iKala founder Sega Cheng with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in October 2021. iKala opened a unit in Japan last year. (Photo courtesy of iKala) SHUHEI YAMADA, Nikkei Asia Tech chief editor August 31, 2022 05:49 JST | Taiwan Copy Copied TOKYO — Some Taiwanese startups specializing in artificial intelligence have chosen to expand in Japan rather than mainland China due to structural barriers that have become inherent in Chinese cyberspace. Sega Cheng, a former Google engineer, founded the startup iKala in Taipei in 2011 as an online karaoke operation. Now the company helps vendors connect with influencers. In September last…