In a recent post on Thursday, X’s Chief Executive, Linda Yaccarino, disclosed the platform’s intention to recruit engineers in Japan, signaling a strategic move to expand its operations in the country.
The announcement follows an earlier report by Nikkei, quoting Yaccarino, that X plans to initiate the hiring process in 2024 and establish an app development team dedicated to creating functions and advertising products tailored for the Japanese market.
The development team’s primary focus will be on devising a mechanism for low-cost ads, with the goal of tapping into the demand from small and midsize businesses in Japan, as detailed in the Nikkei report.
X has encountered challenges retaining advertisers since its acquisition by Elon Musk in October 2022.
The platform faced a recent exodus from major brands, including Apple, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros Discovery, due to mounting concerns about antisemitic content.
To address these issues, Musk has reportedly issued a “full apology on the issue and full explanation,” according to Yaccarino as quoted by Nikkei. Additionally, measures will be taken to reinforce the team in Japan to effectively deal with inappropriate content.
On December 7, X initiated the rollout of Grok, the “rebellious” AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI startup, to Premium+ subscribers on the X platform.
The plan is to extend the availability of Grok to Japanese users, representing X’s second-largest user base, with the ultimate goal of making it accessible in “hopefully” all languages by early 2024, as outlined by the platform’s owner.
