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September 15, 2025
 

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SOCIAL

Visitors look at information promoting Saudi Arabia's Neom megaproject at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22.
WORLD
Feb 13, 2025
Why are TikTok 'momfluencers' lauding Saudi Arabia's desert megacity?
One Thai "momfluencer" shared a video of her "typical afternoon in Neom." The video has been viewed around 800,000 times. The city it shows is almost deserted.
German conservative candidate for chancellor and Christian Democratic Union party leader Friedrich Merz speaks during a campaign event ahead of the upcoming 2025 general election, in Neubrandenburg, Germany, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2025
Russian-linked bots sow fear and distrust ahead of German vote: researchers
The bot networks' messaging seemed designed to help the second-placed, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany.
A new scam causing concern in Japan starts out simple, but when victims request to continue, they are instructed to set up an account on a certain app or website where they are to enter their personal information.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 12, 2025
Japan's consumer watchdog raises alarm over new social media scam
The deceptively innocent scheme requires users to do one simple thing to earn some extra cash: take screenshots of videos.
YouTube has evolved from a dinner party lark 20 years ago into a modern lifestyle staple poised to overtake U.S. cable television in paid viewership.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025
YouTube, the online video powerhouse, turns 20
The video hosting site has gone from hosting a 19-second clip titled "Me at the Zoo" to becoming the world's largest in terms of time spent and ad revenue.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes a victory sign as he arrives at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters to celebrate the party's win in the Delhi legislative assembly election in New Delhi on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 11, 2025
Anti-Muslim hate speech surged in India's election year, led by Modi
At rallies Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Muslims as "infiltrators" and claimed the main opposition party would redistribute the nation's wealth to them if it won.
After gaining a record number of Oscar nominations for a foreign-language movie, "Emilia Perez" has become embroiled in scandal linked to past social media posts by star Karla Sofia Gascon.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 7, 2025
Oscars frontrunner 'Emilia Perez' suffers awards season crash
Actor Karla Sofia Gascon has seen her path to glory seriously compromised by her past social media posts about Islam, U.S. anti-racism protests and even the Oscars themselves.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito responds to an interview on Friday at the prefectural office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025
Hyogo governor’s reelection sparks investigation into PR firm payments
Authorities are examining seized materials to determine the nature of financial transactions between the governor’s camp and the company.
Kuaishou Technology has attracted tens of millions of younger viewers who habitually scroll screens for new stories and trending videos.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2025
Mini dramas have supplanted movies in China. Is the U.S. next?
Professionally produced series for the web, mini dramas have clear storylines and big cliffhangers, with episodes running just 60 to 90 seconds each.
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally surged in French legislative elections last year. Despite social media being a key megaphone for political campaigning, issues like voter dissatisfaction still play a determinant role in electoral outcomes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 5, 2025
Social media alone didn’t decide last year’s elections
Last year's record number of elections around the world hold some important lessons. One is that social media wasn't the key determinant of outcomes that many made it out to be.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is greeted by Kakao CEO Chung Shi-na during a press conference to announce partnerships on AI services in Seoul on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 4, 2025
OpenAI to deepen services within South Korea’s largest chat app
"We are particularly interested in AI and messaging," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a press conference he held with Kakao CEO Chung Shi-na in Seoul.
The Imperial Household Agency's Instagram account boasts over 1.8 million followers.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 3, 2025
Imperial Household Agency finds success on Instagram amid public relations push
With the account boasting over 1.8 million followers, the agency is aiming to boost engagement.
Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 3, 2025
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?
They're no substitute for policy, but by providing food and belonging, these safe spaces are filling in the cracks of the nation's fraying communities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Illinois on Jan. 26.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2025
TikTok influencers leverage power of gossip to thwart ICE raids
They say that as authorities ramp up raids in the early days of the Trump administration, they’re trying to inform migrants of their rights.
Relatives of people who died in Spain's disastrous floods, as well as protesters, demonstrate against Valencia's regional leader, demanding his resignation for his handling of the emergency, in Valencia, Spain, on Dec. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025
Chinese online operation called for toppling Spain's government: report
The online operation from China, called Spamouflage, has been operating in several countries since 2017, online analysis outfit Graphika said.
People were more concerned about the direct and specific impact of the Bank of Japan's latest rate hike on their personal lives, according to an artificial intelligence-driven analysis of various platforms, including social media.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2025
Japan begins feeling the pain of BOJ rate hikes more concretely
As time goes on, the BOJ’s rate increases appear to be having a stronger impact on people’s everyday lives, shifting from more abstract concepts to more concrete effects.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular app's future in 30 days.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 28, 2025
Trump says Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok
Microsoft emerged as a top bidder in 2020, but the talks soon collapsed, and a divestment push by Trump ended a few months later when his first term ended.
The Tiffany & Co. store on Fifth Avenue in New York in 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025
Tiffany workers mock forced 'joy' that exacerbated staff exits
When Tiffany & Co. executives were looking for ways to boost staff morale, they rolled out an internal social app called "Tiffany Joy.” It didn’t take long to turn into a chore.
Fujitsu and the National Institute of Informatics have launched a full-scale industry-academia collaboration to curb the spread of disinformation, including deepfakes created through generative artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 27, 2025
Japan launches industry and academia tie-up to combat online disinformation
Nine companies and academic institutions aim to put an integrated system for combating false information into use by March 2026.
Perplexity AI has revised a merger proposal submitted to ByteDance, owner of TikTok.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 27, 2025
Perplexity AI proposes to merge with TikTok, with U.S. government getting half, source says
The proposal calls for the U.S. government to own up to 50% of the new company upon a future initial public offering.
Tomin First no Kai adviser Hirotada Ototake speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2025
Tomin First adviser Hirotada Ototake keen to use social media
"Through social media outreach, we want to become an option for unaffiliated voters who have not decided for whom to vote" in the June 22 race, said Ototake.
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
People rush to make furusato nozei donations ahead of tighter rules
A booth from the town of Betsukai in Hokkaido at an Amazon Japan furusato nо̄zei promotion event, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Strikes on Qatar and Poland shake U.S. sway among friend and foe
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Sept. 8. Israeli strikes in Qatar and Russian drone incursions into Poland have challenged the U.S. leaders claims of global respect.
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.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.

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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