Line Pay ¥30 billion campaign will allow users to send free ¥1,000 to all their friends
Line has about 80 million active users in Japan, of which about 32 million are registered Line Pay users, according to the firm.
South Korea's booming 'webtoons' put Japan's print manga on notice
Japan has long prided itself on being a manga powerhouse, but intense competition from overseas has left the industry at a crossroads. Emerging as a threat is the growing popularity in Asia of the South Korea-born web comics collectively known as "webtoons" — a portmanteau ...
Japan's internet giants team up as mobile payments race intensifies
Line Corp. and Mercari Inc. are joining forces on mobile payments as the nation's internet companies race to dominate cashless transactions in the world's No. 3 economy. The operator of Japan's most popular messaging platform and the used-goods online marketplace app will let users shop ...
Line hopes app's links with Japan's Mizuho and Nomura can open 78 million wallets
Line Corp. is betting that tie-ups with Japan's biggest financial institutions will help convince its 78 million users to entrust the free texting app with their money. The operator of Japan's most popular messaging platform plans to introduce the Line Securities equities trading service jointly ...
Line and China's Tencent link up to push cashless payments in Japan
Line, Japan’s messaging app giant with 78 million users, is stepping up its bid to become a major cashless payment platform by targeting Chinese tourists.
Japan's IT firms enthusiastically open doors to overseas tech workers
The dozens of young Chinese engineers looked nervous, but eager, as they presented their work in English during a hack-athon in September at the high-rise Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo. But while the event hosted by Mercari Inc., maker of a popular flea market app, ...
Toyota and Line to offer voice-controlled AI navigation next summer
Toyota Motor Corp. and messaging app provider Line Corp. said Monday they will offer an artificial intelligence platform featuring voice commands for navigation services in Toyota cars in Japan by next summer. The services will use Line's Clova (Cloud Virtual Assistant) Auto system, a cloud-based ...
Vissel Kobe suspend Shunki Takahashi for one month for leaking news about Andres Iniesta
Vissel Kobe have suspended defender Shunki Takahashi for a month for leaking news about teammate Andres Iniesta's absence from the lineup ahead of a recent J. League match, the club said Friday. The team has confirmed that the 28-year-old defender told a friend, via instant-messaging ...
Payments via QR codes slowly becoming more widespread in Japan
The number of restaurants, convenience stores and other shops accepting payments with smartphones using QR codes is rising in Japan, although the pace of growth is slow. Major information technology firms are working to promote a cashless payment system and banks are also joining the ...
In fintech bet, Line to launch overseas cryptocurrency exchange
The firm sees a key role for financial services in its growth strategy, and plans to integrate them into its messaging app used by 75 million people in Japan.
Japan's automakers chase IT tie-ups in race for driving's future
The race to transform the global auto industry has reached full throttle. Facing what has been touted as a once-in-a-century transformation, domestic carmakers are rushing to transition from conventional manufacturers into tech-driven "mobility companies" focused on CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and electric) technologies. Toyota Motor Corp. ...
Japan's Line and multiple IT firms plan new disaster drill that incorporates gaming
Messaging app provider Line Corp. and multiple information technology-related firms are planning to team up with local governments and research institutes to launch a new kind of disaster drill that includes a gaming experience, company officials involved in the project said Sunday. The idea of ...
