ニュース 2026年10月23日午前04時00分

M7.0 Earthquake Hits Tibet Autonomous Region; Casualty Details Unknown

According to the China Earthquake Administration, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Nagqu City in China's Tibet Autonomous Region at approximately 11:33 p.m. Japan Standard Time on October 22 (10:33 p.m. local time). Chinese state media reported that fatalities have occurred, but the precise death toll and full extent of the damage have not been disclosed. Local authorities are conducting search and rescue operations and coordinating evacuations for those affected.

Draft Guidelines for Digital Textbooks Bar Digital-Only Format for Grade 4 and Below

Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has compiled draft guidelines for digital textbooks—set to become official school textbooks from fiscal 2030—centered on a "hybrid" model combining paper and digital formats. The draft was unveiled at an expert panel meeting held on October 22.

From fiscal 2030, education boards and other bodies will be able to choose from three formats: paper-only, digital-only, or hybrid. The draft guidelines establish the hybrid model as the standard from elementary through high school.

For students in fourth grade and below, digital-only textbooks will not be permitted on the grounds that children at this stage are still developing cognitive functions and have not yet acquired sufficient ability to regulate their attention. Even for students in fifth grade and above, digital-only formats will be restricted to specific subjects such as foreign languages, music, and art. The integration of generative AI into digital textbooks has been deferred for the time being, pending review of its educational effectiveness. The Ministry said it will continue to monitor health impacts on children after introduction and will revise the guidelines as necessary.

The debate over digital textbooks has long recognized their benefits—such as incorporating video and audio content for richer learning experiences—while raising concerns about effects on children whose cognitive functions are still maturing, and about the need to balance paper and digital use in order to build foundational reading comprehension skills.

Meta Posts 3.6x Net Profit Surge in July–September Quarter

U.S. tech giant Meta announced its July–September quarter results on October 21. Revenue rose 26% year-on-year to $64.601 billion (approximately ¥10.22 trillion), while net profit reached $9.86 billion (approximately ¥1.56 trillion)—approximately 3.6 times the figure for the same period last year—a dramatic increase driven by the core advertising business.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at a telephone press conference: "Over the past few months, we have made several important advances toward our goal of delivering personal superintelligence to everyone." He also highlighted the AI agent app "Muse," which performs tasks autonomously, noting that the number of users in the United States and Canada had surged sharply over the past month and a half—a point he used to underscore the company's AI development progress.

Meta also announced plans to issue non-voting shares to raise the capital required for AI development. As one of the so-called "hyperscalers" committing massive sums to data center construction, the company is under close scrutiny in financial markets—where concerns about the sustainability of AI development investment persist—over whether it can translate those outlays into stable returns.