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September 19, 2025
 

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SOCIAL

U.S. and Chinese officials have agreed on a framework to keep ByteDance’s TikTok app running in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 17, 2025
TikTok lives: U.S. and China in deal for app to keep operating in United States
The agreement requires TikTok's American assets to be transferred to U.S. owners from China's ByteDance, potentially resolving a saga that has lingered for nearly a year.
Australia’s plan to ban under-16s from using social media, including YouTube, has reignited debate over how best to protect kids online.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2025
Banning teens from YouTube won’t keep them safe
Part of the reason YouTube’s inclusion has struck such a nerve is because it’s impossible to overstate how intertwined it has become with pop culture.
A novel type of fraud has been reported in Osaka Prefecture in which scammers send smartphones to elderly individuals before swindling them via the devices.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Novel smartphone scam targeting elderly emerges in Osaka
Scammers would send elderly people smartphones before swindling them using the devices, according to the Osaka Prefectural Police.
False social media stories about Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba planning mass immigration obscure Japan’s real and growing reliance on foreign labor.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 12, 2025
Japan needs an immigration debate, not social media myths
There’s no mass immigration from the Global South into Japan, though you might not know that if you primarily consume your news on social media.
Nepali soldiers patrol a road near the Singha Durbar complex, which houses the prime minister's office and other ministries, in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 10, 2025
Soldiers guard Nepal's parliament and patrol streets after deadly protests
Burnt-out vehicles and twisted metal littered the area around parliament, where army firefighters battled to douse a blaze in the main hall.
Demonstrators gather outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government in Kathmandu on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 9, 2025
Nepal's ban on major social media sites lifted after protesters killed
All major social media apps were said to be working as the government ordered a probe into the violence that saw police launch a deadly crackdown.
The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The MPD recently served a new warrant for the arrest of a man over unauthorized access to social media accounts of celebrities including a member of Japanese comedy duo Einstein.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2025
Man served new arrest warrant over access to Japanese comedian's account
The suspect allegedly logged in to the Instagram accounts of Naoki Inada, a comedian, and of a professional sports player without permission between July and October 2024.
A woman uses her phone at Bashantapur Durbar Square, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Thursday after the Nepali government announced it will block access to all unregistered social media platforms.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 5, 2025
Nepal to block some social media platforms, including Facebook
The move came after the companies failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted an urgent proposal on Friday calling for the government to strengthen measures aimed at preventing foreign interference in Japan's elections.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025
LDP calls for blocking foreign interference in elections
"If foreign interference is left unchecked, it could pose a serious and immediate threat to the foundations of democracy," an LDP proposal said.
Foreign tourists visit a park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025
Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering
On Tuesday, the Australian Embassy warned on Facebook that travelers must ensure "appropriate behavior" while visiting Japan, without explicitly referring to the incident.
Police have urged the public to be suspicious if an acquaintance on social media ends up asking for cash.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2025
Over the moon: Fake astronaut scams lovestruck Japanese octogenarian
The woman in Hokkaido met the fraudster in July on social media, a local police officer said, describing the case as a "romance scam."
Losses in Japan due to special fraud cases reached ¥72.21 billion during the period from January to July, surpassing the worst-ever annual total of ¥71.88 billion in 2024, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 2, 2025
Losses due to special fraud cases from January to July exceed 2024 record
Two-thirds of the cases involved "fake police," with offenders posing as police officers to swindle targets out of money, National Police Agency data shows.
Elon Musk has voiced support for anti-immigration protest in Japan, where a "Japanese First" party saw gains in recent elections.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2025
Musk voices support for anti-immigration rally in Japan
Commenting on Monday on a video of the rally posted on X by an account called The British Patriot, the Tesla and SpaceX chief said, "Good."
People use their phones in a garden in Moscow on June 22. Many Russians have turned to the private messaging service Telegram as the government bans Western social media platforms.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 1, 2025
Russian influencers are thriving on Telegram
Since 2021, Telegram’s monthly active users in Russia have risen to 120 million, more than 90% of the country’s internet users.
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 31, 2025
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
Officials in a Yamanashi town have been struggling to balance welcoming visitors and preserving the quality of life for locals. A new mesh barrier is an attempt at compromise.
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
BASEBALL / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2025
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
A young player’s dream was to play in the National High School Baseball Championship. A series of bullying incidents this year changed all of that.
Police have issued a warning over the existence of online message boards promoting extreme sexual role play that are, in reality, serving as hubs for actual crimes involving sexual violence.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 22, 2025
Police warn of internet forums soliciting sexual violence
A woman was attacked in her apartment in Tokyo after an acquaintance of hers found a man via an internet board willing to commit sexual assault.
A lot of Japanese workers join online group texts to communicate with their coworkers, but at what point do those chats threaten a healthy work-life balance?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 22, 2025
Expressing annoyance with work group chats in Japanese
Some employees value the convenience; others feel trapped by after-hours texts and social expectations embedded in office messaging culture.
Chatbots are pivoting to the ad model and optimizing for eyeballs, just like social media did. And AI knows more about us than Google or Facebook ever did.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025
Ads ruined social media. Now they’re coming to AI.
Imagine a person telling their AI they’re feeling depressed, and the system recommending some affordable holiday destinations or medication to address the problem.
The Kyoto District Court on Thursday delivered a guilty verdict on the founder of video-sharing service FC2 over obscene videos that appeared on the platform.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2025
Founder of video platform FC2 found guilty of hosting obscene videos
A Kyoto court sentenced Riyo Takahashi, 51, to three years in prison — suspended for five years — and fined him ¥2.5 million.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

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

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’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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