100 trillion yen in Japanese household financial assets will begin flowing into the market. Founder Stephen Schwarzman, an alumnus of Lehman Brothers, has deep ties to Japan — a Japanese securities firm was among Blackstone's very first investors when the company was founded. Schwarzman is currently serializing his autobiography in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun's "Watashi no Rirekisho" (My Personal History) column.