LSN : Daily Signals : Japan cancels cherry blossom festival amid overtourism pressures

Ferrari Luce redefines electric performance through tactile design

Ferrari Luce, Ferrari, Italy

Italy, US – Ferrari has unveiled the interior and interface of its first fully electric sports car, the Ferrari Luce.

Revealed in San Francisco and produced in collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive’s creative collective LoveFrom, the cabin resists the touchscreen-heavy norms of EV design, instead pairing multifunctional digital displays with precision-engineered mechanical buttons, dials and toggles.

Two paddles behind the steering wheel let the driver shift gears in a fluid, tactile motion, restoring the visceral connection often missing in engineless cars. Every control emphasises materiality: glass and aluminium replace polycarbonate and plastic, while digital displays are complemented by pressable buttons and dials. A handle beneath the central screen allows the driver to pull the display closer and provides a natural wrist rest, blending ergonomics with physical engagement.

The steering wheel is crafted from 100% recycled aluminium, making it 400g lighter than standard Ferrari models – a nod to Luce’s name, which means ‘light’ in Italian.

With its exterior reveal set for May 2026 in Italy, Ferrari Luce reflects shifts identified in The Future Laboratory’s Tangible Tech design direction, as brands move away from over-humanised interfaces towards hardware that celebrates the machine.

Strategic opportunity

Design products that balance cutting-edge technologies with tactile, intuitive controls, showing how brands can deliver next-generation innovation without losing the emotional, hands-on engagement that offers connection and delight

Japan cancels cherry blossom festival amid overtourism pressures

Japan – A major cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji has been cancelled after authorities warned that tourism pressures were tipping into a civic crisis.

The Arakurayama Sengen park cherry blossom festival in Fujiyoshida, held annually for the past decade, will not go ahead this year despite typically attracting around 200,000 visitors.

As well as the volume of tourists overwhelming local infrastructure, city officials cited repeated incidents of disruptive tourist behaviour, including trespassing and littering. Parents have also raised concerns about children being pushed aside on school routes as pavements become overcrowded during peak season.

Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi said the decision was driven by a need to protect residents’ dignity and daily lives, warning that the town faces a ‘strong sense of crisis’. During blossom season, Fujiyoshida can receive more than 10,000 visitors a day, a surge officials link to the weak yen and the viral pull of social media (source: BBC).

In our Anti-tourism Market report, we explore how growing resentment from residents is pushing governments to take decisive action, with tourism restrictions becoming more common.

Aman Kyoto, Japan

Strategic opportunity

Redesign popular travel experiences and cultural moments to reward off-peak participation and dispersed discovery, reducing pressure on single locations or moments

Stat: How different generations are really using AI

AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK

US – A new survey of 3,000 Americans by AI homework assistant Edubrain reveals that Millennials are the most avid users of AI, with 37% using it daily, compared to 25% of Gen Z and 19% of Gen X. For older cohorts, AI functions largely as a smarter search engine: 69% of Millennials and 63% of Gen X use it to find information. Gen Z, however, leans into creativity and entertainment, with 60% using AI for creative tasks.

According to the survey, AI prompts range from ‘help me find the cheapest pair of socks online’ to ‘predict whether my husband is gonna cheat on me’, suggesting Americans are turning to AI for everything from the mundane to the deeply personal.

But curiosity has a darker edge: some 35% have asked AI to predict the future, while 18% admit using it for illegal purposes. Among non-users, 67% say they don’t trust the technology and 43% cite data privacy concerns. As fears grow around deception and deepfakes, Americans also remain split on governance: 36% want government regulation, 25% say the public should decide and 21% favour company self-regulation.

Explore our The Synthocene Era: Trend Tracker, which unpacks the near-term implications of a world shaped by synthetic systems. From AI companionship to deeper relational experiences between humans and machines, it highlights the cultural shifts, emerging behaviours and commercial signals redefining how we connect, create and consume, spotlighting tangible opportunities your business can act on.

Strategic opportunity

Develop emotionally intelligent AI companions that detect tone and context, building relationship-led engagement beyond transactions, particularly for younger generations already using AI for personal support