Tag - media

 
 

MEDIA

Speculation about Xi Jinping losing his grip on power misreads China’s digital authoritarianism, which uses algorithmic control and emotional scripting to absorb dissent and reinforce the Chinese Communist Party’s power in the information age.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2025
Online dissent in China doesn’t mean Xi is on his way out
Don’t be fooled by viral posts. The CCP allows and even encourages certain forms of online dissent — all part of its digital authoritarianism.
People whose prime news sources are online platforms stood at 73%, far surpassing the 13% who chose newspapers, a government white paper showed on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2025
Almost three quarters of Japan looks online first for news, white paper reports
People whose primary news sources are online platforms stood at 73%, far surpassing the 13% who chose newspapers, according to the communications ministry.
Xu Pengcheng (right), model Mao Yi and Nono walk along a corridor inside an abandoned hotel in Shanghai on May 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 6, 2025
China's abandoned buildings draw urban explorers despite risks
Urban exploration is growing in popularity in China, where a yearslong property sector crisis has left many cities dotted with empty buildings.
The people tasked with removing harmful content from tech giants like Meta Platforms or TikTok report a range of noxious health effects, from loss of appetite to anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 4, 2025
Content moderators for Big Tech unite to tackle mental trauma
Social media companies are facing increasing pressure to address the emotional toll of moderation, with many moderators reporting a range of toxic health effects.
Tomonobu Kojima, admitted his involvement in the "Luffy" cases at the first hearing of his trial at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2025
Senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring pleads guilty at hearing
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, said, "There is no mistake" regarding his charges of aiding robberies and committing fraud.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Takahiro Shiraishi, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing nine people in the space of two months, was executed on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025
Japan executes ‘Twitter killer’ in first hanging since 2022
Takahiro Shiraishi was on death row for killing nine people he met on social media in 2017.
A voter takes a photograph of a candidate running for a Tokyo assembly seat, in Tokyo on June 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2025
Lawmaker hints at new social media regulations as misinformation taints elections
Under a new law, social media sites can remove posts defaming political candidates if creators don't respond within two days, but lawmakers say that's too long.
Regarding news genres that respondents want to avoid, with multiple answers allowed, war and other conflicts were mentioned by 18.9%. "News that is meant to be touching or news that foments anger" was cited by 18%.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 26, 2025
Almost a fifth of people in Japan may avoid news, industry survey suggests
When asked why they avoid news, with multiple answers allowed, 60.8% of those surveyed said it makes them feel depressed and sick.
Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu (center) and Kenji Shimizu (right), the president of Fuji TV, who serves on the board of Fuji TV's parent, at the annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025
Fuji TV parent secures approval for new board members at shareholders meeting
The focus was on how much support there was for the proposal of activist Dalton Investments, which reportedly holds 7.5% of shares in the company.
Aichi police have arrested two elementary school teachers for allegedly taking "upskirt" photos of children and sharing them through a private social media group.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2025
Two elementary school teachers arrested for sharing ‘upskirt’ photos of children
Investigators said the two were part of a group chat that included multiple teachers from elementary and junior high schools.
A customer buys a Nintendo Switch 2 in Tokyo on June 5. Online outrage over the gaming console’s price, terms and features was loud but meaningless, as record-breaking sales showed once again that internet backlash rarely reflects real consumer behavior.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2025
The 'internet' hated Switch 2 — consumers bought it anyway
The internet gives consumers a voice they once didn’t have. But separating signal from noise is a challenge — just look at the Switch 2.
A draft interim report calls on social media service providers to introduce voluntary regulations designed to suspend monetization in the event of a disaster, to curb the spread of disinformation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2025
Japan aims to regulate social media monetization in disasters
The report calls on social media service providers to suspend monetization in the event of a disaster, to curb the spread of disinformation.
A worker checks sunscreen products during the final manufacturing process at a factory for the Japanese chemical and cosmetics company Kao in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 23, 2025
Why Japanese sunscreen is going viral — and selling out
Japanese skincare is getting its moment in the sun thanks to the help of beauty influencers on YouTube and other social media platforms.
Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said the Voice of America staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda to cut staffing at the agency and Voice of America to a statutory minimum.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2025
Voice of America parent terminates over 600 more staff in likely death knell
The move likely marks an end to the broadcasting network that was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda.
The Fuji TV building in May. The company has taken responsibility for having enabled "sexual violence" toward an unnamed victim, who is a former Fuji TV worker, along with causing her emotional distress due to its initial reactions to the incident.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 20, 2025
Fuji TV settles ‘sexual violence’ case with apology and compensation to victim
Fuji TV President Kenji Shimizu apologized to the unnamed woman over the incident and how the company handled it.
From participants on the JET Programme to full-time content creators, Megan and Ben share their lives in Japan on screen. They recently signed with Tokyo-based influencer agency GeeXPlus.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 19, 2025
The Hitobito's Megan and Ben uncover the real Japan, one video at a time
The couple moved to Japan to be teachers. Now, their YouTube clips are viewed by millions.
England's Lucy Bronze says its not just players who receive negative comments on social media.
SOCCER
Jun 19, 2025
England women to avoid 'awful' social media during European Championship
Chelsea forward Lauren James said the abuse never really stops.
Foreign nationals applying for U.S. student and exchange visitor visas will now be asked to set their social media profiles to public so that they can be reviewed.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025
U.S. orders social media vetting for student visa applicants
The move steps up measures to restrict foreign nationals’ entry to American campuses over national security concerns.
Eight banks have entered into an agreement with the National Police Agency to share information on suspicious accounts as part of efforts to combat special fraud schemes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2025
Major banks team up with police to combat special fraud
Under a new agreement, the banks will send information on suspicious accounts directly to the police instead of channeling it through the Financial Services Agency.
Citing challenges such as a declining workforce and rising costs, four major newspapers will discontinue their Saturday evening editions from August, in a shift away from a publishing tradition that has endured for decades in Japan.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 18, 2025
Four newspapers in Japan to cease Saturday evening editions from August
The announcements mark a shift away from a publishing tradition that has endured for decades in Japan, where evening newspapers had been a staple of the media landscape.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’