The Rakuten logo is seen in this photo taken on June 11, 2019. (Mainichi)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japanese mail-order firm and shopping catalog magazine publisher Cataloghouse Ltd. has withdrawn its store from Rakuten Group Inc.’s e-commerce website as Rakuten reportedly plans to partner with a German defense artificial intelligence company to help it provide its drones to Japan’s Defense Ministry.
Cataloghouse, known for its openly anti-war stance, said that Rakuten’s tie-up with Helsing, a German interceptor drone start-up, is “incompatible with its corporate philosophy.”
The withdrawal of its official Tsuhan Seikatsu (Mail Order Life) store from e-commerce marketplace Rakuten Ichiba took effect on Tuesday with Cataloghouse posting a notice on its website, stating, “We must uphold the pledge to renounce war enshrined in Article 9 of the Constitution.”
Cataloghouse had operated the store on Rakuten’s site since March of this year.
It has long held the position that “shopping will be the last thing on anyone’s mind if war breaks out.”
Helsing, founded in 2021, designs systems that utilize AI to operate drones autonomously. It has small drones that possess offensive capabilities.