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July 05, 2025
 

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PERSONAL INFORMATION

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Biden cracks down on U.S. data flows to China and Russia
Seeking to protect American personal data, Biden unveiled an executive order barring genomic data transfers to China and other "countries of concern."
OpenAI has announced that it will add a memory feature to its AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2024
The perils of giving ChatGPT more memory
ChatGPT developer OpenAI is rolling out a memory feature that, it says, will improve the bot. But not if it ends up replicating the biases of social media.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 22, 2023
Japan to scrap health insurance cards from December next year
The government aims to streamline administration and improve health care services by integrating the function of the cards into My Number cards.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2023
15,907 mistakes found over My Number info linkages
The government said it has completed personal identification checks for 82.06 million of the 82.08 million My Numbers subject to inspection.
The Diet building in Tokyo. Japan is not considering penalties for noncompliant businesses in its planned guidelines on the development and use of generative artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2023
Japan's generative AI guidelines to carry no penalties
The government aims to accelerate the development and use of generative AI under the guidelines that it expects to compile later this year.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2023
Bill on sperm and egg donors seeks disclosure of some information
The draft seeks to allow information that is not personally identifiable, such as height, blood type and age, to be disclosed without donor's consent
A 23andMe DNA kit
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
Drugmakers are set to pay 23andMe millions to access consumer DNA
Under the new agreement, 23andMe will provide GSK with access to anonymized DNA data from customers who have agreed to share their information.
The European Union and Japan concluded an agreement Saturday on cross-border data flows, a deal that could benefit companies across a range of sectors, including financial services, transport, machinery and e-commerce, allowing them to handle data without cumbersome and costly administration.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2023
EU and Japan conclude agreement on data flows
The deal on cross-border data flows should drive business and may help shape global rules for data, the European Commission said.
About 9 million sets of customer information have been leaked from an NTT West subsidiary.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023
NTT unit says around 9 million sets of customer information leaked
The former worker illegally downloaded customer information between around July 2013 and January this year.
Hackers have attacked the Philippines’ state health insurer, which didn’t have cyber protection software, leaving the data of millions of the country's citizens vulnerable.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2023
Hacked Philippine health insurer had no cyber protection software
The lapse, partly caused by a change in procurement processes, adds to a series of attacks on Philippine government agencies.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023
Digital Agency given guidance over My Number issues
The agency submitted a report on the problems with the system in June, but the government commission judged the report insufficient.
Fuji TV quoted tech journalist Yo Mikami as saying there is a chance that the suspect opened one of the victim's eyelids so he could unlock the smartphone.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 15, 2023
Two men arrested in Tokyo over alleged theft using Face ID
A 27-year-old Tunisian man allegedly used the victim’s smartphone to send ¥500,000 to the bank account of his 25-year-old friend.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2023
Japan to test use of My Number cards for alcohol and ticket sales
The agency will work with private business operators to examining whether use of My Number cards will help improve the efficiency of identity checks.
Twitter's new X logo at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California, on July 29
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2023
Elon Musk's X to collect biometric data, work and school history
It’s unclear how X will collect the data or how it may be used.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2023
Linkage of My Number and insurance cards faces delays
A survey found that the linkage work was incomplete for 770,000 people across the country for whom the process was underway.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2023
My Number and beyond: What's holding back Japan’s digitalization?
The transition from analog to digital in the public sector has been a long-standing challenge for the country, spanning at least the past two decades.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 10, 2023
Why is modernizing Japan so darn tough?
Reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to break down how Japan’s digitalization hiccups risk exposing how backward things are.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2023
My Number report highlights errors by insurers and local governments
Roughly 20% of surveyed local governments followed the wrong procedures when linking My Number with disability records.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2023
My Number woes put digital minister Taro Kono under pressure
Another misstep could deal a further blow to the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and jeopardize the political standing of Kono.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2023
Japan's personal data commission inspects Digital Agency over My Number woes
The government's Personal Information Protection Commission has conducted an on-site inspection of the Digital Agency over problems involving My Number personal identification numbers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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