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DGS Receives Frost & Sullivan’s 2025 Global Enabling Technology Leadership for 4G/5G Network Optimization Excellence

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Advertorial Desk
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Recognized for delivering advanced 4G/5G network optimization solutions that maximize spectrum efficiency and drive customer value.

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that DGS has received the 2025 Global Enabling Technology Leadership Recognition in the 4G/5G network optimization industry for its outstanding achievements in innovation, strategy execution, and customer impact. This recognition highlights DGS’s consistent leadership in driving measurable outcomes, strengthening its market position, and delivering customer-centric innovation in an evolving competitive landscape.

Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: technology leverage and customer impact. DGS excelled in both, demonstrating its ability to align strategic initiatives with market demand while executing them with efficiency, consistency, and scale. “The company has infused its RF monitoring expertise with creativity and innovation in the form of an AI/ML-enhanced DGS CLEARSITE™ to provide CSPs and enterprises with the information necessary to optimize their RANs and their use of spectrum, recommendations on how best use this information, and potentially the ability to resolve certain problems automatically,” said Troy M Morley, Industry Principal, ICT, Frost & Sullivan.

Guided by a long-term growth strategy focused on digital innovation and strategic customer partnerships, DGS has shown its ability to adapt and lead in a rapidly evolving landscape. The company’s strategic agility and sustained investment in AI/ML-enhanced network optimization have enabled it to scale effectively across global markets.

Innovation remains central to DGS’s approach. Its suite of CLEARSITE™ solutions addresses the full spectrum of network optimization needs, offering real-time monitoring, AI/ML-driven insights, and actionable recommendations to maximize spectrum efficiency and network performance. “Our mission has always been rooted in turning complexity into clarity. By combining advanced analytics, automation, and a customer-first mindset, DGS is redefining what’s possible in network optimization and enabling meaningful impact across global markets,” said Fernando Murias, Chairman & CEO of DGS.

DGS’s unwavering commitment to customer experience further strengthens its position in the market. By providing detailed, timely information, supporting proactive network management, and enabling partially automated problem resolution, DGS ensures that CSPs and enterprises can optimize their RAN and spectrum investments. Its focus on delivering tailored solutions across diverse market segments has been key to enabling measurable improvements in performance, cost-efficiency, and service reliability.

Frost & Sullivan commends DGS for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and market responsiveness. The company’s vision, innovation pipeline, and customer-first culture are shaping the future of 4G/5G network optimization and driving tangible results at scale.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Enabling Technology Leadership recognition to a company that demonstrates outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in market share, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. The recognition honors forward-thinking organizations that are reshaping their industries through innovation and growth excellence.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Recognition

Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Recognitions honor companies across regional and global markets that exhibit exceptional achievement and consistent excellence in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer experience, and strategic product development. Each recognition is the result of a rigorous analytical process in which Frost & Sullivan industry experts benchmark performance through comprehensive interviews, deep-dive analysis, and extensive secondary research. The goal is to identify true best-in-class organizations that are driving transformative growth and setting new industry standards.

Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Ashley Shreve
E: ashley.weinkauf@frost.com 

About Digital Global Systems (DGS)
Digital Global Systems (DGS) delivers AI-driven RF awareness and spectrum optimization solutions that power resilient communications for governments, industries, and communities worldwide. With more than 600 issued and pending patents, DGS helps nations and enterprises rebuild stronger, smarter, and more connected.

Contact:
Carly Bourne
E: dgs@bulleitgroup.com

Beetles Gel Polish Launches 2025 Black Friday Sale Offering the Biggest Savings of the Year

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Advertorial Desk
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Beetles Gift Spree — One season, One spree. No regrets.

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The holiday season is all about color, creativity, and connection — and Beetles Gel Polish is ready to bring them all to your fingertips. The brand is launching its 2025 Black Friday Sale — Beetles Gift Spree, offering its biggest savings event of the year from November 20 through December 1. The sale features up to 70% off sitewide, flash buys starting at $1.99, and “Buy One, Get One Free” offers on selected products.


Black Friday Sale Details: Beetles will host its Black Friday sale on its Amazon store.

Main Sale Period (Nov 20–Dec 1):

Up to 70% off sitewide
$1.99/$2.99/$3.99 flash buys
“Buy One, Get One Free” deals

Final Call (Dec 2–Dec 3): Up to 70% off sitewide

Website-Exclusive New User & Referral Program

From November 10 to December 3, Beetles will run an exclusive “New User & Referral Program” on its official site offering the following rewards:

  • Users signing up on Beetles’ site for the first time will be emailed with 20 product discount codes: 10 to use on the site and 10 on its Amazon store.
  • Existing users can invite friends to register. The referee will receive product discount codes on signing up, and the referrer will receive $15 off their next order of $15 or more once the referee completes a purchase.
  • All valid sign-ups will automatically enter the Christmas Advent Calendar Giveaway, retailed at $199.99. Winners will later be announced on Beetles’ social media, website, and Amazon store.

Featured Bundles

To get your hands on Beetles’ exclusive savings, feel free to add your favorite gel polish sets to your cart right now, and check out once the discounts go live.

This holiday limited edition set brings 8 festive shades together in a beautifully crafted Christmas gift box. It offers endless holiday looks and is perfect for Christmas parties, winter gatherings, or cozy moments at home.

This light-included kit features the most classic Christmas shades, including vibrant festive red and sparkling gold, perfectly capturing the holiday trends. Thoughtfully packaged, it’s perfect for at-home nail lovers and beginners looking to create their own holiday-ready manicures.

A limited-edition kit combines precision, versatility, and long-lasting hold in one bottle. Made with a safe formula, this 9-in-1 super strong nail gel glue offers functions from nail tips glue to sealing gel, enabling salon-quality, durable nail designs anytime and anywhere.

Biggest Sale Moment of the Year

As Beetles’ biggest sale of the year, this is the moment to explore new shades, refresh your nail looks, and stock up on holiday gifts. Whether you’re treating yourself or surprising someone special, Beetles makes it easy to share the joy — one color at a time.

About Beetles

Founded in the U.S. in 2017, Beetles Gel Polish has grown from a cult favorite into one of the world’s most trusted nail brands. With a vision to make beauty a mindful ritual, Beetles transforms nail art into an immersive experience of creativity, confidence, and connection.

From salon-quality gel formulas to DIY-friendly innovations, Beetles Gel Polish empowers every user, from beginners to pros, to express themselves through the nail journey.

Read more about the latest nail trends at: https://www.beetlesgel.com/pages/blogs

PRESS CONTACT
brand@beetlesgel.com

Wiwynn Delivers Best MLPerf® Training v5.1 (Closed) Llama 2 70B LoRA Results at YTL Malaysia Data Center

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Advertorial Desk
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Best verified results on Llama 2 70B LoRA using 1x and 8x NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 systems, production-deployed to power APAC AI training at YTL.

TAIPEI, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Wiwynn announced best results in the MLPerf® Training v5.1 Llama 2 70B LoRA benchmark (Closed division), earning best performance on both 1x and 8x NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 configurations. The submissions were executed on production systems already deployed by YTL AI Cloud, spanning a 1-rack NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 (with 72 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs) and an 8-rack NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 integrating 576 GPUs—demonstrating leadership from single-rack to multi-rack scale.

The verified MLPerf scores highlight Wiwynn’s strengths in system design, manufacturing, liquid cooling, multi-rack integration, and hardware/software co-optimization, combined with YTL’s excellence in AI infrastructure integration and operations. Together, the partners demonstrate how close collaboration between system manufacturers and data center operators can deliver production-grade, benchmark-verified AI training performance.

 “Wiwynn designs for workload optimization and real-world deployment,” said William Lin, President and CEO at Wiwynn. “Our collaboration with YTL spans from L11 system integration to L12, delivering expanded infrastructure and software integration. Our solution built on NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 infrastructure at YTL shows how system engineering and software tuning unlock the full potential of large-scale GPU clusters.”

“At YTL AI Cloud, we are building the region’s most advanced AI infrastructure to serve as a premium hub for AI training and inferencing across APAC,” said Philip Lin, CEO, YTL AI Cloud. “Our collaboration with Wiwynn demonstrates how the right facility design, infrastructure readiness, and system partnership can deliver world-class AI capability at production scale.”

“Congratulations to Wiwynn on their strong achievements in MLPerf® Training v5.1. We appreciate their active, transparent participation and knowledge sharing, which strengthen the ecosystem and supports our mission of open collaboration to improve AI systems’ accuracy, safety, speed, and efficiency,” said David Kanter, Founder and Head of MLPerf, MLCommons.

YTL AI Cloud’s large scale clusters are purpose built with the most advanced GPUs, liquid-cooled high-density racks, redundant power architecture, and low-latency interconnects. As a strategic AI hub for the Asia-Pacific region, YTL AI Cloud in Johor, Malaysia enables global and regional customers to deploy, train, and scale frontier AI models such as Llama 2 70B efficiently and sustainably.

By combining Wiwynn’s cutting-edge system integration with YTL’s robust AI data center foundation, the collaboration establishes a new standard for high-performance, scalable, and sustainable AI training infrastructure in the region.

Footnote: [1] MLPerf® Training v5.1 Closed Llama 2 70B LoRA; systems: 1x NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 (72 GPUs) and 8x NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 (576 GPUs). Official results verified by MLCommons Association. Retrieved from the MLCommons results site on Nov. 12, 2025. The MLPerf name and logo are registered and unregistered trademarks of MLCommons Association in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use strictly prohibited. See www.mlcommons.org for more information.

About Wiwynn

Wiwynn is an innovative cloud IT infrastructure provider of high-quality computing and storage products, plus rack solutions for leading data centers. We are committed to the vision of “unleash the power of digitalization; ignite the innovation of sustainability”. The company aggressively invests in next-generation technologies to provide the best TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), workload, and energy-optimized IT solutions from cloud to edge.

For more information, please visit Wiwynn website, Facebook, and Linkedin.

Ulanzi Unveils Move LightGo: High-Precision Remote Lighting Control, Scene Memory & Multi-Unit Sync for Enhanced Shooting Efficiency

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Advertorial Desk
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HONG KONG, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ulanzi, a leading innovator in photography accessories, announced the release of its latest innovation – Move LightGo. It is a groundbreaking remote lighting control system to boost efficiency and productivity for photographers and filmmakers. The Move LightGo combines 14-bit high-precision hardware control and a high-precision control sensor, offering drastically improved lighting setup efficiency than traditional manual adjustments, with 95% Bowens-mount compatibility for mainstream professional lighting equipment.


Ulanzi Move LightGo

Product Highlights:

1. 14-Bit High-Precision Control Sensor

Move LightGo combines pinpoint angle adjustment with broad equipment compatibility:

  • Adjust light tilt (0-170°) and pan (0-450°) via a handheld remote to help solo operators execute complex lighting setups with significant efficiency.
  • Cover 95% of Bowens-mount lights and support 6kg full-power loads to meet professional lighting expansion needs.

2. Remote Control Lighting System

Move LightGo supports 3 control systems with extended operation capability, including a 3m wired remote (standard), 30m 2.4G wireless remote (optional), and 10m Bluetooth app control for different operational scenarios.

3.  4 Memory Presets + Multi-Unit Sync for Demanding Shoots

The Move LightGo combines preset storage with multi-unit control capability:

  • Store and recall lighting positions via 4 presets (A/B/C/D) to eliminate repetitive adjustments.
  • Address each unit individually in multi-light setups; record positions under one channel for precise single or group control to simplify complex lighting design.

4. Multiple Power Options + Direct Light Power Draw

The Move LightGo combines a versatile power supply with simplified cable management:

  • Support 45W direct charging, external V-mount batteries, and power transfer modules.
  • Use optional AC/DC/CANNON adapter plates to draw power directly from lights and reduce cable clutter.

About Ulanzi:
Ulanzi, founded in 2015, is a globally leading brand specializing in photography accessories. It is dedicated to simplifying content creation with user-centric and highly compatible gear. Trusted by users worldwide, Ulanzi is known for its innovative designs, exceptional durability, and seamless usability, making it the top choice for photography enthusiasts.

Tracking link and tags
https://bit.ly/4oAjXfD
20% OFF until December 31st

Contact: marketing@ulanzi.com 

ABOK Delivers Reliable, Sustainable Power With Its Ark Series — Now Available at Exclusive Black Friday Savings

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Advertorial Desk
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MIAMI, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ABOK, an emerging innovator in portable power and energy storage, was founded on a simple belief: energy should not only transcend technological limits, but also the boundaries of time and space. Founded by senior engineers from frontline R&D roles across the energy and power electronics industries, the company brings over a decade of deep technical expertise to the rapidly expanding portable power category.

From day one, ABOK’s mission has been to solve the industry’s toughest engineering challenges — achieving higher energy density, faster charging speeds, and greater long-term stability. The result is a product line designed for real-world durability, turning laboratory theory into reliable, market-ready power solutions.

“ABOK was born with a clear mission — to make energy more accessible and let life and creativity flow without constraint. Through innovative battery technology and precision engineering, we aim to deliver reliable, efficient, and sustainable portable energy solutions to users around the world,” said Kim Liang, Product Director at ABOK. “Looking ahead, we will continue to push technological boundaries and focus on user-centered design. Our vision is to become a trusted global energy partner, and empowering people to create, connect, and explore anytime, anywhere.”

ABOK Ark Series: Power for Every Scenario

ABOK’s flagship Ark Series is engineered to support a wide range of real-world scenarios — outdoor living, vanlife, remote filming, mobile production, home backup, or emergency preparedness. Named after a protective “ark,” the series embodies safe, reliable, and secure portable energy wherever traditional generators fall short: silent operation, clean energy, and superior stability.

At the center of the lineup is ABOK’s breakthrough product, the Ark3600, which remains one of the most compact high-capacity power stations in its class. Built with high-performance control chips and integrated hybrid charging technology, it achieves a full recharge in as little as 1.3 hours — less than half the time required by many competing products.

The Ark3600 offers an expandable capacity of up to 11,520 Wh with two extra batteries, enough to power 50–60 W devices for several days. Its EV-class LiFePO₄ battery provides more than 4,000 charge cycles, while 15 output ports support simultaneous use of everything, from drones and cameras to laptops and cooking appliances. With up to 2,000 W solar input, the unit can fully recharge via panels in just over 2.3 hours, enabling users to stay powered sustainably in any environment. A compact form factor and smart app control further enhances usability for both beginners and professionals.

From November 20 to December 1, Ark3600 will be available at a Black Friday price of just $1,099 (down from $1,899).

Purchase Link: ABOK on Amazon

About ABOK

ABOK is a global innovator in portable power and energy storage solutions. Guided by its vision of “Power Beyond Limits,” ABOK focuses on creating power stations with ultra-high energy density, exceptional stability, and extreme output performance. Every product is engineered with precision and tested rigorously to ensure that users can stay powered anytime, anywhere.

ABOK Product Family (Credit: ABOK)
ABOK Product Family (Credit: ABOK)

 

Canary Speech Receives Frost & Sullivan’s 2025 North America Technology Innovation Leadership Recognition for Technology Innovation Leadership

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Advertorial Desk
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Recognized for transforming Intelligent Vocal Biomarker Diagnostics through innovative AI-powered, smartphone-based diagnostic solutions

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Canary Speech, a global leader in AI-powered vocal biomarker technology, has received the 2025 North America Technology Innovation Leadership recognition in the intelligent vocal biomarker diagnostics industry for its outstanding achievements in technology innovation. This recognition highlights Canary Speech’s consistent leadership in driving measurable outcomes, strengthening its market position, and delivering customer-centric innovation in an evolving competitive landscape.

Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. Canary Speech excelled in both, demonstrating its ability to align strategic initiatives with market demand while executing them with efficiency, consistency, and scale. “Canary Speech believes that NLP-based early disease detection through speech analytics will become obsolete due to inherent inaccuracies and reproducibility limitations. As such, it recognizes the potential for merging vocal biomarker datasets with generative AI and large language models via quantum computing. This convergence will unlock new insights as evolving AI models are implemented on data collected from vocal biomarkers,” said Swati Mishra, TechVision Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan.

Guided by a long-term growth strategy focused on Intelligent Biomarker Diagnostics, Canary Speech has shown its ability to adapt and lead in a rapidly evolving landscape. The company’s strategic agility and sustained investment in technology innovation have enabled it to scale effectively across North America, creating new opportunities for accessible, high-precision, non-invasive diagnostics in both clinical and remote healthcare settings.

Innovation remains central to Canary Speech’s approach. Its AI-powered vocal biomarker platform addresses the full spectrum of diagnostic needs, offering a scalable, smartphone-enabled solution that reduces operational complexity, enhances diagnostic accuracy, and delivers faster results. “Frost & Sullivan’s recognition reinforces our leadership in applying advanced AI to the science of voice,” said Henry O’Connell, CEO of Canary Speech. “At Canary, we are focused on building scalable, clinically validated solutions that integrate seamlessly into the digital health ecosystem. Vocal biomarkers represent one of the most promising frontiers in precision diagnostics, and we’re committed to driving innovation that delivers measurable impact for healthcare providers, partners, and patients.”

Canary Speech’s unwavering commitment to customer experience further strengthens its position in the market. By streamlining point-of-care testing, reducing reliance on centralized laboratories, and enabling faster clinical decision-making, the company continues to meet the needs of healthcare providers and patients alike. Its secure, HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified platform ensures data privacy and regulatory adherence while delivering measurable improvements in operational efficiency.

Frost & Sullivan commends Canary Speech for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and market responsiveness. The company’s vision, innovation pipeline, and customer-first culture are shaping the future of Intelligent Vocal Biomarker Diagnostics and driving tangible results at scale.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Technology Innovation Leadership Recognition to a company that demonstrates outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in market share, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. The recognition honors forward-thinking organizations that are reshaping their industries through innovation and growth excellence. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices recognitions highlight companies in regional and global markets for their superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Recognition

Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Recognitions honor companies across regional and global markets that exhibit exceptional achievement and consistent excellence in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer experience, and strategic product development. Each recognition is the result of a rigorous analytical process in which Frost & Sullivan industry experts benchmark performance through comprehensive interviews, deep-dive analysis, and extensive secondary research. The goal is to identify true best-in-class organizations that are driving transformative growth and setting new industry standards.
Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Ashley Shreve
E: ashley.weinkauf@frost.com 

About Canary Speech

Canary Speech is a Utah-based, AI-powered voice biomarker health tech company, utilizing patented real-time vocal analysis to screen for mental health and neurological disorders. Canary’s technology swiftly captures and analyzes speech data, detecting behavioral and cognitive changes—including signs of anxiety, depression, and dementia—often before traditional clinical standards or noticeable symptoms. Recently, Canary Speech launched Canary Ambient™, an API-first solution for real-time voice analysis in healthcare and contact centers. This clinical decision support software provides actionable insights from patient-clinician conversations by tracking speech patterns for real-time assessments of cognitive and behavioral health conditions. Canary Speech advances speech and language applications across health systems, payers, and pharmaceutical markets.

SwitchBot Launches the New Presence Sensor with mmWave Radar

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Advertorial Desk
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TOKYO, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — SwitchBot, a leading provider of AI-enabled embodied home robotics systems, today officially launched its brand-new battery-powered Presence Sensor, equipped with a 60Hz mmWave radar, a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor, and a light sensor.

SwitchBot Presence Sensor
SwitchBot Presence Sensor

Designed to solve the limitations of traditional motion sensors, the SwitchBot Presence Sensor delivers more accurate room detection, smarter lighting automation, and greater energy efficiency in everyday home scenarios.

Accurate Presence Detection

Featuring a 60Hz mmWave radar, a PIR sensor, and a light sensor, the SwitchBot Presence Sensor aims to deliver highly accurate, continuous presence monitoring.

While the PIR sensor provides rapid initial detection of human entry, the mmWave radar enables micro-motion recognition, capturing the most subtle physiological movements such as breathing or minor posture adjustments. This allows the sensor to maintain accurate occupancy status even when a person remains stationary, tackling the inherent limitation of conventional PIR-only sensors.

With the built-in light sensor to determine the light condition within the room, the SwitchBot Presence Sensor combines motion, micro-motion, and light condition data, providing support for context-aware automation, ensuring lighting and home appliances remain active when a room is truly occupied while reducing false activations.

Additionally, the SwitchBot Presence Sensor has also incorporated multiple anti-interference features, including AI environmental learning to help the sensor to precisely identify the frequency of fans or air conditioners, and eliminate the influence of regarded items. A pet-avoidance function is also supported through angle adjustment using its rotatable magnetic base, reducing false triggers caused by small animals.

Battery-Powered All-Room Coverage

Supported by ultra-low-power mmWave radar technology, the SwitchBot Presence Sensor delivers up to 2 years of battery life on two AAA batteries.

Meanwhile, combined with a magnetic, adhesive-ready base, the SwitchBot Presence Sensor could be placed on walls, desks, or metal surfaces without wiring. Rated IPX5, it’s suitable for bathrooms and humid environments, offering coverage up to 8m for movement and 5m for static presence with a 120° detection angle.

Comprehensive Smart Home Integration

The SwitchBot Presence Sensor supports Matter (via SwitchBot Matter-enabled hubs), Home Assistant, and third-party voice assistants, enabling presence and light-level data to be displayed and used across multiple smart home platforms.

In addition to cloud-based integrations, the sensor also supports local automation, allowing it to trigger actions, such as lighting or appliance control, even without Internet. This combination of broad ecosystem compatibility and offline functionality ensures responsive, reliable operation in any environment.

Pricing and Availability

The SwitchBot Presence Sensor is available through the official SwitchBot website and Amazon Stores, with an MSRP of USD 29.99 / GBP 32.99 / EUR 32.99 / CAD 35.99.

For more information, please visit SwitchBot’s official website and follow SwitchBot onX,Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Japanese Princess Lands in Laos on First Trip Overseas

By
Beatrice Siviero
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Japan's Princess Aiko smiles during the spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo on April 22, 2025. (Photo by Shuji Kajiyama / POOL / AFP)

AFP – Japan’s Princess Aiko arrived in Laos on 17 November for her first official overseas trip, state media said, a largely symbolic visit to Tokyo’s beneficiary in Southeast Asia.

Aiko landed in at Vientiane’s Wattay International Airport shortly before 8 PM.

The only child of Emperor Naruhito, not in line to the throne due to the royal family’s male-only succession rules, will spend this week in the country to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Japan-Laos diplomatic relations.

One of Asia’s largest economies, Japan has provided more than USD 370 million in grants to Laos between 2019 and 2024, making it one of the nation’s largest bilateral donors.

Much of the over 150 development projects in that time have been funded through Japan’s overseas development agency, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).

During her trip through 22 November, Aiko will meet President Thongloun Sisoulith and visit a center to raise awareness about the unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War, which continues to kill and injure people in Laos. Japan has long supported ordnance clearing and rehabilitation programs in the country.

The 23-year-old princess will also attend a martial arts competition at the Japan-supported Budo Center and visit a Japanese-language school, according to Japanese media reports.

Japan often sends younger members of the royal family on goodwill missions across Southeast Asia, quiet gestures of soft power meant to build personal, long-term connections beyond politics.

Even though Japanese tradition dictates only a man can carry on the centuries-old imperial line, opinion polls have shown high public support for a woman taking the throne.

Laos has in recent years hosted a handful of international royals.

Neighbouring Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn visited this year and last year, the Sultan of Brunei in 2023, and Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri in 2022.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, then-crown prince, last visited Laos in 2012.

© Agence France-Presse

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