Digital | ON: TECH Jul 14, 2019
Small changes for big differences
Business / Corporate Jun 28, 2019
Line unveils credit scoring, an AI receptionist and other new services
Line Corp. has unveiled new services, from credit scoring to an AI-powered robot receptionist, as the operator of Japan's dominant messaging platform seeks to expand beyond chat. Line Score will rate users based on information they provide as well as their interactions with other services ...
Business / Corporate Jun 26, 2019
Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. said Tuesday that it will start a new service to allow customers to order and pay through its smartphone app without waiting in line. The service, called Mobile Order & Pay, started at its 56 stores in Tokyo on Wednesday. Starbucks aims ...
Business / Corporate Jun 20, 2019
Line Corp., the nation's largest messaging app, is close to obtaining a license to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan, according to people familiar with the matter. The Financial Services Agency could issue the license as early as this month, with exchange operations starting a ...
Food & Drink | KANPAI CULTURE Jun 8, 2019
Yummy Sake Collective: A new pairing of blind tasting and AI tech
by Melinda Joe
Yummy Sake Collective has a solution for people who struggle to identify what sake they like: An AI-powered app, used in conjunction with a blind tasting, to help determine flavor preferences.
World / Science & Health Jun 7, 2019
Over million new cases daily: WHO alarmed at STD spread in era of dating apps
The World Health Organization expressed alarm Thursday at the lack of progress on curbing sexually transmitted diseases, while one of its experts warned of complacency as dating apps are spurring sexual activity. The U.N. health agency said in a fresh report that every day globally ...
National / Science & Health May 30, 2019
App developed by Keio University and startup proves effective in helping smokers quit
by Chisato Tanaka
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Friday, smokers who have been fighting a lonely battle against nicotine addiction were given another option in their quest to kick the habit. Keio University and CureApp Inc., a Tokyo-based medical technology startup, announced Thursday that a clinical ...
National / Social Issues May 23, 2019
Stop it! Tokyo police anti-groper app becomes smash hit in Japan
by Shingo Ito
A Tokyo police smartphone app to scare off molesters has become a smash hit in Japan, where women have long run the gauntlet of groping on packed rush-hour trains. Victims of groping can activate the Digi Police app, which either blasts out a voice shouting ...
Business / Corporate May 16, 2019
Line Pay ¥30 billion campaign will allow users to send free ¥1,000 to all their friends
by Kazuaki Nagata
Line has about 80 million active users in Japan, of which about 32 million are registered Line Pay users, according to the firm.
Business May 14, 2019
In setback for Apple, U.S. Supreme Court lets App Store antitrust suit proceed
A divided U.S. Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to an antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple Inc. of forcing consumers to overpay for iPhone software applications, a decision that could lead to billions of dollars in damages and put the company's lucrative way of selling ...
Business / Tech Apr 18, 2019
'Shooting for big game': Softbank's push for transport dominance
SoftBank Group Corp. leader Masayoshi Son has much bigger ambitions for transportation than simply seeing his investment in Uber Technologies Inc. turn into more than $13 billion when the company goes public next month. The Japanese entrepreneur is placing a $60 billion bet in more ...
Business Apr 17, 2019
Pornography concerns prompt Indian court to ban downloads of Chinese video app TikTok
The Chinese video app TikTok is no longer available on Google and Apple app stores in India after a state court prohibited its downloads, a setback for developer ByteDance Technology’s efforts to tap users in a key market. TikTok, which allows users to create and ...