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July 21, 2025
 

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Disinformation researchers analyzed over 300 groups on Facebook that masquerade as pro-Harris pages while misleading the Democratic contender's supporters with abusive, hateful posts or capitalize on her popularity to promote merchandise.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 1, 2024
Deceptive 'bait-and-switch' Facebook groups snare U.S. voters
The tactic seems to target actors across the political spectrum, including Trump, but researchers have noticed an "explosion" of groups focused on Harris.
A team of lawyers head to the Osaka District Court on Tuesday to file a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, on behalf of their clients, who are victims of investment scams linked to fake advertisements on the social media platforms.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2024
Meta faces Japan lawsuits over fake ads linked to investment fraud
Those affected claim that the owner of Facebook and Instagram neglected to remove the ads from its social media platforms, which led to them being scammed.
According to Fujikyu Railway, a group of around 10 people, who appear to be foreign nationals, boarded a train at Fujikyu-Highland Station on Oct. 16 and filmed themselves dancing onboard before they got off at Otsuki Station.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 25, 2024
Fujikyu Railway weighs legal action over foreign tourist dance video
The video, made by a group that appears to be a New York-based dance troupe, features dancers sliding on the floor and asking for a hand from nearby passengers.
Along with official videos from parties and candidates, individually produced videos are on the rise on YouTube and other platforms.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 25, 2024
Short social media videos gain traction in Japan's election campaign
Both official campaign and user-generated videos are on the rise, with experts warning that the latter may present misleading or out-of-context information.
A false claim on social media about a restaurant chain being infested with slugs led to the store's closure. The man behind the claim was sentenced to prison on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2024
Man gets prison time for false restaurant slug infestation claims
Haruomi Enya, 25, was convicted of obstruction of business by deception. His false claims ultimately led to the establishment's closure.
“Vote harassment” continues to be a significant barrier to women’s participation in politics, with only two prefectures having passed local ordinances aiming to eliminate the problem.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2024
1 in 4 female candidates face sexual harassment during campaigns
Despite a record 314 women running in Sunday's Lower House election, harassment continues to be a barrier to women's participation in politics.
People wait in a line to vote during the Super Tuesday primary election in Edinburg, Texas, on March 5.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024
Chinese operation targeting U.S. down-ballot races, Microsoft says
The lawmakers were targeted because they had historically denounced Chinese government policies.
The Chiba Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Chiba. Police have arrested two men over a break-in at an 86-year-old woman's home in the city of Kamagaya at around 2:10 a.m. on Oct. 14.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 23, 2024
Suspect held over Chiba break-in received instructions via social media
The man said he received instructions through social media platform X as well as Signal, an encrypted messaging app.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2024
Ishiba vows steps against crime-linked social media posts
The Prime Minister said that the government will consider supporting patrol activities by volunteers under a supplementary budget.
Suspect Mazuki Takarada, 22, at the Aoba Police Station in Kanagawa Prefecture on Sunday. He was taken to prosecutors on the same day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 21, 2024
Police arrest 22-year-old man over fatal Yokohama burglary
Mazuki Takarada, a self-declared sole proprietor from Chiba Prefecture, was arrested on Saturday over the death of a 75-year-old man in his Yokohama home last week.
Machida Zelvia players after their team was defeated by Kawasaki Frontale in Machida, western Tokyo, on Oct. 5
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2024
Soccer club Machida Zelvia files complaints over alleged defamation
The number of new comments believed to be defaming players and the team's manager sometimes tops 1,000 a day, a lawyer said.
Nearly two-thirds of parents of Australian teenagers reported concerns about their children's social media use, according to a 2024 survey by youth service ReachOut.
WORLD / Society
Oct 16, 2024
Australia's planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears
For teenagers from migrant, LGBTQIA+ and other minority backgrounds, an age block could cut off access to essential social support.
A young man waits for customers, while selling national flags and patriotic memorabilia in Karachi in August.
WORLD / Society
Oct 15, 2024
Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
Cases of online blasphemy — a crime that carries the death penalty in the country — have exploded in recent years, with arrests turning lives upside down.
Outrageous stories about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump online were widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation and sow confusion ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024
'Stolen satire' feeds U.S. election misinformation
False claims are being widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation.
X owner Elon Musk and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump meet prior to a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2024
Disinformation stirred by Musk and Trump adds strain to hurricane recovery
Conspiracy theories and hate speech targeting the government’s storm response erupted across social media after Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast.
The Consumer Affairs Agency is warning against fake websites that lure consumers into purchasing unrelated or counterfeit products.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2024
Consumer watchdog warns against fake electronics sites
The sites, often promoted via social media ads, are luring consumers into purchasing unrelated or counterfeit products.
Local activists and tech workers protest against Google and Amazon's Project Nimbus contract with the Israeli military and government, outside the Google Cloud Next Conference in San Francisco, California, on August 29, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 8, 2024
Decoding the role Big Tech plays in the war in Gaza
The Israel-Hamas war has spotlighted how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used on the battlefield.
A couple from Orlando walks along a street covered in sand as a result of Hurricane Helene in Clearwater, Florida, ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected midweek landfall.
WORLD / Society
Oct 7, 2024
FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation as Florida braces for Milton
The head of the U.S. disaster relief agency lashed out at a "dangerous" misinformation war being waged over the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
The ByteDance logo at the company's office in Shanghai in 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 1, 2024
ByteDance rumored to be planning new AI model trained with Huawei chips
ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips for artificial intelligence and has been accelerated development of its own since the U.S. restricted exports.
U.S. lawmakers and others speak at a news conference in Washington in March to voice their opposition to legislation cracking down on TikTok.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2024
China’s silence on U.S. Tiktok ban speaks volumes
Beijing's past actions suggest that protecting its national interests, including ByteDance's valuable algorithm, outweighs concerns about foreign investment.
Japan ruling bloc loses majority in Upper House after election drubbing
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, leaves at the party's headquarters following announcement of Upper House election result projections in Tokyo early Monday.
Polls open for key Upper House election that could shake Japanese politics
People vote during Japan's Upper House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
Sunken WWII Japanese warship Teruzuki found off Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands. A team from the U.S. nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust has discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki on the deep seabed off the Solomon Islands as the 80th anniversary of the war's end approaches.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Voters in Tokyo reflect shifting political views across Japan
Pedestrians walk in front of an election notice board displaying posters of candidates in Tokyo on Sunday.
‘Noto Democracy’ and the slow work of civic change
Yukio Iokibe’s “Noto Democracy" centers on Motoyuki Takii, a former junior high school teacher who publishes a handwritten newspaper every month to encourage the residents of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, to engage in local politics.
In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food
You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
The self as a muse: Leonard Foujita's world in paintings and photos
One of Leonard Foujita’s biggest muses was himself. He painted self-portraits, often with a cat on his side, looking back at the viewer. He posed for photographers throughout his life, the displayed photos showing he retained his signature bowl cut and round glasses.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.

Podcast

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

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin

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