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Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has seen threat actors rely on artificial intelligence to produce fake images, videos and text to try influencing users on its sites.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2024

Meta removes AI-generated influence campaigns from China and Israel

Social media companies such as Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X have struggled with the influx of fake and misleading AI-generated content on their sites.
A worker installs a barrier to block the sight of Mount Fuji in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on May 21.
JAPAN
May 30, 2024

Town to replace Mount Fuji barrier after holes found: local media

The barrier was put up last week in a popular viewing spot in the town of Fujikawaguchiko.
LINE, the app at the center of a tug-of-war for control. Line was introduced in Japan in 2011 by Naver, the operator of South Korea’s leading search engine.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2024

Japan and South Korea are fighting over an app at a tense time

Leaders on both the Japanese and South Korean sides appear determined to prevent the quarrel over Line from escalating.
This screen grab taken from video posted on the WikiLeaks X account on Tuesday shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looking out the window of a private jet as he flies from London to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands after reaching a plea deal with the U.S. authorities.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 26, 2024

Assange walks free, but plea deal sets a chilling precedent

The Committee to Protect Journalists says the prosecution had grave implications for journalists and press freedom worldwide.
Cameras and lenses are displayed at Fujifilm Holdings headquarters in Tokyo on June 7.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Fujifilm once struggled to sell cameras. Now, it can't keep up with demand.

Fujifilm is struggling to meet demand for the X100 camera, prized by young 20-something social media users for its looks and high-end functions.
PRESS
Jul 26, 2024

The Japan Times receives Best Aviation AI submission at 2024 Aerospace Media Awards

An article on China’s use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in military technology written by Gabriel Dominguez and published by The Japan Times, Ltd. (Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) received an award for The Best Aviation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Submission...
Researchers have flagged that Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 and is a vocal backer of Donald Trump, appears to be swaying voters by spreading falsehoods on his personal account.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2024

Musk's misleading election posts viewed 1.2 billion times, study says

Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 for $44 billion, is facing growing scrutiny over his potential influence on voters.
Algeria's Imane Khelif after she won her semifinal bout in the women's 66-kg class at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 6.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Aug 15, 2024

Boxer Khelif names Musk and Rowling in cyber-harassment case: report

Khelif, who won a gold medal for Algeria in women’s welterweight boxing in Paris, faced intense scrutiny during the Olympics over her biological sex.
Robert C. Neff, passed away at after a long illness at 77 years old on July 31, 2024, at his home in Hayama, south of Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
Aug 25, 2024

The American journalist ahead of the game on an ascendant Japan

Neff was part of a golden age of magazine journalism as Tokyo bureau chief for Businessweek magazine and a lover of hot spring retreats.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is being held in France in a preliminary investigation into alleged offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Durov's Telegram: 'Weapon of war' under increased scrutiny

Both Russia and Ukraine use Telegram, known for its encryption, with Russian troops even relying on the messaging app in the battlefield.
Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of now-shuttered Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, leaves the district court in Hong Kong on Thursday after he was found guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024

Hong Kong editors convicted of sedition in blow to press freedom

Local news outlets in Hong Kong already self-censor to survive and some foreign news organizations have left or moved out staff.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, during an event in November last year. Brazil blocked the social network after Musk refused to comply with a Brazilian judge's orders to suspend certain accounts.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2024

Musk’s X goes dark in Brazil after supreme court’s ruling

While the U.S. tends toward strong free-speech protections, many countries are taking aggressive steps to make companies more accountable for their online content.
The shutdown of Elon Musk's X has drawn parallels with authoritarian regimes, damaging Brazil’s international reputation and raising concerns about judicial overreach.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

Shutting off Elon Musk won't help Brazil's democracy

While regulating hate speech is complex, the approach by Brazil's Supreme Court might be excessive and counterproductive.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Harris' debate plan: Call out Trump and create social media moments

Vice President Kamala Harris' team believes many will watch the debate as video clips on social media platforms like TikTok and X.
Protesters demonstrate against the country's ban of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 8, 2024

Brazil's right rallies against 'censorship' amid X suspension

The move was the culmination of a legal spat that began when a supreme court Judge ordered the suspension of several X accounts belonging to Bolsonaro supporters.
A green wireframe model covers an actor's lower face during the creation of a synthetic facial reanimation video, known as a deepfake, in London in 2019.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 16, 2024

Beware 'deepfakes' of famous doctors promoting scams, experts warn

The AI videos typically target older audiences by faking the identity of doctors who appear regularly on daytime television.
Elon Musk has tried to portray the judge’s efforts as a dangerous example of state overreach and an attack on free speech, while supporters say the campaign is necessary to clean up the internet.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2024

Elon Musk’s X bypasses Brazil ban through a software update

Brazil’s telecoms regulator, Anatel, said there was no change in the Supreme Court decision to ban X, formally known as Twitter.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on Orion AR glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2024

Meta pitches augmented reality glasses as eventual smartphone rival

The firm's Orion prototype glasses, introduced Wednesday, have lenses that can display text messages, video calls and even YouTube videos in the user’s field of vision.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stands with Mech Dara in Washington on June 15, 2023. An award-winning Cambodian journalist known for his reporting on human trafficking in the cyber scam industry, Dara has been arrested in Cambodia, police said on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 2, 2024

Cambodia charges journalist who exposed trafficking and scam compounds with incitement

In a statement, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in the country’s capital said Mech Dara had posted "provocative" and "false" messages.
A couple from Orlando walks along a street covered in sand as a result of Hurricane Helene in Clearwater, Florida, ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected midweek landfall.
WORLD / Society
Oct 7, 2024

FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation as Florida braces for Milton

The head of the U.S. disaster relief agency lashed out at a "dangerous" misinformation war being waged over the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
The Consumer Affairs Agency is warning against fake websites that lure consumers into purchasing unrelated or counterfeit products.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2024

Consumer watchdog warns against fake electronics sites

The sites, often promoted via social media ads, are luring consumers into purchasing unrelated or counterfeit products.
X owner Elon Musk and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump meet prior to a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2024

Disinformation stirred by Musk and Trump adds strain to hurricane recovery

Conspiracy theories and hate speech targeting the government’s storm response erupted across social media after Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii appeal to voters in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2024

LDP may lose majority for first time since 2009, media forecasts show

Public support for the LDP has taken a beating following funding scandal that began last year.
Suspect Mazuki Takarada, 22, at the Aoba Police Station in Kanagawa Prefecture on Sunday. He was taken to prosecutors on the same day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 21, 2024

Police arrest 22-year-old man over fatal Yokohama burglary

Mazuki Takarada, a self-declared sole proprietor from Chiba Prefecture, was arrested on Saturday over the death of a 75-year-old man in his Yokohama home last week.
People wait in a line to vote during the Super Tuesday primary election in Edinburg, Texas, on March 5.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

Chinese operation targeting U.S. down-ballot races, Microsoft says

The lawmakers were targeted because they had historically denounced Chinese government policies.
“Vote harassment” continues to be a significant barrier to women’s participation in politics, with only two prefectures having passed local ordinances aiming to eliminate the problem.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

1 in 4 female candidates face sexual harassment during campaigns

Despite a record 314 women running in Sunday's Lower House election, harassment continues to be a barrier to women's participation in politics.
A false claim on social media about a restaurant chain being infested with slugs led to the store's closure. The man behind the claim was sentenced to prison on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2024

Man gets prison time for false restaurant slug infestation claims

Haruomi Enya, 25, was convicted of obstruction of business by deception. His false claims ultimately led to the establishment's closure.
The Washington Post newspaper's headquarters is seen on K Street in Washington in May 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2024

Washington Post to no longer endorse presidential candidates

The change is significant for the Post, which uncovered the Watergate scandal and has a long history of standing up to those in power.
The IFC One Saigon building in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Nov. 30, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 4, 2024

U.S. tech firms issue warning over Vietnam's planned data law

The country is aiming to exponentially increase its data center industry with foreign investment in coming years.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Elon Musk-led election falsehoods hang over vote as tally begins

Elon Musk has become Republican candidate Donald Trump’s most high-profile donor and supporter.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji