apps

It is not unusual for overseas visitors on their first visit to Japan to be impressed by the country's efficient rail network, with its heated seats and computerized message boards providing passengers with information updates. That was certainly true of James Mmari, 35, a Tanzanian ...

Two Tokyo-based firms and Microsoft Japan on Thursday launched an English-language tourism app with an AI agent to target a surge in inbound tourists that is projected to continue. The Japan Trip Navigator app for Apple iOS was released by travel agency JTB Corp., navigation ...

Uber Technologies Inc. isn't ready to give up the world. Dara Khosrowshahi, in his first trip to Asia since becoming chief executive officer, made it clear that the ride-hailing company isn't about to scale back its business to just countries where it already has a ...

Japan's millennials are apathetic about romance, and everyone knows it. But according to Hirokazu Nakamura, chief product officer and chief marketing officer of Tokyo-based startup Eureka Inc., young people are not losing interest in love itself. "It's more about the whole process of falling in love ...

Tourists and residents in Japan who don't speak Japanese no longer need to be concerned about missing out on earthquake and tsunami alerts. Thanks to a new feature added on Feb. 1 to an app offered by NHK World, an English news channel provided by ...

Japanese frogs are proliferating across Asia. The good news is, they're not an invasive species, nor are they real. "Tabi Kaeru" ("Travel Frog") became the No. 1 downloaded smartphone app in China for almost two weeks after its debut, and it is still hovering at ...

Smartphone and tablet computer apps are seeing increasing use in Japanese schools as teachers look to capitalize on what has become many young people's preferred window to the world. Artificial intelligence-assisted apps have become prevalent in education, particularly in subjects many Japanese teachers struggle to ...

FFocus A European Union decision last week to treat Uber Technologies Inc. like a taxi company spotlights a trans-Atlantic divide over how governments cope with disruptive technologies and could embolden U.S. cities to restrict the ride-sharing service. The EU Court of Justice on Dec. 20 ruled ...

Subway commuting may get easier for expectant mothers, with tests beginning Monday in Tokyo of a system that will allow them to ask willing passengers via a chat app to give up their seats. Tokyo Metro Co., Line Corp. and Dai Nippon Printing Co. are ...

Free, it turns out, can be a great business. When Shigenori Suzuki played video games in high school, he spent a few hundred dollars a year on titles like "Final Fantasy." Now the 42-year-old Tokyoite plays free games including Sony Corp.'s "Fate/Grand Order" — but ...

Since two massive earthquakes hit Mexico in September, claiming more than 460 lives, an early warning start-up called SkyAlert has doubled its users to 5.8 million, making it one of the country's most downloaded apps. SkyAlert has also found a market selling alarms to small ...