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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2019

Line hopes app's links with Japan's Mizuho and Nomura can open 78 million wallets

Line Corp. is betting that tie-ups with Japan's biggest financial institutions will help convince its 78 million users to entrust the free texting app with their money.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 10, 2019

Beijing announces deployment of 'carrier killer' missile after U.S. warship sails near South China Sea islets

Beijing has announced that its so-called carrier killer anti-ship missile has been deployed to the country's northwest, just a day after the U.S. Navy sailed a warship past disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2019

New documents link Huawei to suspected front companies in Iran and Syria

The U.S. case against the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Canada last month, centers on the company's suspected ties to two obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that operated in Tehran; the other is that firm's owner, a holding company registered...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 3, 2018

Japan hesitantly moves toward a cashless society

Taking out a wallet loaded with cash, receipts and loyalty cards and searching for coins in front of a cashier is a familiar scene at stores in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Nov 13, 2018

Successful Japanese communications entrepreneur sets sights on renewable energy race

If it wasn't for Sachio Semmoto, the landscape of Japan's communications industry would look different today.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 8, 2018

Japan leaves no stone unturned as it prepares to cushion blow from Abe's 2019 sales tax hike to 10%

With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe determined to increase the sales tax next year, the government is testing public reaction to a string of potential measures to ensure people keep spending.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2018

Starbucks to speed up digital services roll-out, CEO says during visit to Japan

Starbucks plans to accelerate the roll out of digital services in Japan by introducing preorders and deliveries via smartphones, as well as cashless payments, visiting CEO Kevin Johnson said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2018

SoftBank IPO seeks $18 billion from retail investors

SoftBank Group Corp. is seeking to raise a record ¥2 trillion ($18 billion) from Japanese individuals in the initial public offering of its mobile phone unit, targeting investors who often get no interest on their savings, sources have said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2018

Meet the Japanese tech guru who is betting big on the future of drones

The only person in kimono at a recent government meeting on flying cars was Kotaro Chiba, a former online-game executive turned financier of a very specific kind.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 19, 2018

Designart Tokyo 2018 looks beyond 2021

Designart, Tokyo's annual festival encompassing all creative genres, is a cornucopia of design-related presentations and exhibitions within galleries, shops and event spaces. Celebrating its second iteration at a larger scale this year, the festival has its eyes set on the future: beyond 2021 to be precise....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2018

Meet the new breed of Japanese entrepreneurs who are venturing into frontier markets

Even as Japan Inc.'s influence has diminished under a series of internal scandals and international competition, the prevailing image of Japanese business remains tied to massive corporate conglomerates rather than innovative startups.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 7, 2018

In WeChat-dominated China, new app Bullet Messenger scores sudden success

The Chinese messaging app Bullet Messenger has racked up millions of downloads since its debut just a few weeks ago, using a stripped-down design to chip off a chunk of a sophisticated, billion-user market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2018

'Super Mario' creator says gaming industry should put steady subscriptions ahead of in-game charges

The legendary video game designer who created "Super Mario" and "Donkey Kong" has a word of advice for today's industry: Stop nickel-and-diming users.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 24, 2018

Europe's new GDPR data law upends global online advertising

Europe's new data privacy law has put a small army of tech firms that track people online in jeopardy and is strengthening the hand of giants such as Google and Facebook in the $200 billion global digital advertising industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2018

'Game over' in China as Beijing halts approvals of video game licenses

China's regulators have frozen approvals of game licenses amid a government shake-up, according to people familiar with the matter, throwing the world's biggest gaming market into disarray.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 15, 2018

Cubans cheer as free internet goes nationwide for a daylong test

Cuba's government said it provided free internet to the communist-run island's more than 5 million cellphone users on Tuesday, in an eight-hour test before it launches sales of the service.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Jul 19, 2018

In fining Google, EU is fighting the past

The greatest hope of European regulators cracking down on Google's business practices is that the rest of the world becomes a little more like China and its flourishing technology industry. It is hard to imagine the European bureaucrats' dreams will come true.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 30, 2018

At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech

It can crack your smartphone password in seconds, rip personal data from call and messaging apps, and peruse your contact book.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2018

Keep regulation from leading to the internet's Balkanization

If regulation of the internet is fragmented, clumsy, heavy-handed or inconsistent, the consequences for economic integration — and, in turn, prosperity — could be severe.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2018

Elon Musk is today's Henry Ford — and that's bad

As Tesla pursues lower retail prices and higher volumes, its ambivalent attitude toward the principles of mass production of modern cars seems increasingly likely to sabotage its powerful brand.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 11, 2018

Bright ideas that light up the web

From sculptural memo pads and kanji-inspired interiors to artisan collaborations and cat furniture — the internet loves Japanese design.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 29, 2018

Trump security team considering a government-built 5G network to counter China

President Donald Trump's national security team is looking at options to counter the threat of China spying on U.S. phone calls that include the government building a superfast 5G wireless network, a senior administration official said Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2018

Time ticks closer to nuclear midnight

Last week's false ballistic missile warning gave the world its first glimpse of what the start of a nuclear war might feel like as political tensions turned to real-life panic. As time ticks away, can catastrophe be averted?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2017

Alipay pursues Chinese tourists in hard-to-crack Japanese market

Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., is chasing Chinese tourists to Japan, where it's signing up a growing number of retailers and eyeing the long-term potential of the nation's $45 billion digital payments market.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2017

The upgrade myth

The latest isn't always the greatest when it comes to technology.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?