| Hey, this is MJ in Tokyo, the place where we don't get to see the new Mario movie until the end of April. But first... Help us make this newsletter better by filling out this survey Today's must-reads: • UK watchdog fined TikTok
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• A short seller accused C3.ai of accounting issues Super Mario and his brother Luigi are "the most iconic and beloved characters in the gaming universe," in the words of Chris Meledandri, founder and head of the animation studio that just made a movie starring them. That film, premiering internationally on Wednesday, won't feature in Japanese theaters for another three weeks. So why do fans in the birthplace of Super Mario and the home base of its creator Nintendo Co. have to wait? The straightforward answer is that Japan will be the toughest audience to please. Everyone here, myself included, has a strong idea of what Mario and his world of friends and enemies should — nay, must — be like. Yes, the rest of the world has diehard fans, but no country has the same concentration of Mario followers that Japan does. For a certain demographic now deep into adulthood, Mario will forever be a throwback to nostalgic times of youth. We each have our own fond memories of Super Mario characters and are therefore more sensitive to alterations. We've been disappointed before. Remember 1993's Super Mario Bros. live-action flick starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo? Many of us wish we could forget. The personal Mario history that we all carry, combined with Japan's love for animated characters in general, makes each and every viewer a discerning critic. A quick search on Japanese Twitter brings up loads of screenshots from the teaser trailer, with detailed analysis from the tweeter of why they liked or disliked a certain aspect. Nevertheless, there's real potential that we can wipe away the sore memory of the old movie and put in its place a happy, shiny, animated flick worthy of enhancing our childhood memories rather than spoiling them. And even though Japan has to wait, there's a local incentive for the movie to be an international hit. It would help Japan freshen its cultural appeal and perhaps rekindle some of the brand cachet the country had some decades ago. Early indications from the US are for a very warm box office reception. My colleague Lucas Shaw went to a screening of the Super Mario Bros. Movie and said although it has flaws, he was impressed with how the filmmakers translated the world of the game to the screen and described the visuals as "A+." Worst case, even if the movie disappoints, there could be a new Mario game in the near term to distract us. Citi analysts Junko Yamamura and Sachiko Uzaki wrote in a recent note to clients that they expect a new one released between July and September to capitalize on interest in the movie. —Min Jeong Lee Google's Bard chatbot readily complies with requests to churn out content supporting thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories and writes convincingly about them. Japan will purchase $7 billion worth of chip gear in 2024, the biggest jump in spending worldwide. Apple's weather service is experiencing outages in some areas. Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy after the satellite-launch firm failed to secure funding and cut about 85% of its staff. Amazon laid off about 100 employees in its video game division. Shares of SenseTime soared on speculation that the Chinese company would create a rival to ChatGPT. | 
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