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July 04, 2025
 

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TIKTOK

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.
U.S. President Donald Trump is granting a third reprieve to TikTok from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban that was supposed to take effect in January.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 18, 2025
Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says
The U.S. president will extend the June 19 deadline for 90 days.
Japan will be the newest addition to the list of countries where TikTok Shop is available, which already includes the U.S. and the Philippines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
TikTok Shop to launch e-commerce service in Japan as soon as this month
The service, already available in several other countries, allows users to purchase promoted products directly from the social media app.
A woman weeps as she holds a poster of TikTok star Sana Yousaf during a protest to condemn violence against women, after Yousaf was killed for rejecting a man's proposal in Islamabad.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 16, 2025
'This is a culture': TikTok murder highlights Pakistan's unease with women online
TikTok is wildly popular in the nation, and women have found both audience and income. But as views have surged, so have efforts to police the platform.
Mixue, a Chinese bubble tea chain, has become the world’s largest food and beverage chain, with tens of thousands of stores all over Asia. The company is just one example of the increasing reach and popularity of Chinese cultural exports across the globe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 23, 2025
How China’s soft power is rewriting Asian culture
Chinese cultural exports are becoming increasingly popular across the world and especially Asia. Do they promote cross-border understanding or are they tools for propaganda?
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta, departs federal court in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 17, 2025
Meta saw TikTok as ‘highly urgent’ threat, Zuckerberg says at trial
Zuckerberg was composed, but occasionally evasive, when challenged to explain past messages indicating a concerted effort to muscle out competitors.
A man walks past a board displaying average stock prices at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 8, 2025
Taiwan says China using AI to 'divide' the island with disinformation
In a report to parliament, the security bureau said it had detected more than half a million pieces of "controversial messages" so far this year.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner speaks as others look on during a news conference to unveil legislation that would allow the White House to "ban or prohibit" foreign technology products such as the Chinese-owned video app TikTok during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in March 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2025
Top Democratic senator says new Trump TikTok extension may violate law
Sen. Mark Warner also said the reported deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements for eliminating ByteDance’s influence over TikTok’s U.S. operations.
The TikTok logo is seen outside the Chinese video app company's Los Angeles offices on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 7, 2025
Trump says China tariff objections stalled TikTok deal
ByteDance is required to divest TikTok’s U.S. unit but the company has balked at selling a business valued in the billions.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday extended by 75 days a deadline for ByteDance to sell U.S. assets of the popular TikTok short video app to a non-Chinese buyer, or face a ban that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 5, 2025
TikTok deal put on hold after China indicated it would reject it over tariffs
Trump extended by 75 days a deadline for ByteDance to sell U.S. assets of the popular short video app to a non-Chinese buyer.
An electronic billboard for TikTok in Times Square in New York, Jan. 24. ByteDance has an April 5 deadline to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok or face a U.S. ban.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2025
Trump says he may give China reduction in tariffs to get TikTok deal done
ByteDance has until April 5 to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok or face a U.S. ban, though the U.S. president has expressed a willingness to extend the deadline.
Others in the running to buy TikTok are Microsoft, Oracle and a group that includes Internet personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 22, 2025
AI startup Perplexity confirms interest to buy TikTok
Perplexity in a blog post laid out a vision for integrating its AI-powered internet search capabilities with the popular video-snippet sharing app.
TikTok has complained to Australia’s government for excluding YouTube from a nationwide move to curb social media.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025
TikTok blasts Australia for YouTube carve-out in social media ban
The Chinese-owned short-form video platform described the move as a "sweetheart deal” that’s "illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted.”
TikTok had more than 52 million downloads in 2024, according to Sensor Tower.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 14, 2025
TikTok returns on Apple and Google U.S. app stores as Trump delays ban
TikTok is back in U.S. app stores after Trump delayed a ban and assured Apple and Google they wouldn’t be penalized.
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.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance waves during a bilateral meeting with the president of the European Commission held at the Chief of Mission's residence at the U.S. embassy in Paris on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
Vance warns Europe against overregulating emerging AI
JD Vance’s appearance in Paris is his first major engagement on his first foreign trip as Donald Trump’s vice president.
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.
DeepSeek's impressive AI breakthroughs have sparked global attention but face mounting U.S. scrutiny, with potential bans unlikely to stop its open-source technology from spreading worldwide.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
DeepSeek’s breakthroughs are too big for the U.S. to ban
The national security concerns behind the U.S. push to ban TikTok are even more pronounced when it comes to generative AI.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) speaks during an executive order signing ceremony with U.S. President Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald and U.S. commerce secretary nominee, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2025
Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund and says it could buy TikTok
The text of the executive order was sparse on details, and simply directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to submit a plan for such a fund within 90 days.
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.
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.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
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. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
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."
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.

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