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November 02, 2025
 

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DIGITALIZATION

Demonstrators protest against the Labour government's plans to introduce a digital ID outside of the party's conference in Liverpool, England, on Sept. 28.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2025
Starmer’s digital ID plan tests his powers of persuasion
It might seem odd that U.K. political parties of all flavors have been quick to unite against what they deem a step towards an Orwellian Big Brother state.
Noritaka Okabe, head of Japanese startup JPYC, at a news conference for the first yen stablecoin in Tokyo on Monday
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2025
JPYC, world’s first yen stablecoin, is issued
One-second transfers costing less than ¥1 could become a reality.
The Slussen transport hub in Stockholm. Nordic and Baltic governments are increasingly concerned about Russian "hybrid war” attacks — low-level but highly disruptive tactics that disrupt infrastructure and services.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2025
Sweden's cashless society could be more vulnerable to hybrid war attacks
With 90% of transactions in the country being done digitally, cyberattacks that couple with psychological operations can spark widespread panic.
At an Oct. 15 performance in Hiroshima, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich (left) plays a piano that survived the atomic bombing of the city. She is accompanied by Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino. In the right foreground is a digital piano developed to reproduce the notes of the famous piano.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2025
Digitized sounds unveiled of piano that survived atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Concerns about the aging piano's fragility prompted the creation of a project to make a digital recording of its 88 keys recorded at six volume levels.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (center) gestures as he meets Indian traditional dancers during a ceremony for the upcoming Diwali festival in Mumbai on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 9, 2025
Starmer looks to India for example on U.K. plan for digital ID
Starmer said his proposed smartphone-based ID was needed to "address the fact that too many people can come to this country to work illegally.”
The My Number health insurance card enables online verification of a patient's eligibility via card readers installed at medical institutions.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025
My Number health insurance card uptake remains persistently low
Confusion and doubts over the new system have stalled the government's push to digitalize medical records and services.
Yoshie Kurihara, of No More Hibakusha Project — Inheriting Memories of the A- and H-Bomb Sufferers, goes through materials related to atomic bombings, in the city of Saitama on June 20.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2025
80 years on, NPO working to digitize materials on A-bombings
The organization, No More Hibakusha Project — Inheriting Memories of the A- and H-Bomb Sufferers, has launched a crowdfunding project.
The Foreign Ministry will implement a large-scale organizational reform on Friday, including the establishment of an economic security division under the Economic Affairs Bureau.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Japan's Foreign Ministry to set up economic security division
It will be the first time in 19 years for the ministry to carry out a large-scale organizational reform involving multiple bureaus.
The dashboard screen of a Toyota RAV4 compact crossover vehicle at an event in May
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 28, 2025
Toyota’s internal inertia stifles digital transformation effort
Inside Toyota, a group of employees are worried about the company’s future in an era when a car’s software matters just as much as its sheet metal.
A preview of the "Yokai Immersive Experience Exhibition" on Friday in the city of Nagoya
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2025
Get your summer chills in at yōkai exhibition in Nagoya
The main attraction of the exhibition is a room themed on a wild dance of such supernatural creatures, with moving images of them filling the room's walls, ceiling and floor.
48.0% of respondents living in the earthquake-hit Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture said there was a gap between those who could access information after the January 2024 quake and those who could not, a survey has shown.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2025
Nearly half in quake-hit Noto area felt digital divide
A survey found that some people described a gap between those who could access information and those who could not after the January 2024 disaster.
Wakako Yata, former special adviser to the prime minister, leads a consortium to help promote women as digital experts, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
Japan launches group to help more women become digital experts
The public-private consortium will work to help women acquire digital skills to raise their wages, among other actions.
In addition to prepaid transportation integrated circuit (IC) cards, such as Suica and Pasmo, a growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025
Railway firms diversify ticket gate access methods
A growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
Digital transformation minister Masaaki Taira obtains a certification document using a My Number personal identification card installed on an iPhone in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Functions of Japan's My Number card now available on iPhones
The Digital Agency plans to gradually expand the smartphone-compatible functions of the card, including the ability to serve as a health insurance card.
With people growing increasingly wary of unknown callers and not answering their doors, more and more agencies and pollsters tasked with collecting data are using online surveys, though that comes with its own set of challenges.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jun 17, 2025
Faced with dwindling response rates, pollsters turn to online surveys for data
Problems with the new wave of online surveys include fresh biases in the data, confusion over questions that a computer cannot address and gaining trust.
IPhone users will soon be able to access the Mynaportal website for My Number-related administrative tasks and get copies of their public certificates at convenience stores.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2025
My Number Card functions to be available on iPhones
IPhone users will soon be able to access the Mynaportal website for My Number-related administrative tasks and get copies of their public certificates at convenience stores.
Under the "digital address" system launched by Japan Post, users can input seven-digit combinations of numbers and letters on online shopping and other websites, and their addresses will automatically appear on the sites.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2025
Japan Post launches 'digital address' system
Under the system, users can input seven-digit codes on online shopping websites, and their addresses will automatically appear on the sites.
Although Japan's rate of cashless transactions remains relatively low compared with those of other countries, the share of such payments in personal consumption has surpassed 40% for the first time.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 21, 2025
Cashless payments top 40% of consumer spending in Japan
The country's cashless payment penetration remains low globally, with the risk of fraud and service interruptions due to natural disasters presenting hurdles to growth.
Singaporean Ambassador to Japan Ong Eng Chuan says his country hopes to “collaborate closely” with Japan in the area of quantum computing technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025
Singapore envoy eyes stronger cyber and digital links with Japan
Quantum computing is one particular area of interest as Japan develops its technical capability via a collaboration with Intel.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other ministers ahead of a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
May 16, 2025
Japan enacts bills to make criminal procedures digital
The revised laws will make trial records digital to allow lawyers to view them online.
Takaichi and Xi reaffirm pledge in first meet to pursue ‘mutually beneficial’ ties
A screenshot from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's X account shows Takaichi exchanging greetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Friday.　
Anime isn’t competing with Hollywood — it’s beating it
After its July release, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle,” an animated feature adapted directly from a TV arc, became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
Japan to introduce joint child custody system in April 2026
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (center) and other ministers prior to a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday
Woman, 69, arrested over 1999 Nagoya housewife's murder
A police sketch released in 2020 of a woman spotted near the scene of the 1999 murder of a housewife in Nagoya's Nishi Ward
Asia-Pacific leaders call for shared trade benefits as APEC summit wraps up
A South Korean protester holds a placard showing a caricature of U.S. President Donald Trump depicted as a thief during a rally ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Wednesday.
Anime isn’t competing with Hollywood — it’s beating it
After its July release, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle,” an animated feature adapted directly from a TV arc, became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years — and fans can still sing every word
Liam Gallagher commanded the stage with effortless charisma during Oasis' Tokyo Dome set on Saturday.
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18

Podcast

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Longform

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By Alex K.T. Martin

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